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No. 24 Stanford Starts Six-Game Road Trip At UC Davis Monday

No. 24 Stanford Starts Six-Game Road Trip At UC Davis Monday

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May 2, 2005

No. 24 Stanford Cardinal (24-15, 7-5 Pac-10)
at
UC Davis (21-21)

Monday, May 2 (2:30 pm, PT)
RHP Jeff Gilmore (6-1, 3.67) vs. RHP Paul Gonzales (1-1, 5.04)

MONDAY'S LIVE GAME COVERAGE
Audio Broadcast - KZSU 90.1 FM/gostanford.com (Sean Bruich) | Gametracker

STANFORD-UC DAVIS SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Series: Stanford 39-7 (since 1959)
Last Meeting: (at UC Davis, February 18, 1997) Stanford 12-4
Last Meeting at Stanford: (May 12, 1996) Stanford 10-0
Series Notes: Stanford and UC Davis meet for the first time since 1997 • Stanford has won the last six meetings between the clubs dating back to the last Aggie win in Davis on March 27, 1991

at
Nevada (20-20, 9-9 WAC)

Tuesday, May 3 (2 pm, PT)
TBA vs. TBA

TUESDAY'S LIVE GAME COVERAGE
Audio Broadcast - KZSU 90.1 FM/gostanford.com (Sean Bruich) | Gametracker

STANFORD-NEVADA SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Series: Stanford 16-8
Last Meeting: (at Stanford, February 17, 2003) Stanford 5-4
Last Meeting at Nevada: (May 14, 2002) Nevada 13-12
Series Notes: Stanford and Nevada resume the series between the schools after not meeting in 2004 for the first time since • Stanford won the last time the teams played (at Stanford, February 17, 2003) but Nevada won a wild 13-12 game the last time the teams played in Reno nearly three years ago on May 14, 2002 • Stanford swept a two-game home-and-home series against the WolfPack in 2001, while Nevada won the only game played between the teams at Stanford in 2000

at
California (29-19, 9-9 Pac-10)

Friday, May 6 (2:30 pm, PT)
TBA vs. TBA

Saturday, May 7 (1 pm, PT)
TBA vs. TBA

Suday, May 8 (1 pm, PT)
TBA vs. TBA

FRIDAY-SUNDAY'S LIVE GAME COVERAGE
Audio Broadcast: KZSU 90.1 FM/gostanford.com (Sean Bruich, Alex Gyr and Jeff Love)
Friday | Saturday | Sunday

STANFORD-CALIFORNIA SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Series: Stanford 231-208
2005 Results - Series Stanford 2-1 (Non-Conference at Stanford, March 5-6) Stanford 10-3, Stanford 3-2 (Game 1), California 10-4 (Game 2)
2004 Results - Series Stanford 6-0 (Non-Conference at California, February 27-29) Stanford 12-9, Stanford 10-3, Stanford 6-2; (Conference at Stanford, April 16-18) Stanford 7-4, Stanford 9-2, Stanford 8-3
Series Notes: Stanford had won an amazing 18 straight games against California before the Golden Bears finally broke the string the last time the teams met in the nightcap of a doubleheader earlier this season at Sunken Diamond on March 6 • Stanford had also swept five consecutive three-game series against the Golden Bears prior to California's win in the final contest of the three-game set between the teams earlier this season • Stanford has still won seven straight games between the teams in Berkeley since California was a 2-1 winner on March 9, 2002 • The Cardinal has also won seven consecutive series over the Golden Bears since California won two-of-three in Berkeley from March 27-29, 2001

STANFORD NOTES
• Pac-10 Update - Two-time defending Pac-10 champion Stanford is in sole possession of fifth-place in the conference with a 7-5 league mark after sweeping Washington in its final series of the first half of Pac-10 action April 22-24 before being idle last Friday-Sunday • The Cardinal is still just 2.0 games behind league-leader Arizona (12-3 Pac-10) in the loss column and 3.5 overall with a three-game set still scheduled against the Wildcats at Sunken Diamond to close out its 2005 regular season May 20-22 • Oregon State (11-4 Pac-10) is 1.0 game behind Arizona in the chase for the 2005 Pac-10 title, followed by Arizona State (10-5 Pac-10), USC (9-6 Pac-10), Stanford, California (9-9 Pac-10), Washington (7-8 Pac-10), UCLA (1-11 Pac-10) and Washington State (0-15 Pac-10) • Stanford has won at least a share of a Pac-10 or Pac-10 Southern Division title in six of the last eight years and has picked up 20 conference titles in school history • The Cardinal has finished either first or second in the prestigious Pac-10 a total of 22 times in the last 24 seasons • Stanford was picked in a preseason poll of the Pac-10 coaches to win the conference title again in 2005

