May 11, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Leading Off
• The No. 25-ranked Stanford (27-16, 9-9 Pac-10), winners of six in a row and 10 of its last 13, will embark on its final out of state road trip of the regular season, at Oregon (24-23, 5-13 Pac-10) for a three-game series on Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Likley rotations are RHPs Mark Appel, Danny Sandbrink and Jordan Pries for the Cardinal and LHP Tyler Anderson, RHP Alex Keudell and LHP Aaron Jones for the DucksStanford is 12-1 in midweek affiars after 11-run wins over UC Davis and Pacific earlier this week. The Cardinal are 9-11 against top-25 opponents, having faced six top-25 opponents in weekend series. The Cardinal are coming off a series sweep of Washington, its first sweep of the season, moving Stanford to .500 in conference at 9-9 with three weekends to go in the regular season. Brian Ragira hit .571 for the week, earning Pac-10 Player of the Week honors. He added five more RBIs on Monday and Tuesday, giving him a team-best 38.
• Friday night’s game will be tape delayed on Fox Sports Net on Saturday, while Sunday’s game will be live on Comcast SportsNet Northwest. It will also be aired on CSN Bay Area and Comcast Sports Southeast.
• All home games will be webcast on CBS College Sports’ All-Access paid service through the gostanford.com website. All games will be on KZSU, kzsu.stanford.edu and on your iPhone by downloading the Stanford App and then listening to KZSU.
Stanford in the Rankings
• Stanford see sawed back into the top-25, ranking No. 25 in the USA Today / Coaches Poll. It is unranked in Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball for the second-straight week. Stanford began the season No. 10 and moved up to No. 8 on February 21. Stanford’s RPI according to boydsworld to begin the week is 14.
Pac-10 Glimpse
• Oregon State (14-4) has a 1.0 game lead over Arizona State (13-5) with UCLA 1.5 games back (14-7). Cal is 12-9 in the Pac-10, while both Arizona and Stanford are 9-9. The league on July 1 expands to the Pac-12, and for baseball, welcomes in Utah.
Stanford-Oregon Series
(May 13 to 15 in Eugene, OR)
• Series: Stanford 15-6; Last: Oregon 2-1 in 2010
Stanford leads the all-time series 15-6, dropping last year’s three-game series 2-1. In 2009, Stanford won 2-1 of three as the two clubs have gone 3-3 since Oregon reinstated its program.
• About the Ducks: George Horton’s Ducks are in seventh place in the Pac-10 at 5-13 and are 24-23 overall after Tuesday’s win in Seattle Oregon was swept by UCLA last weekend and has dropped series to California, Washignton and USC and beaten Arizona. Entering the week, the Ducks’ pitching staff, with a 2.82 ERA, features Tyler Anderson’s 6-2 record and 1.73 ERA and Madison Boer’s 3-4 record and 2.25 ERA. Alex Keudell has a 5-3 record and 2.78 ERA and Kellen Moen has a 1.44 ERA with seven saves. Oregon though is hitting just .236 with infielder Danny Pulfer hitting .320 with 11 doubles, as the only regular Duck with an average over .300. Catcher Aaron Jones leads the club with 24 RBIs.
Last Year Against the Ducks
• No. 22-ranked Stanford dropped its second-straight Pac-10 series to Oregon (L 2-5, L 6-9, W 2-1) in early April, 2010, in a series that was almost won by the Cardinal. After dropping the opener 5-2, a doubleheader was scheduled for Saturday to avoid a rainout on Sunday. In game one, the Stanford bullpen gave up eight runs over the final two innings to ruin a solid start from Jordan Pries. Pries, lowered his ERA to 1.97 over his last four starts, giving up just one run on five hits over the first seven innings. He gave it over to the bullpen with a 6-1 lead. After three runs in the eighth, a two-out, three-run triple off of closer Alex Pracher gave Oregon an 7-6 lead to take the series. In game two, needing a win, Brett Mooneyham responded. The lefthander pitched eight scoreless innings before a single run came across in the ninth of a 2-1 victory. Freshman Eric Smith, who came into Saturday’s doubleheader just 2-for-19, came through with an RBI triple and two hits in game one and an RBI single in game two.
