April 27, 2004
at
Santa Clara (19-23)
Tuesday, April 27, 6 pm
TBA vs. LHP John Redmond (4-2, 7.43)
at
No. 2 Stanford (31-6, 7-2)
Friday, April 30, 6 pm
RHP Aaron MacKenzie (5-4, 4.09) vs. LHP Mark Romanczuk (8-1, 3.82)
Saturday, May 1, 1 pm
RHP Aaron Trolia (4-3, 4.80) vs. Jeff Gilmore (6-2, 4.30)
Sunday, May 2, 1 pm
LHP Garrett Alwert (4-1, 4.56) vs. TBA
MEDIA COVERAGE
Gametracker: Tuesday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Live Audio: gostanford.com ... Sean Bruich and Alex Gyr will handle Tuesday's broadcast at Santa Clara ... Sam Stefanki and Mike Etchepare will be back on the microphones for the series Friday-Sunday versus Washington State ... A Gametracker with live stats will be available for all four games from a link at gostanford.com.
QUICK TEAM NOTES
First-place Stanford resumes Pac-10 action this Friday-Sunday after closing out a four-game non-conference stretch at Santa Clara on Tuesday ... The Cardinal (7-2 Pac-10) saw its lead diminish from a full 2.0 games to a mere 0.5 games during its off-week from Pac-10 action when Washington (8-4 Pac-10) swept a three-game series over Arizona in Seattle ... The 2004 Stanford team is only the second club in 111 seasons of baseball on The Farm to win at least 31 of its first 37 games ... Only the 1967 club (32-4-1) posted a better record after 36 games, while the 1998 team (30-6-1) ranks third ... Stanford is the No. 2 team in the latest of all four major college baseball national polls released on Monday, April 26 (Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA and Sports Weekly/ESPN) for the third consecutive week ... Stanford spent two weeks (March 22 - 29) as the nation's unanimous No. 1 team and seven weeks (February 23 - April 5) as the No. 1 team in the Baseball America poll ... The Cardinal has won all 10 of its regular season three-game series this year, 14 in a row overall and 22 of its last 23 dating back to last season (the Cardinal did split a two-game series with Sacramento State during the span) ... Stanford has swept five of its 10 regular season three-game series this season and eight during its current 14-series win streak ... Stanford is scheduled to play 12 of its remaining 29 regular season games at home, where the Cardinal has won 10 in a row, 26 of its last 27 and has a 17-1 record this season ... Stanford has also won 28 of its last 33 true road games but has dropped three of its last five and is 14-5 away from Sunken Diamond this season ... All told, the Cardinal has a 54-10 record in its last 64 games dating back to the 2003 campaign ... Stanford has come from behind in 13 of its 31 wins this year and is 4-6 when either tied or trailing heading into the ninth inning (2-1 tied, 2-5 trailing) ... Stanford is 5-1 this season against ranked teams ... Stanford has been errorless in 15 of its first 37 games ... Stanford has more than doubled its opponents scoring (333-154) as 27 of its 31 wins have been by three or more runs and the Cardinal is a perfect 18-0 in games decided by five or more runs ... Three of Stanford's six losses have been by one run as the Cardinal is 2-3 in one-run games ... All six of Stanford's losses have been by three runs or less Stanford is leading the Pac-10 in all three major team categories with a .332 batting average, a 3.80 ERA and a .974 fielding percentage ... Offensively, Stanford is averaging an even 9.0 runs per contest and has posted double-digit runs 17 times this year ... The Cardinal has also reached double digits in hits on 29 occasions and had put together a season-best 12 in a row before being held to four in its most recent game at Sacramento State (4/24) ... Stanford has hit 58 homers and has a legitimate chance to break the school record of 102 hit by the 1997 club ... Stanford is looking to extend its school record string of consecutive appearances at the College World Series to six, as well as its string of 40-win seasons to 10 ... Stanford has also won 50 or more games in three of the last four seasons ... Stanford has captured 11 Pac-10 titles in the last 21 years and finished either first or second in the conference 21 times in last 23 seasons.
QUICK INDIVIDUAL NOTES
National Player of the Year candidate Jed Lowrie leads the Cardinal in nearly every offensive category - batting average (.393), runs scored (47), triples (4), homers (12), RBI (50), extra-base hits (25), total bases (108), slugging percentage (.771), bases on balls (31), on-base percentage (.500), sacrifice flies (5, co-leader), multiple-hit games (17, shares team lead) and multiple-RBI games (15) ... Jonny Ash ranks second in batting average (.374) and tied fourth in hits (52) ... Brian Hall, who just had his career-high 21-game hit streak (3/5 - 4/23) snapped in his most recent game at Sacramento State (4/24), is third on the club with a .367 batting average ... Hall also leads the team with 10 doubles and 10 stolen bases, while sharing the team lead with 17 multiple-hit games, and adding two triples, seven homers and 36 RBI ... John Mayberry, Jr. is fourth on the club with a .359 batting average, as well as second in homers (10, tied with Danny Putnam), RBI (43) and stolen bases (6) ... Putnam, who has a current career-high-tying 10-game hit streak, has taken over the team lead in hits (56) and is one of three players with 17 multiple-hit contests, while ranking tied for second on the club in homers (10), as well as third in RBI (37) and fifth in batting average (.357) ... Donny Lucy, who has a current career-high 13-game hit streak (the longest current streak by a Stanford player) is hitting .356 with eight homers and 30 RBI ... Ryan Seawell (.323) is also hitting over .300, while Sam Fuld (.290) is knocking on the door despite losing a season-high 12-game hit streak versus Sacramento State (4/24) ... Fuld is Stanford's all-time leader for runs scored with 250 and ranks second on Stanford's all-time hit list (333), 35 behind all-time Stanford and Pac-10 leader John Gall (368, 1997-2000) ... Fuld also ranks among Stanford's all-time leaders in hits at bats (977, #3), triples (16, #3T), doubles (58, #6T) and games played (237, #7) ... Mark Romanczuk (8-1) leads the team with eight wins and is ranked fourth on Stanford's all-time won-loss percentage list (20-3, .870), while David O'Hagan is 5-0 with a team-high four saves and the lowest ERA (2.09) among pitchers with at least one inning pitched per team game played ... Jeff Stimpson has an 0.87 ERA in 20.2 frames over 11 relief appearances.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Stanford has won both games it has played against Santa Clara this season, winning 18-4 on the road (3/24) and taking a 12-3 decision over the Broncos at Sunken Diamond on April 13. Stanford leads its all-time series over Santa Clara, 172-153-7, and has dominated in recent years by taking 27 of the last 29 meetings between the clubs. The Cardinal has also fared very well against Washington State of late with 15 straight victories over the Cougars since the teams began playing again on a regular basis when the Pac-10 welcomed the Northern schools (Oregon State, Washington, Washington State) into the current nine-team alignment of the league in 1999. Stanford leads the all-time series, 23-13.