• Road Trip - Stanford begins its longest road trip of the season at UC Davis on Monday, May 2 • The team's six-game stretch marks the only time during the regular season the Cardinal is scheduled to play more than three consecutive games in a row away from Sunken Diamond • Stanford will also play at Nevada (Tuesday, May 3), California (Friday-Sunday, May 6-8) and Santa Clara (Tuesday, May 10) before returning to the comfy confines of Sunken Diamond for a three-game series against UCLA from Friday-Sunday, March 13-15 • Stanford is just 6-8 on the road this season and has been swept twice (at Texas, February 18-20; at Arizona State, April 15-17) but had won a season-high five straight road games before the sweep at Arizona State in its most recent road action

• Rankings - Stanford dropped four spots to No. 24 in the most recent Baseball America poll released May 2 after losing to Santa Clara in its only game last week (April 26) • The Cardinal dropped one place to No. 23 in the latest Collegiate Baseball poll released on Monday • Stanford was ranked No. 18 in the latest Sports Weekly/ESPN rankings (+1) and No. 25 in the NCBWA tally (+3), both released on April 25 (the latest polls are due later on Monday, May 2) • Stanford has been ranked No. 1 in the Baseball America poll at some point in the season during seven of the last eight campaigns prior to this season but has not reached the top in 2005 with No. 6 the highest spot the Cardinal has reached • Cal State Fullerton has taken over as the No. 1 team in the most recent Baseball America poll, while Tulane held onto its top spot in the Collegiate Baseball rankings • Texas was on top of last week's NCBWA and Sports Weekly polls with both publications set to release new polls later on Monday, May 2

• This Week's Opponents (UC Davis, Nevada, California) - Stanford's next two opponents, UC Davis (21-21) and Nevada (20-20), both have .500 records but have struggled mightily of late • UC Davis has dropped seven in a row, including sweeps at the hands of two of the nation's top teams (No. 2 Cal State Fullerton, No. 12 Long Beach State) • Nevada has dropped seven of eight and was swept in its most recent series at Hawaii (April 29 - May 1) • California is 29-19 overall and has a 9-9 in Pac-10 action

• 2005 Stanford vs. California - (March 6 - at Stanford 3, California 2 - Game 1; California 10, at Stanford 4 - Game 2) Stanford and California split a doubleheader in front of the largest Sunken Diamond crowd of the season with 2544 fans watching the Cardinal take a 3-2 victory in the opener before the Golden Bears captured the nightcap by a score of 10-4 to end Stanford's 18-game win streak against California. Stanford won the opener when Jim Rapoport squeezed home pinch-runner Cameron Matthews with one out in the bottom of the ninth for the game-winning run. Jeff Gilmore and Blake Holler combined on a three-hitter for the Cardinal, while John Mayberry, Jr. (2-4, 2B), Michael Taylor (2-4) and Chris Lewis (2-4) had two hits each. California jumped out to a 5-0 lead after an inning and a half of the nightcap and never trailed as Brannon Boesch (3-4, HR, 2 RBI) had three hits and his second homer of the day as Stanford had its string of six straight doubleheader sweeps snapped • (March 5 - at Stanford 10, California 3) Mark Marquess picked up his 1200th career victory when Stanford snapped California's nine-game win streak with a 10-3 victory. Mark Romanczuk pitched his second consecutive complete game to earn the victory, limiting California to three runs and five hits, including no runs on only one hit over the final 7.0 frames, as he finished with seven strikeouts and three walks. Six different Stanford players had a pair of hits as the Cardinal outhit the Golden Bears, 13-5.

• Recent Action - (April 26 - Santa Clara 7, at Stanford 5) Santa Clara scored three times in the top of the first inning and never trailed on its way to a 7-5 upset victory over Stanford that broke a season-high-tying four-game win streak for the Cardinal. Ryan Conan (3-4, RBI) had three of Santa Clara's 13 hits, while Adam Sorgi (3-4, RBI) had half of Stanford's six knocks. The Cardinal did have plenty of chances, stranding 10 runners and leaving the bases loaded in both the fourth and eighth innings. Stanford drew a season-high 11 walks in the contest but also hit into three double plays and had a runner picked off.