Ragira Named Pac-10 Player of the Week
Brian Ragira was named the Pac-10 Conference’s Player of the Week after hitting .571 last week with three runs and six RBIs. The freshman first baseman hit the go-ahead two-run triple in the series sweep on Sunday, igniting a six-run eighth inning and erassed a 2-1 Washington lead. On Saturday, Ragira went 5-for-5 with a two-run single. He also had key sacrifice flies in the wins on Tuesday in the 3-1 win against San Jose State and on Friday in the 6-2 series opener. He was 8-for-14 overall and added four RBIs on Monday at Pacific and an RBI single on Tuesday against UC Davis, giving him a team-high 38 RBIs.
Diekroeger Brothers Agitate Aggies (May 10)
• Danny and Kenny Diekroeger each drove in two runs as No. 25-ranked Stanford won its sixth straight following an 11-4 win over UC Davis. Austin Wilson extended his hit streak to 11 games with three hits and Tyler Gaffney (2 RBIs) and Stephen Piscotty (3 RBIs) also drove in runs. The four-run third and five-run fourth led to Dean McArdle’s (7-2) second-straight midweek win following 6.1 innings.
Trio Homers and Bloom Cages Tigers (May 9)
• In a makeup game from March 23, No. 25-ranked Stanford won its fifth in a row as Brian Ragira, Tyler Gaffney and Austin Wilson all homered in an 11-5 win. Sahil Bloom had his longest career outing, five shutout innings to end the contest, striking out a career-best five as well. Brian Ragira, last week’s Pac-10 Player of the Week drove in four more, while Gaffney added four hits.
Cardinal Pick Up First Sweep of the Season (May 6-8)
• No. 28-ranked Stanford picked up its first sweep of the season, beating Washington (W 6-2, W 8-7, W 7-2) and in doing so, knocking the Huskies into last place. On Friday night before a season-high 3202 fans, Mark Appel struck out a season-best nine as he combined with Chris Reed on a six-hitter. In Saturday’s season clincher, Stanford rapped out 19 singles before Zach Jones doubled and scored the winning run on a two-out error by Willy Reel. Danny Sandbrink had sent the game into the eighth with a 7-3 lead only to watch Reed give up four in the eighth as the Huskies tied it. On Sunday, Stanford broke open a 2-1 game with six runs in the eighth for its second last at-bat win of the weekend. Brian Ragira’s two-run triple started the rally as Adam Cimber picked up his second loss of the weekend. Stanford hit .389 for the weekend.
Current Win Streak-- It’s All About the Hitting
• The Cardinal enter the Friday game with the Ducks, batting .364 over its current six-game win streak, averaging 7.7 runs per game (46 total). The Cardinal hitters now have six everyday starters batting over .300. The team is fielding at a .979 clip, 10 points higher than their season average, while firing off a 3.00 ERA as well.
Better Than the Record Indicates
• Friday night starter Mark Appel, at 4-5 is better than his record would indicate. He has lost three starts, by one run, to the nation’s top juniors arms. He has struck out at least five in each of his last six starts, including a career-best nine in last week’s opening night gem over Washington, in which he allowed one earned run (two total) over eight innings. In Pac-10 games, he has a 2.82 ERA in six starts.
Back to the Future
• Senior starter Danny Sandbrink has a 2.53 ERA over his last three weekend starts, following seven innings of three-run baseball last week in which he left with a 7-3 lead. A late starter his freshman year in 2008 during the College World Series run, the senior is back in the rotation this past month, producing a 2.70 ERA over five Pac-10 games and a 2.51 ERA overall over 46.2 innings. Opponents are hitting just .206 against the righthander.
Wilson Lights Up the Cardinal
• Freshman Austin Wilson is back in the starting lineup in right, riding a 11-game hit streak into Friday’s game to raise his average to .331 on the season. He hit his fourth home run on Monday--one of three in the game for the Cardinal. He is hitting .462 over that streak with a .641 slugging percentage.