2004 VERSUS SANTA CLARA
Stanford 18, at Santa Clara 4 (March 24, 2004) - Jed Lowrie (2-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI) had his first career two-homer game, scored a career-high four runs and tied a career-high with four RBI to lead Stanford to a convincing 18-4 victory over Santa Clara. Chris Carter (1-2, HR, 4 RBI) also homered and drove in a career-high four runs as the Cardinal scored nine of its season-high-tying 18 runs in the top of the third frame for its biggest inning of the year. John Mayberry, Jr. (3-5, 2 RBI) had a three-hit game for the Cardinal, while starting pitcher Jeff Gilmore (3.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO) earned the victory as the pitcher of record in a predetermined pitching rotation.
at Stanford 12, Santa Clara 3 (April 13, 2004) - Sam Fuld scored twice to tie the school's all-time runs scored record in Stanford's 12-3 non-conference victory over Santa Clara. The Cardinal scored five times in the bottom of the first inning as Danny Putnam's three-run homer keyed the outburst. Jed Lowrie (3-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) and John Hester (3-5, 3 RBI) added three hits and three RBI each for the Cardinal with Lowrie blasting a two-run shot in the second inning for his team-leading 10th long ball of the season. Brian Hall extended his career-high hit streak to 16 games and stole his team-leading ninth base. Matt Leva - the first of five Stanford pitchers that combined on a six-hitter - was credited with the victory. Nathan Faulkner (2-4, HR, 2 RBI) homered and had a pair of hits for the Broncos.
2003 VERSUS WASHINGTON STATE
Stanford 6, at Washington State 1 (April 4, 2003) - John Hudgins a complete game to lead Stanford to a 6-1 victory over Washington State, allowing just one run and seven hits with six strikeouts in a game that lasted just a season-low 2:01. Jonny Ash (2-3, 2 RBI) was the only Stanford player with more than one hit, while Jed Lowrie added a pair of RBI. Stanford had just seven hits, snapping a string of 12 consecutive games with double-digit in hits.
Stanford 12, at Washington State 5 (April 5, 2003) - Ryan Garko blasted a pair of two-run homers and drove in four runs, while Carlos Quentin (4-5, 2B, 3 RBI) had four hits and three RBI to lead Stanford to a 12-5 victory over Washington State. Matt Manship picked up his first collegiate victory, allowing only one run and one hit with four strikeouts in 4.2 innings of relief. Brian Hall (2-5, 3B, RBI), Danny Putnam (2-5, RBI), Tobin Swope (2-5, RBI) and Sam Fuld (2-5) each added two of Stanford's 17 hits. Wes Falkenborg (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Justin Hart (2-4, HR, RBI) and Jay Miller (2-5) had two hits each for the Cougars.
Stanford 8, at Washington State 5 - 11 Innings (April 7, 2003) - One day after being snowed out, Stanford outlasted Washington State by a score of 8-5 in 11 innings to complete a three-game sweep. Sam Fuld's two-out RBI single in the top of the 11th scored Tobin Swope with the winning run and sparked a three-run Cardinal rally. Stanford tied the game with a pair of runs in the ninth on a leadoff solo homer by Danny Putnam and a two-out RBI single from Jonny Ash. Brian Hall (4-5, 2 2B, 2 SB, RBI) had a four-hit game, while David O'Hagan (3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO) earned the victory.