• Stanford Starts New Series Streak At Sunken Diamond - Stanford had won 14 straight regular season home series before Oregon State took two-of-three at Sunken Diamond on April 9-10 • The Cardinal, who did suffer a loss in its most recent game at Sunken Diamond against Santa Clara on April 26, rebounded by sweeping Washington in last three-game set at home April 22-24

• Head Coach Mark Marquess To Coach 1800th Game - Head coach Mark Marquess, in his 29th season at the helm of the Stanford program, will coach the 1800th game of his career when the Cardinal travels to UC Davis on Monday, May 2 • Marquess has an all-time record of 1214-580-5 (.676) • On March 5, 2005, he became just the 16th NCAA Division I head coach to reach the 1200-career win mark when Stanford defeated California by a score of 10-3 at Sunken Diamond • He is currently ranked ninth among active Division I coaches in wins and is 16th on the NCAA's all-time list

• Jed Lowrie - Stanford's National Player of the Year candidate (Wallace Award Watch List) and First Team Preseason All-American has put up solid offensive numbers this season, leading the team in homers (11, #2T Pac-10), RBI (45, #5 Pac-10), slugging percentage (.613, #6 Pac-10), total bases (87), sacrifice flies (9, #1 Pac-10), walks (27, #6T Pac-10) and multiple-RBI games (14) to go with a .317 batting average that ranks fourth on the club • Defensively, he has made just two errors (neither on groundballs) in 186 chances for a .989 fielding percentage while leading the team in assists (112, #4 Pac-10) and ranking second in fielding double plays (27, #9 Pac-10)

• John Mayberry, Jr. - Stanford's First Team Preseason All-American paces the club in doubles (13, #6T Pac-10) and multiple-hit games (17), while co-leading the team in hits (49) and ranking second in batting average (.320), RBI (41, #8 Pac-10), multiple-RBI games (12) and home runs (5, tied for second with Chris Lewis)

• Jim Rapoport - Leads the team with a .360 batting average despite going just 2-for-16 his last four games • Rapoport had raised his average 168 points during a previous stretch in which he hit safely in 19 of 20 games from February 27 - April 17, including a career-high and team season-high 13-game hit streak (March 26 - April 17, .521 (25-48) • He also paces the club with eight stolen bases, five sacrifice bunts and a .442 on-base percentage, while co-leading the team along with John Mayberry, Jr. in hits (49)

• Jeff Gilmore - Moved into the team's No. 1 starter role versus Washington on April 22 and responded with his first complete game of the season and the third of his career to post a 2-1 victory over the Huskies • Co-leads the team and tied for sixth in the Pac-10 with six wins (6-1), while posting a 3.67 ERA and a .232 opponents' batting average (#8 Pac-10) that are both the lowest among Stanford pitchers that have pitched at least one inning per team game played • Also paces the club in innings pitched (76.0, #4T Pac-10) and strikeouts (59, #10 Pac-10) • Second on the team with 11 starts (#8T Pac-10)

• Mark Romanczuk - Has won 28 career games at Stanford (28-9), good for a sixth-place tie on Stanford's all-time win list with Brian Mignano (1979-82) and is just nine victories behind all-time school-leader Jeff Ballard's 37 from 1982-85 • Has a 5-4 record and a 4.95 ERA this season, while leading the team in starts (12, #1T Pac-10), as well as ranking second in innings pitched (72.2, #7 Pac-10) and strikeouts (57) • On the Roger Clemens Award Watch list for the award given annually to the nation's top pitcher

• Blake Holler - Has developed into one of Stanford's top relievers, ranking tied for sixth in the Pac-10 in victories with a 6-2 record and posting a 3.35 ERA that is second on the club • Shares the team lead with 14 appearances and has a 9.32 strikeout per nine innings ratio that is second on the club behind Nolan Gallagher's 9.77

• Matt Manship - Has been charged with just one run in 19.2 innings and 13 appearances this season, going 2-0 with an 0.46 ERA while striking out 14 and allowing a team-low opponents' batting average of .225 • Has also recorded a pair of saves and has 14 in his career, good for sole possession of sixth-place on Stanford's all-time list

• Outstanding Defense - Stanford has been errorless in 20 of its 39 contests this season, including in five of its last eight games and despite making a season-high three errors in its most recent game versus Santa Clara (April 26) still has a .979 fielding percentage that leads the nation and is .002 percentage points higher than the school record pace of .977 set by the 2001 club • Stanford has also played outstanding defense in the five seasons prior to 2005 with five of its top seven team fielding percentages recorded during the period