Adding up the RBIs
• Freshman Brian Ragira looks to make it 2-for-2 when it comes to freshmen leading the Cardinal in RBIs. Last year, Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Kenny Diekroeger led the Cardinal in RBIs (41). This year, it’s Ragira’s turn after another four on Monday at Pacific and an RBI single on Tuesday. The Arlington, Texas native has 38 RBIs and a .477 slugging percentage along with a .316 average.
Power and Speed
• Two-sport standout Tyler Gaffney not only leads the club in walks with 26, but also is among the Pac-10 leaders in triples (5). Gaffney has a .469 slugging percentage, paced by 16 of his 40 hits going for extra bases. Impressive still when you consider he is batting .280, the second-lowest of any of the regular starters. Gaffney was a backup running back for the Orange Bowl winning club in January.
Driving Them in Late
• Senior catcher Zach Jones has driven in 27 runs in the season, tied for third on the team with Stephen Piscotty and Kenny Diekroeger. Jones has 22 RBIs in Pac-10 play. All of his RBIs have come since March 29.
Still Pretty Young
• After everyday starting catcher Zach Jones, who is a four-year starter, the Cardinal start upwards of eight underclassmen in its everyday lineups from freshmen Brian Ragira (1B), Austin Wilson (RF), Lonnie Kauppila (2B) and Brian Guymon (OF/DH) to sophomores Kenny Diekroeger (SS), Stephen Piscotty (3B) and Tyler Gaffney (LF/CF). Jake Stewart, who hasn’t played since early May is also a starting sophomore centerfielder.
Post-Season Schedules
• With just three weeks left in the regular season, it is time for NCAA Regional scheduling. Sixteen NCAA Regionals will take place June 3-6, eight Super Regionals will take place in a best of three series, June 10-13, and the College World Series, in its first year at TD Ameritrade Ballpark, starts June 18. Selections for the 64-team tournament will take place Memorial Day, May 30 live on ESPN with a selection show.
Get Your Degree Under Marquess and Make the Majors
• Of Stanford’s 54 Major Leaguers under Mark Marquess, 46 have earned their degrees. Of the 12 Major Leaguers from Stanford in 2010, nine earned their degrees. An A1 feature in the San Jose Mercury News on February 28, featured both newly minted Major Leaguers, Jason Castro and Drew Storen, headed back to school to finish up. This season, Sam Fuld, Jed Lowrie, John Mayberry and Carlos Quentin all have their degrees among current Big Leaguers. In addition, two general managers, Ruben Amaro, Jr. and Kenny Williams, are Stanford graduates. A Wall Street Journal report said that only two dozen Major Leaguers had earned their degrees in 2010.
From the Diamond to a Degree
• Stanford academics and athletics continues to rank amongst the nation’s elite as Stanford Baseball, with an academic progress report number of 985, was ranked in the top-10 percent of all Division-I baseball programs. Some Cardinal Major Leaguers who have earned their degrees include: Gold Glove catcher Bob Boone, Cy Young Award winner Jack McDowell, All Star Mike Mussina, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr., former manager A.J. Hinch and long-time Major Leaguers Mike Aldrete and Jeffrey Hammonds.
Major League Style
• Since the turn of the Century, Stanford has had 86 players all-time reach the Majors. Marquess has coached 54 Major Leaguers since 1977 (55 have made the Majors with current White Sox GM Kenny Williams only playing football at Stanford).
Two-Sport Tradition
• Including Heisman runner-up Toby Gerhart (running back and outfielder), current head coach Mark Marquess (who was a quarterback, defensive back and punt returner) and NFL Hall of Famer John Elway (and outfielder and quarterback), the Cardinal have had a number of great two-sport stars. One of the first was Ernie Nevers, who starred for the Cardinal in the early part of the 20th Centruy. That list has included: Major League pitcher Joe Borchard (also a QB), NFL and MLB player Chad Hutchinson (RHP and QB), 1940s Major Leaguer Lloyd Merriman, Brian Johnson (QB) and John Lynch (QB and RHP). Orange Bowl Champion and backup running back Tyler Gaffney is the latest two-sport athlete.