LAST WEEK
at Stanford 10, Saint Mary's 5 (April 20, 2004) - Stanford reached the 30-win mark after its first 35 games for only the second time in 111 years of baseball on The Farm with a 10-5 victory over Saint Mary's. Greg Reynolds earned the win in his first collegiate start, striking out four while scattering two runs and five over the first 5.0 innings. Chris Lewis (2-2, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) hit his first homer and drove in a pair of runs, while Chris Minaker (3-5, 2B, 2 RBI) and Sam Fuld (3-6, RBI) had three hits each as all nine Stanford starters contributed at least one hit in the Cardinal's season-high-tying 18-hit attack. The victory was Stanford's 19th in a row over Saint Mary's dating back to the last Gael win in the all-time series by a score of 1-0 at Sunken Diamond on February 1, 1994.
at Stanford 15, Sacramento State 1 (April 23, 2003) - Stanford pounded out a season-high 21 hits and Mark Romanczuk (season-high-tying 8.0 innings, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO) picked up his eighth win of the season as the Cardinal ran its win streak to seven games with a 15-1 victory over Sacramento State. Brian Hall (3-6, 2 2B, RBI) extended his career-high hit streak to 21 games, while Donny Lucy (4-4, HR, 2 RBI) had the first four-hit game of his career and extended his career-high hit streak to 12. John Mayberry, Jr. (3-4, HR, 4 RBI) hit his 10th homer of the season and drove in a season-high-tying four runs, while Sam Fuld (2-5) and Danny Putnam (2-3, 3B, RBI) also extended their current hit streaks to a season-high 12 and nine games, respectively. Chris Carter (3-3, 2 2B, RBI) added his first three-hit game of the season, while Jed Lowrie (2-6, HR, RBI) hit his team and Pac-10 leading 12th homer and drove in his 50th run of the year.
at Sacramento State 2, Stanford 1 (April 24, 2004) - Sacramento State surprised Stanford with a 2-1 victory over the Cardinal to snap Stanford's seven-game win streak. Sacramento State scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Craig Johnson drove home Ronnie Machado, Jr. with a one-out RBI single through the right side of the infield to break a 1-1 tie. Sacramento State starter Ethan Katz tossed a complete-game four-hitter and allowed just one unearned run to pick up the victory, one day after the Cardinal pounded out a season-high 21 hits in a 15-1 victory over the same Hornets at Sunken Diamond. Stanford starter Jeff Gilmore (6.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO) suffered the loss despite taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Stanford put the tying run in scoring position in the top of the ninth when Donny Lucy singled with one out and stole second base after two were out but Katz struck out Chris Minaker looking to end the contest. Katz struck out seven and walked four. He twice retired seven in a row. David O'Hagan had an excellent performance for the Cardinal as the only reliever for either team, striking out three in 2.0 hitless innings of work. The two hits were the least allowed by Stanford in a game this season. Stanford did steal a season-high five bases in the contest (Mayberry 2, Lowrie, Lucy, Putnam).
STANFORD REMAINS NO. 2 IN ALL FOUR NATIONAL POLLS
Stanford remained the No. 2 team behind top-ranked Texas for the third consecutive week in the latest of all four major national collegiate baseball polls -- Baseball America's, Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA, Sports Weekly/ESPN released Monday, April 26. Stanford had been the No. 1 team in the Baseball America poll for seven consecutive weeks (February 23 - April 5), as well as the nation's unanimous No. 1 team for two weeks (March 22 - 29) before falling from the top spot to second on April 5 in both the NCBWA and Sports Weekly/ESPN polls and dropping from No. 1 to No. 2 in the Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball polls on April 12. Stanford has been ranked No. 1 at some point in the season for seven of the last eight campaigns. The Cardinal had a string of six consecutive seasons (1997-2002) with a top ranking going but never reached the top of the Baseball America poll in 2003. However, Stanford did finish the 2003 season ranked second in all four polls.
2004 CARDINAL ONLY SECOND TEAM IN SCHOOL HISTORY TO WIN 31 OF FIRST 37
The 2004 team has become only the second club in 111 years of baseball on The Farm to win at least 31 of its first 37 gamers. The team's 31-6 record after 37 games is second only to the 32-4-1 mark posted by the 1967 club that finished 36-6-1 overall record and in third-place as only the second Stanford team to ever qualify for a College World Series.
ANOTHER WINNING SEASON
Stanford's 31 wins already assure the Cardinal of a winning season for the 39th time in the last 40 years and the 56th time in the last 58 season. The only time the Cardinal has not won more games than it has lost in the last 40 years was when the 1993 club was a game under .500 at 27-28.
TIME TO START AGAIN
Stanford's most recent win streak of seven games was snapped in its most recent contest at Sacramento State (4/24). Stanford has now posted four win streaks of six games or more this season. The Cardinal won six in a row from February 7-20, six straight again from February 22 - March 6, a season-high eight consecutive from March 23 - April 3 before its most recent stretch that ran from April 10-23.
STANFORD SEES PAC-10 LEAD SHRINK TO ONE-HALF GAME
Pac-10 leader Stanford (7-2 Pac-10) saw a two-game conference shrink to just one-half game during its week away from conference play when second-place Washington (8-4 Pac-10) swept a three-game series versus Arizona in Seattle. The Cardinal and the Huskies are the only two teams above .500 in conference games but Oregon State, UCLA and USC all sit with even 6-6 marks tied for third-place. Arizona State is in sixth at 7-8, followed by Washington State and Arizona at 5-7 and Cal at 7-11.
TOP OF THE PAC
Stanford has won 19 conference championships and 17 Pac-10 crowns in school history (includes Southern Division and shared titles). The Cardinal won its most recent Pac-10 crown in 2003 when the club finished with an 18-6 conference mark. Stanford had finished second in the league standings behind two-time defending conference champion USC in 2001 and 2002 prior to its previous Pac-10 title when it shared the championship with Arizona State and UCLA in 2000. Stanford has been among the top two in the conference standings (includes Pac-10 Southern Division) for 10 straight seasons and 21 times in the last 23 years.