• Offense Coming Around - Stanford's offense continues to come around from its early season woes as the Cardinal has its team batting average back up to .294, two points shy of the highest its been since it stood at .324 after the team's third game of the season versus Fresno State but dropped all the way to .275 after getting just three hits the next game at Cal State Fullerton • Stanford has 10 or more hits in four of its last six contests • Stanford is trying to extend a string of consecutive seasons with a batting average of .300 or better to 10 in a row with the Cardinal actually hitting .307 or better in each of its last nine campaigns • Stanford's current 6.6 run per game average is down 1.7 runs from last season's final average, when the Cardinal scored 8.3 runs per contest

• Pitching Staff - Stanford is attempting to record an ERA under 4.00 for the fourth time in the last six seasons • The Cardinal staff has a current 4.15 mark and opponents are hitting .262 against Cardinal pitching • Stanford did have its team ERA under 4.00 from after all but one game (4.02 after February 20 contest at Texas) until it broke the 4.00 mark after the April 16 contest at Arizona and has failed to fall below since

• Tight Battle For Team Lead In Hits - Stanford has a tight battle going on for the team lead in hits with seven players having collected between 42 and 49 hits this season • Jim Rapoport and John Mayberry, Jr. co-lead the team with 49, followed by Adam Sorgi (48), John Hester, Jed Lowrie and Chris Minaker (45), and Michael Taylor (42)

• Comeback Kids - Stanford has come from behind in 11 of its 24 victories this season • The team came from behind in two of its three wins during its most recent series versus Washington (April 22, April 23) • The club's biggest comeback win (turning a 6-0 deficit into a 7-6 victory) came against Santa Clara on April 5 • Stanford has also trailed at one point in victories over Fresno State (January 29, January 30 - Game 2), Kansas (February 12), USC (February 26), California (March 5), Pacific (March 20), Washington State (April 3) and Oregon State (April 10)

• Soggy Season - Stanford has had seven games postponed due to wet weather conditions this season • The Cardinal had its season-opener versus Fresno State (January 28) postponed, as well as series-openers against Kansas (February 11), California (February 25), Pacific (March 19) and Oregon State (April 8), and a single game against San Jose State (March 22) • Stanford even had a contest versus Washington on April 23 pushed back five hours due to wet weather conditions • Stanford made up the first four games as part of doubleheaders and played the Pacific contest on March 24 • The San Jose State rainout has not been rescheduled yet

• Four In A Row - Stanford has put together three win streaks of four games this season but has yet to put together five straight victories • The Cardinal won four in a row from February 6-13, April 1-5 and April 19-24

• Home Sweet Home - Despite losing more games at home this season (18-7) than the Cardinal did all of last year (29-5 home record in 2004), the Cardinal is back on a roll at Sunken Diamond • Stanford had won six straight games at Sunken Diamond before having the string snapped with the upset loss to Santa Clara in its most recent outing on April 26 • Stanford is 58-13 overall in its last 71 games on The Farm

• Tough Times In Close Ones - Stanford has lost 12 of its 15 games this season by two runs or less • The Cardinal is 6-7 in one-run games and 1-5 in two-run contest for a record of just 7-12 in games decided by two runs or fewer

• Day And Night - Stanford has fared much better in day games than night contests this season, going 17-8 in day games and 7-7 at night

• Winners - Stanford has won 40 or more games in a school record 10 consecutive campaigns and has posted 11 consecutive winning seasons, as well as 39 in the last 40 years and 56 in the past 58 • The Cardinal needs six more victories to guarantee a winning season in 2005

• Omaha - Stanford has captured two national titles (1987, 1988) and advanced to the College World Series 15 times, including 13 appearances in the last 23 years and for a school record five consecutive seasons from 1999-2003

• Bay Area Boys - Stanford has an unusually high number of local products on its 2005 team this season with eight players from the Bay Area donning a Cardinal uniform (Erik Davis, Mountain View/Mountain View HS • Darren Gemoll, San Jose/Leland HS • Zach Gianos, Menlo Park/Menlo-Atherton HS • Cameron Matthews, Mountain View/Los Altos HS • Rex Petrill, Los Altos/St. Francis HS • Greg Reynolds, Pacifica/Terra Nova HS • Ryan Seawell, Menlo Park/Menlo School • David Stringer, Palo Alto/Palo Alto HS)