STANFORD PICKED AS FAVORITE IN 2004 PRESEASON PAC-10 COACHES POLL
Stanford was picked as the favorite in the 2004 Preseason Pac-10 Coaches Poll, picking up seven first-place votes. Arizona State and Arizona each garnered one first-place vote, while finishing second and third in the poll. USC, Washington, California, UCLA, Oregon State and Washington State rounded out the poll.
STANFORD UNBEATEN IN 2004 THREE-GAME SERIES; WIN STREAK AT 14
Stanford's sweep of California (4/16 - 4/18), the first in a Pac-10 series this season by any conference team, kept the Cardinal unbeaten in 10 regular season three-game series this year and extended the team's regular season three-game series win streak to 14 in a row dating back to last year (Stanford has split a two-game series with Sacramento State this year). The Cardinal has swept five of its 10 three-game series this season and eight during the streak. Stanford has also won 22 of its last 23 regular season three-game series, including 10 in a row on the road and seven straight at home. Stanford lost just two regular season three-game series in 2003, dropping two-of-three at home to Arizona (4/25 - 4/27) and being swept at Cal State Fullerton (1/31 - 2/2).
HOME SWEET HOME
Stanford plays 12 of its remaining 19 regular season games at home, where the Cardinal has won 26 of its last 27 contests dating back to last season and is 17-1 this year. Stanford had a 16-game home win streak broken earlier this season when now top-ranked Texas came up with a 9-6 victory over the Cardinal on February 21 to salvage one game of a three-game series by handing the Cardinal its first and only home loss of 2004. Stanford has since built another current win streak of 10 games at Sunken Diamond (Texas, 2/22; Cal Poly, 3/26 - 3/28; Santa Clara, 4/13; California, 4/16 - 4/18; Saint Mary's, 4/20; Sacramento State, 4/23) since the loss to the Longhorns. Stanford's school record home win streak is 27 in a row from April 30, 1982 - April 15, 1983.
STANFORD HAS WON 28 OF LAST 33 ROAD GAMES DESPITE RECENT STRETCH
Stanford has also won 28 of its last 33 true road contests dating back to last year despite losing two of its last three and three of five. Stanford finished the 2003 season by winning its final 14 true road games (at Arizona State 3/23 - 3/24; at Washington State 4/4 - 4/5, 4/7; at Santa Clara, 4/8; at Sacramento State, 4/22; at USC 5/3, DH - 5/4; at San Jose State 5/6; at California, 5/11). The Cardinal is 14-5 on the road this year, winning two-of-three at Fresno State (2/6 - 2/8), sweeping a three-game road set at California (2/27 - 2/29), taking two-of-three at USC (3/5 - 3/7), returning from a 15-day break with three consecutive wins at Saint Mary's (3/23), Santa Clara (3/24) and San Jose State (3/30), taking two-of-three at UCLA (4/2 - 4/4) and winning two-of-three at Oregon State (4/8 - 4/10), before falling at Sacramento State (4/24).
CARDINAL 54-10 IN LAST 62 GAMES OVERALL
Stanford's success both at home and on the road has led to an incredible run as the Cardinal is a combined 53-9 over its last 62 games dating back to May 5, 2003. The Cardinal was 23-4 in its final 27 games last year and has jumped out to a 30-5 start this season.
POWER SURGE
Stanford is making a run at the school's all-time home run record of 102 by the 1997 club as the 2004 Cardinal has hit 58 homers in its first 37 games. The Cardinal has hit 22 of the dingers in its first nine conference contests as half of them came when Stanford banged out a series season-high 11 long balls in a three-game set at Oregon State (4/8 - 4/10). The power surge during Pac-10 play is part of the team's offensive explosion since returning from a 15-day break at Saint Mary's on March 23 as the Cardinal has hit 36 homers over its last 19 games. Stanford has homered at least once in 16 of those 19 games and in 28 of its 37 contests overall this season.
MULTIPLE-HIT MADNESS
Stanford has three players that have 17 multiple-hit games each this season in Brian Hall, Jed Lowrie and Danny Putnam, as well as four others (Jonny Ash, 16; John Mayberry, Jr., 16; Donny Lucy, 14; Sam Fuld, 14) that are close behind with at least 14 multiple-hit contests.
LOWRIE AND ROMANCZUK APPEAR ON WATCH LISTS
Jed Lowrie (Baseball America, USA Baseball Golden Spikes) and Mark Romanczuk (Roger Clemens Award) appear on current high profile Player and Pitcher of the Year Watch Lists, respectively. Lowrie has emerged as the team's top offensive player as he leads the club in nearly every offensive category; including batting average (.393), homers (12, Pac-10 leader), RBI (50, Pac-10 leader), runs scored (47), triples (4), total bases (108, co-Pac-10 leader), slugging percentage (.771, Pac-10 leader), bases on balls (31), sacrifice flies (5, co-leader), multiple-hit games (17, shares team lead) and multiple-RBI games (15). Defensively, Lowrie has made just six errors in his first 168 chances for a .964 fielding percentage while starting all 37 games at either shortstop or second base. Romanczuk, who won his 20th career game in his most recent outing versus Sacramento State (4/23), leads the team in wins (8-1), strikeouts (63) and innings pitched (70.2), while posting a 3.82 ERA that is the best among Cardinal starters. Lowrie (NCBWA Co-Hitter of the Week, March 2) and Romanczuk (Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week, March 9) have already earned weekly recognition for their achievements this season.
SEVERAL OTHERS ALSO MAKING ALL-AMERICAN BIDS
Several other Stanford players -- Jonny Ash, Sam Fuld, Brian Hall, Donny Lucy, John Mayberry, Jr., David O'Hagan and Danny Putnam -- are all making strong cases for All-American honors along with Player/Pitcher of the Year Watch List selections Jed Lowrie and Mark Romanczuk. Ash ranks second on the club in batting average (.374) and tied for fourth in hits (52), adding four homers and 25 RBI. Fuld (.290, 1 HR, 19 RBI, 4 SB) is a two-time All-American and three-time All-Pac-10 choice that is coming on after a slow start. Hall has moved up to third on the club with a .367 batting average after a recent career-high 21-game hit streak, while also leading the club with 10 doubles and 10 stolen bases, as well as contributing seven homers and 36 RBI. Lucy, who is in the midst of a career-high 13-game hit streak, has put up some of the best numbers by any catcher in the country with a .356 batting average, eight homers, 30 RBI and four stolen bases. Mayberry ranks second on the club in both RBI (43) and stolen bases (6), as well as tied for second in homers (10) and fourth in batting average (.359). O'Hagan has put up amazing numbers out of the bullpen, posting a 5-0 record and saving a team-high four games with a 2.09 ERA in a team-high 14 appearances. He has struck out 47 batters in 43.0 innings and allowed just 26 for an opponents' batting average of .178. Putnam, who has caught fire of late with a current career-high-tying 10-game hit streak, now ranks tied second on the club in homers (10), as well as third in RBI (37) and fifth in batting average (.357).
FULD MOVES INTO SECOND ON ALL-TIME HIT LIST
Sam Fuld, who broke Stanford's all-time record for runs scored versus California on April 17 and now has 250 for his career, has also moved into second-place on Stanford's all-time hit list. Fuld, who has 333 hits in his career, surpassed the 331 by Paul Carey (1987-90) versus Sacramento State (4/23) and is now within 35 of Stanford and Pac-10 record-holder John Gall (368, 1997-2000). Fuld is also among Stanford's all-time leaders in hits at bats (977, #3), triples (16, #3T), doubles (58, #6T) and games played (237, #7).
SAMMY'S STREAKS
Sam Fuld has played in 230 consecutive Stanford games and has only not played in two games during his Cardinal career, both in his 2001 freshman campaign (1/26, at Fresno State; 2/10, Florida State). Fuld has also started 147 consecutive games for the Cardinal since the last time his name was not on the starting lineup card versus Texas on March 29, 2002.
ROMANCZUK WINS 20TH CAREER GAME
Mark Romanczuk's latest victory versus Sacramento State (4/23) was the 20th of his career. He needs just five more wins to reach the school's all-time Top 10 list and is already ranked fifth all-time at Stanford in career won-loss percentage (20-3, .870).
PAC-10 PHENOM
Most of Brian Hall's recent hot stretch has come during Pac-10 play as Hall is hitting .556 (20-36) with three homers, 11 RBI and four stolen bases during nine Pac-10 contests.
A CHANCE TO WIN
Stanford's pitching staff has given the Cardinal a chance to win all season, holding opponents to five or less runs in 28 of 37 games. The staff has been even better during its current string of nine consecutive games of holding opponents to five or less runs.
SAVE DROUGHT
After logging 10 saves in its first 19 wins to threaten the pace of the school record 23 saves recorded in 2001, Stanford has just one save over its last 11 victories and 14 games. David O'Hagan leads the way with four, while Blake Holler has picked up a pair. Jonny Dyer, Jeff Gilmore, Matt Manship, Kodiak Quick and Jeff Stimpson have one each.
DOUBLE-DIGIT HIT STRING SNAPPED
Stanford had put together a string of 12 straight games (at UCLA, 4/2 - 4/4; at Oregon State, 4/8 - 4/10; Santa Clara, 4/13; California, 4/16 - 4/18; Saint Mary's, 4/20; Sacramento State, 4/23) with 10 or more hits before the Cardinal was held to its second-lowest total of the year with just four in a 2-1 loss at Sacramento State (4/24) in its most recent contest.
THE NEW NINE
Nine players have made their first appearances in a game for the Cardinal this season. Blake Holler (3-2, 4.78, 2 SV, 43.1 IP, 30 SO) made eight consecutive starts as a member of the rotation prior to in as reliever in Stanford's two-game series versus Sacramento State in its most recent action (4/23 - 4/24). Jeff Stimpson has become one of the team's top relievers, allowing just two runs and 11 hits with 18 strikeouts in his first 20.2 collegiate innings for an 0.87 ERA as well as a team-low .159 batting average. Stimpson won his first collegiate game when he struck out a career-high six batters in 2.2 hitless innings at Oregon State (4/10) and picked up his first collegiate save with 2.0 innings of hitless relief work versus California (4/16). Ryan Seawell has 10 hits in his first 31 collegiate at bats for a .323 batting average in 15 games played and six starts, while also contributing two doubles, seven RBI and a stolen base. Jim Rapoport has played in 19 games with six starts, contributing a .250 batting average, one triple and six RBI. Adam Sorgi has started 14 of the team's first 37 games at shortstop and appeared in 19, hitting .216 with one double and four RBI. Matt Leva has a 3-0 record and a 4.76 ERA in seven appearances and two starts. Greg Reynolds is 2-0 with a 4.38 ERA in 12.1 innings over five relief appearances and won his first collegiate start in his most recent appearance versus Saint Mary's (4/20). Ben Summerhays is hitting .182 with two hits in 11 at bats over nine games played off the bench. Former student manager Cameron Matthews has played in six games, scoring a pair of runs and walking in his first career plate appearance in his most recent action versus Sacramento State (4/23).
COMEBACK CREW
Stanford has come from behind at some point in 13 of its 31 victories this season, coming back to win games when trailing by three or more runs heading into the eighth inning on three occasions. Brian Hall provided arguably the most dramatic moment of the season when his first career grand slam capped a seven-run Stanford ninth inning rally for a 10-6 victory over Kansas (2/15). Stanford trailed 7-3 at USC (3/6) before scoring four times in the top of the ninth inning to extend the game into extra innings and eventually take home an 8-7 win in 13 frames. Most recently, the Cardinal trailed 7-4 after seven innings at Oregon State (4/8) before scoring three runs in the eighth to tie the game and four more times in the ninth to win the contest.
WINNING BY A BUNCH
Despite having to come from behind in 13 of its 31 wins, 27 of the team's victories have come by three runs or more and the team is a perfect 18-0 in games decided by five or more runs. Stanford has more than doubled its opponents' run production this season by a count of 333-154 and is averaging an even 9.0 runs per contest, compared to just 4.2 for its opponents.
SHORT ONES
Stanford has managed to play five of its last six games in less than three hours, even clocking in with its third-shortest game of the season at 2:21 in its most recent contest at Sacramento State (4/24). Stanford, which has kept 21 of its 37 games under the three-hour mark, played its fastest game of the year at two hours and nine minutes versus Kansas (2/14). The team has played only one game over four hours and one extra-inning contests, both in a 13-inning four-and-a-half hour marathon 8-7 win at USC (3/6).
TOUGH ONES
Stanford's 31-6 record might be even better if the Cardinal could have mustered more success in close games. Stanford is just 2-3 in games decided by one run and has suffered each of its last three losses by a single run without a single-run win during the period. The Cardinal has a pair of one-run 8-7 wins versus Cal State Fullerton (1/31) and at USC (3/6 - 13 inn.) but has lost heartbreakers at UCLA (4/2, 5-6), Oregon State (4/8, 4-5) and Sacramento State (4/24, 1-2).
ERRORLESS EFFORTS
Stanford has played errorless baseball in 15 of its first 37 games this season, including a string of five straight errorless games from January 31 - February 8; three in a row in a series at California (2/27 - 2/29); three straight against three different teams in Cal Poly (3/28), San Jose State (3/30) and UCLA (4/2); and a recent string of three in a row versus California (4/18), Saint Mary's (4/20) and Sacramento State (4/23). Stanford is currently leading the Pac-10 with a .974 fielding percentage that would rank second on the school's all-time list, three percentage points behind the school record .977 mark posted by the 2001 club.
STANFORD HOSTS SAN JOSE STATE BEFORE KEY SERIES AT WASHINGTON NEXT WEEK
Stanford will host San Jose State next Tuesday, May 4 (6 pm, PDT) before traveling to second-place Washington for a key three-game Pac-10 series next Friday-Sunday, May 7-9 (6:30 pm, 1 pm, 1 pm, PDT). Stanford shut San Jose State out, 5-0, in the first meeting between the teams this season on March 30 in San Jose. The Cardinal swept a pair of games over the Spartans in 2003 (4/15, 4-2 at Stanford; 5/6, 3-0 at San Jose State) for three straight wins in the all-time series overall since the last San Jose State win, a 12-0 whitewashing of the Cardinal in San Jose on May 1, 2002. Stanford has also won three straight over San Jose State on The Farm since the Spartans defeated the Cardinal, 4-1, on February 29, 2000. Stanford leads the all-time series, 75-30. Stanford and Washington will be meeting for the first time this season. The Cardinal and the Huskies have split their last six games over the last two seasons. Last year, Stanford won two-of-three at Sunken Diamond (3/28 - 3/30; L, 3-5; W, 10-6; W, 12-11). In 2002, the Stanford dropped two-of-three to the Huskies in Seattle (4/19 - 4/21; L, 1-3; W, 9-4; L, 3-4 - 10 inn.). Stanford leads the all-time series, 31-12.
OFFENSIVE REPORT
Stanford has averaged 9.0 runs per contest, while hitting a Pac-10 leading .332 through its first 37 games. Stanford has been even better in Pac-10 action, hitting .368 in nine conference contests and averaging 9.6 runs per contest. The team also has 22 of its 58 homers in its nine conference games, as well as 39 in 19 games since returning from its 15-day break at Saint Mary's on March 23. National Player of the Year candidate Jed Lowrie leads the club in nearly every offensive category - batting average (.393), runs scored (47), triples (4), homers (12, Pac-10 leader), RBI (50, Pac-10 leader), total bases (108, co-Pac-10 leader), slugging percentage (.771, Pac-10 leader), bases on balls (31), on-base percentage (.500), sacrifice flies (5, co-team leader), extra-base hits (25), multiple-hit games (17, shares team lead) and multiple-RBI games (15). Lowrie is also second on the club with 55 hits and nine doubles. Danny Putnam is on a career-high-tying 10-game hit streak (4/8 - 4/24; .400, 16-40, 2 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 3 SB) now leads the team with 55 hits, while ranking tied for second in homers (10), as well as third in RBI (37) and fifth in batting average (.357). Jonny Ash is second on the squad in batting average (.374) and tied for fourth in hits (52). Brian Hall, who leads the club with 10 doubles, 10 stolen bases and five sacrifice bunts (co-leader), had a career-high 21-game hit streak (3/5 - 4/23; .467, 42-90, 7 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 7 SB) that raised his average 170 points from .208 to a season-high .378 before an 0-for-4 game at Sacramento State (4/24) in his most recent action brought his average back to .367. Hall is also fourth on the club with 36 RBI and fifth with seven homers. John Mayberry co-leads the team with five sacrifice flies, while ranking second on the club in homers (10, tied for second), RBI (43) and stolen bases (6), as well as fourth in batting average (.359) ... Mayberry has four hits in his last five at bats after suffering through a 5-for-25 (.200) slump over his last previous games ... Donny Lucy is on a current career-high 13-game hit streak (3/28 - 4/24; .479, 23-48, 2 2B, 5 HR, 15 RBI, 1 SB) that has raised his average to .356 ... Lucy has hit been hit by a team-high nine pitches ... Ryan Seawell (.323) is also above the .300 mark with Sam Fuld (.290) knocking on the despite losing a season-long 12-game hit streak (4/2 - 4/23; .345, 19-55, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 SB). Stanford has set team season-highs in runs at Santa Clara (3/23) and hits versus Sacramento State (4/23). The team has twice hit five homers in games at Fresno State (2/7) and Oregon State (4/10), while stealing a season-high five bases at Sacramento State (4/24). Stanford has scored in double figures 17 times and has 10 or more hits in 29 of its first 37 games. The Cardinal had 10 or more hits in 12 straight games (4/2 - 4/23) before being held to just four in its most recent game at Sacramento State (4/24).
PITCHING REPORT
Stanford leads the Pac-10 with a 3.80 ERA and has been especially effective on the mound over its last eight games (2.92 ERA, .178 opponents' batting average). Mark Romanczuk leads the club in victories (8-1), strikeouts (63) and innings pitched (70.2), while co-leading the team along with Jeff Gilmore in games started with 11. Romanczuk also has the lowest ERA (3.82) among starters. Gilmore, who tossed the first complete game of his career and the only by a Stanford pitcher this season versus California (4/17) before taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning of a tough-luck loss at Sacramento State (4/24) in his most recent action is 6-2 with a 4.30 ERA, while ranking second in innings pitched (69.0) and third in strikeouts (42). David O'Hagan has been stellar out of the bullpen with a 5-0 record and four saves, while leading the Pac-10 with a 2.09 ERA and posting an opponents batting average of just .178. O'Hagan has struck out 47 batters in 43.0 innings and leads the Cardinal with 14 appearances. Blake Holler and Matt Leva have contributed three wins each, while Greg Reynolds has two. Jonny Dyer, Mark Jecmen, Kodiak Quick and Jeff Stimpson have one each. Stimpson (1-1, 1 SV) has an 0.87 ERA with 18 strikeouts in his 20.2 innings of work over 11 appearances out of the bullpen, allowing just 11 hits for a team-low opponents' batting average of .159. Holler has added two saves, while Dyer, Gilmore, Matt Manship and Quick have one each. Manship has been one of the team's most effective pitchers of late as he is on a current string of 10.1 consecutive scoreless innings over his last six appearances all out of the bullpen.
DEFENSIVE REPORT
Stanford leads the Pac-10 with a .974 fielding percentage, which would rank second on the school's all-time list and just .003 percentage points behind the school record of .977 posted by the 2001 club. Stanford has played errorless baseball in 15 of its first 37 games. The Cardinal made just three errors in its first eight games as its fielding percentage reached as high as .991 after a five-game errorless string (1/31 - 2/8). Stanford also played an errorless contest versus Kansas (2/14), as well as three straight errorless contests with a perfect defensive series at California (2/27 - 2/29), three more in consecutive games versus Cal Poly (3/28), San Jose State (3/30) and UCLA (4/2), and most recently three in a row against California (4/18), Saint Mary's (4/20) and Sacramento State (4/23). John Mayberry, Jr. leads the club with 347 putouts and has made just two errors in his team-high 363 defensive chances for a .994 fielding percentage. Mayberry also had a single-game team-high of 17 putouts at USC (3/6). Jed Lowrie has a team-high 107 assists and has made just six errors in his first 168 chances and 37 starts at either shortstop or second base for a .964 fielding percentage. Jonny Ash and Adam Sorgi had team-high-tying seven-assist games versus Cal State Fullerton (2/1) and Cal Poly (3/27), respectively. Stanford has turned 33 double plays this season, including a season-high three at Fresno State (2/8), versus Kansas (2/15) and versus Texas (2/22). Ironically, Cardinal opponents have turned 11 double plays in nine conference games, while Stanford has managed only two.
STANFORD HAS PICKED UP THREE 50-WIN SEASONS IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS
Stanford has won 50 or more games in three of the last four years to run its total of 50-win campaigns in school history to six. The Cardinal won a school record 59 contests in 1990. The 1987 CWS championship squad posted 53 victories, while the 2001 and 2003 teams picked up 51 wins. The Cardinal won an even 50 games in 1999 and 2000.
CARDINAL LOOKING TO EXTEND RECORD STRING OF 40-WIN SEASONS TO 10
Stanford will be looking to extend its school record string of 40-win seasons to 10 in 2004. The last time Stanford didn't win 40 games was when the club finished 27-28 in 1993.
2004 PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN HONORS
Four Stanford players have earned 2004 Preseason All-American honors. Sam Fuld picked up a pair of First Team honors (Baseball America, NCBWA), as well as Second Team (Baseball America) and honorable mention (CollegeBaseballInsider.com). John Mayberry, Jr. earned Second Team recognition from Baseball America. Danny Putnam was a First Team selection by Baseball America and CollegeBaseballInsider.com, as well as Third Team NCBWA selection, while Mark Romanczuk was named a Third Team Preseason All-American by Baseball America and the NCBWA and received honorable mention recognition from CollegeBaseballInsider.com.
WEEKLY EMAIL LIST
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STANFORD HEAD COACH MARKMARQUESS
One of the nation's premier collegiate coaches and the winningest coaching in Stanford Baseball history, Mark Marquess is in his 28th season at the helm of the Cardinal in 2004 with a 1175-557-5 (.678) record in 1737 career games, as well as even more impressive marks in the postseason (105-46, .695), and Pac-10 (466-296, .613). Marquess entered the 2004 season ranked 19th on the NCAA's all-time Division I victory list and 46th on the all-time winning percentage list for Division I coaches. For active coaches, he began the season ninth in victories and 15th in winning percentage. He became the 23rd coach in the history of NCAA Division I baseball to reach the 1000-win mark with a victory over Florida State on February 9, 2001. Just over two years later, he picked up win No. 1100 versus Nevada on February 17, 2003. He won his 100th career postseason game in Stanford's NCAA Super Regional clinching victory over Long Beach State (6/7/03). The 1969 Stanford graduate has led the Cardinal to two CWS titles and three runner-up showings in five CWS championship appearances, as well as 13 College World Series trips, five NCAA Super Regional titles, 13 NCAA Regional championships and 11 Pac-10 crowns (includes Southern Division and shared titles). Stanford has also qualified for the NCAA Tournament 21 times in the first 27 years under Marquess. He has been named NCAA Coach of the Year three times and has received Pac-10 or Pac-10 Southern Division Coach of the Year honors on nine occasions, most recently with his selection in 2003. The Cardinal has had 26 winning campaigns in 27 seasons prior to this season under his leadership and finished either first or second in the prestigious Pacific-10 (formerly Pac-10 Southern Division) 21 times in the last 23 years. Stanford has had 112 players drafted by professional baseball in the past 19 seasons, including 14 first round selections in the last 17 years. A member of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Marquess was the head coach of the 1988 United States Olympic baseball team that captured the gold medal. Marquess was also an accomplished football and baseball standout on The Farm and is a member of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame. He is one of only six collegiate baseball head coaches to have both played and coached in the College World Series. Marquess was the starting first baseman and a First Team All-American on Stanford's 1967 CWS squad and played four seasons of minor league baseball with the Chicago White Sox organization.
COMMENTS FROM MARKMARQUESS
(on getting back into Pac-10 play)
"We've got 15 league games left, and it is really kind of up for grabs. There is a lot of parity and a lot of teams that are still in the hunt. It can change rapidly on any given weekend. This weekend is big but really every weekend is big because the standings are so bunched."
(on Stanford's 31-6 overall record and 7-2 league mark)
"It's a great start for us, but there is a long way to go. Every team in our conference is capable of beating each other."
(on the team's home run power)
"It's great that we've hit as many home runs as we have, but you have to be very careful with that. If you try to hit a lot of home runs, you can get yourself into problems."
(on Stanford's offense)
"We've been pretty consistent on offense all season and our numbers reflect that."
(on Stanford's pitching and defense)
"We've played really solid defense and lead the league in ERA."
(on Sam Fuld breaking Stanford's all-time runs record)
"Sam Fuld has been one of our key players throughout his career, and he's worked hard for this."
STANFORD COACHING STAFF
Dean Stotz is in his 28th campaign with Stanford Baseball and his fifth season as associate head coach after he was promoted to the position prior to the 2000 campaign. Stotz served for 23 years as an assistant. Stotz currently coaches third base while also handling various offensive and defensive aspects of the game. Tom Kunis is in his fifth season as Stanford's pitching coach, while Dave Nakama is in his fifth year overall as a Stanford assistant coach.
STANFORD BASEBALL HISTORY
Now in its 111th season, Stanford's storied baseball program has had many highlights since the program began in 1892 ... Stanford has won two NCAA titles (1987, '88) and made 15 appearances in the College World Series, also finishing as the runner-up on three occasions (2000, '01, '03) ... Stanford has also won five NCAA Super Regional titles ... Stanford has qualified for the NCAA Tournament 24 times ... Stanford has won 19 conference championships ... Stanford has already wrapped up its 39th winning season in the last 40 campaigns and its 56th in the last 58 years in 2004 ... Stanford has won 50 or more games four times in the last five years and six times in school history ... Stanford has won 40 or more games in a school record nine consecutive years and 18 times in school history ... Stanford has an all-time record of 2408-1490-32 (.617) in 3930 contests ... A total of 69 former Stanford players have became Major League Baseball players with six participating in the Major Leagues thus far in 2004 (Eric Bruntlett - Houston Astros; Jody Gerut - Cleveland Indians; Jeffrey Hammonds - San Francisco Giants; Dave McCarty - Boston Red Sox; Mike Mussina - New York Yankees; Justin Wayne - Florida Marlins) ... Stanford has also had 14 players selected in the first round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft in the last 17 years ... Stanford has boasted 44 All-Americans that have combined to win 54 All-American honors ... Stanford has garnered three NCAA Players of the Year in Jeff Austin (1998), David McCarty (1991) and Steve Dunning (1970) ... Stanford has had an even 100 players earn a combined 133 All-Conference honors ... Six Stanford players earned All-Pac-10 honors in each of the last two seasons, breaking the previous mark of five previously set in 1985, '90 and '94.