April 2, 2012
After dropping its first weekend series of the season the No. 6-ranked Cardinal (16-6, 2-4 Pac-12) play for the seventh time in 10 days when it hosts Saint Mary's (14-12) on Monday at 5:30 p.m. Stanford has dropped four of its last five after opening the season at 15-2 and as high as No. 1 nationally. The Cardinal travel to Washington (16-9, 3-3) this weekend for a pre-Easter series starting on Thursday. The Cardinal close out the stretch with games at Cal and Pacific through April 10, giving the Cardinal 13 games in a span of 17 days.
In the Rankings
Stanford dropped to No. 6 in both Baseball America and the USA Today/Coaches Poll and No. 16 in Collegiate Baseball. Stanford was ranked No. 1 in the USA Today Coaches Poll the last week of February and were in the top-two in each of the first seven weeks of the season. It was the first No. 1 ranking since 2004 and 10th time during the regular season since 1989 the Cardinal have hit No. 1. In 12 of the last 25 seasons Stanford has been ranked at No. 1.
About the Gaels
(Bat: .270, Pitch: 2.53, Field: .973)
The Gaels under Jedd Soto have dropped four-straight, to moved to 14-12, including a three game sweep at LMU this past weekend, and a loss to Stanford last Wednesday, 10-4. Once leading the nation in ERA at 2.04, that average has risen by a half a run after giving up 26 runs over the last four games. 1B Collin Ferguson leads the club with a .377 average, while DH Troy Channing has a .370 average. 2B Chris Murphy leads the club with 17 RBIs.
Pitching Matchups
RHP Mark Appel (3-1, 3.56), LHP Brett Mooneyham (5-1, 1.96) and LHP John Hochstatter (3-3, 2.32) are slated to go for the Cardinal this weekend after RHP Dean McArdle (2-0, 3.78) opposes SMC RHP Patrick Keane (2-0, 1.59).
Opening Day From the Farm
Stanford has had at least one major leaguer in each of the last 54 years, as this year five players are slated to be on opening day rosters. Jeremy Guthrie, traded to the Rockies in the off season, will be the Opening Day starter on Friday when the Rockies are in Houston to take on two Cardinal starters in catcher Jason Castro and shortstop Jed Lowrie. John Mayberry, Jr. is slated to start at first for the Phillies; Sam Fuld is a returning starter for the Rays. New Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin and Nationals closer Drew Storen, will begin the season on the disabled list with a possible return by mid-April. In addition, Ruben Amaro, Jr. (GM with Phillies), Kenny Williams (GM with White Sox) and AJ Hinch (VP of Scouting with Padres) are all in the executive wing. And it doesn't stop there-- Dave Flemming (Giants), Kris Atteberry (Twins) and Dave Raymond (Astros) are all former Stanford students calling games in the big leagues.
Defensive Mishaps
Over the first four games last week (1-3 record), Stanford made 14 errors for a .917 fielding percentage. The Cardinal had just 15 errors over the first 17 games (.976 fielding), producing a 15-2 record. They did not commit an error on Sunday at Arizona. Last week Stanford gave up 11 unearned runs, outscoring opponents 30-25 but going 1-4.
Stanford Swept in Tucson
No. 2-ranked Stanford (16-6, 2-4 Pac-12) struggled defensively over the first two games of the series at No. 8-ranked Arizona, getting swept in Tucson for the first time since 1993. In the opener, Stanford had a 7-4 lead into the ninth only to watch the Wildcats score four times and win 8-7, the final three runs scoring on a two-RBI single and error to centerfield. Arizona committed five errors of its own on Friday. Mark Appel after giving up four runs in the first three innings, reached the ninth in the no-decision. On Saturday, the Wildcats took the series and Konner Wade struck out seven and pitched a three-hitter. Brett Mooneyham (5-1) lost for the first time on the season as the Cardinal dropped its first top-10 and first overall series of the year (won first five). Stanford's three errors gave them 14 over the previous four games for a .917 fielding percentage after committing just 15 over the first 17 games (.976). In the Sunday finale, James Farris pitched a six-hitter as John Hochstatter (3-3) dropped his third-straight start. Stanford hit just .181 in the Arizona series, while the Pac-12 leaders hit .371.
Hit Streak Ends for Smith
Eric Smith's 12-game hit streak ended on Saturday, as the streak watched his average rise from .150 to .328. He hit 18-for-44 (.409) over the streak. Smith enters the week batting .310, fourth on the team.
Starts at the Top
Leadoff hitter and centerfielder Jake Stewart is having a career season, leading the club with a .349 average while scoring 21 times from the leadoff spot. Stewart has been the team's starting centerfielder for three seasons, batting .209 as a freshman and .287 as a sophomore.
Balanced Lineup
Following RBI leader Stephen Piscotty (25), Austin Wilson has driven in 22 runs and Eric Smith (18) and Brian Ragira (16) have chipped in another 34 RBIs. Wilson leads the club with seven multi-RBI games, while Smith is second with six.
Consistent at Second
Junior second baseman Kenny Diekroeger has settled into second base, fielding at an overall clip of .972 this season after being a starter at third and short over his first two seasons. The club's leading hitter as a freshman, is batting .304 this season and is a co-leader with nine doubles.
Double Trouble
Over the first 22 games of the season, Stanford has racked up 58 doubles led by Stephen Piscotty and Kenny Diekroeger's nine a piece. Stephen Piscotty has seven as five players have at least six two-baggers this season.
Low-Scoring Opponents
Stanford enters the week with a 2.65 ERA having given up two or fewer runs in 11 games. The Cardinal enter the week ranked third in the Pac-12 in ERA and foruth in opponent batting average. The Cardinal have won 10 contests allowing two or fewere runs. The backend of the rotation has also done its job as Stanford is 14-0 after leading after six innings and have dropped just one game 16 tries, leading after seven.
Strikeout Leaders
LHP Brett Mooneyham enters the week with the Pac-12's most strikeouts at 53 with RHP Mark Appel right behind him with 52 punchouts.
Vanegas Continues Upward Climb
A.J. Vanegas continues to watch his ERA drop, as the sophomore righthander who was jostled from the starting rotation after week one, has given up just two earned runs over the last three games and 15.0 innings to lower his ERA to 3.26 over six games.
Mooneyham Suffers First Loss
Lefthander Brett Mooneyham, who missed the 2010 season with a finger injury, won his first five starts of the season, before dropping a 4-2 decision on Saturday at No. 8 Arizona. Mooneyham is still 5-1 with a 1.96 ERA over those six starts with 53 strikeouts and 20 walks over 41.1 innings. He has reached the sixth inning in all six starts and struck out seven in each of those outings. Mooneyham leads the Pac-12 in strikeouts (53), is fourth in ERA (1.96) and seventh in opponent average (.201).
Appel Racking up the Innings
Friday night starter Mark Appel battled to reach the ninth inning in his last start, a no-decision at No. 8 Arizona. The junior had given up four runs over the first three innings, before settling down and pitching eight-plus innings. In six starts this season he has racked up 48.0 innings, reaching the seventh inning in each start. He has also struck out at least 10 in three starts. Appel ranks eighth in the Pac-12 in innings (48.0) and is second in strikeouts (52) and fourth in opponent average (.201).
Game-Winning Blasts
With Austin Wilson's walk-off two-run homer against USC, the Cardinal have now won three contests this year in its last at-bat. Stephen Piscotty's two-run homer at Pacific won it in the 11th to begin the trend. Justin Ringo's two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth against Rice won the series opener.
Regular Season Honors
Stanford righthander Mark Appel was named the Pac-12's Pitcher of the Week after a career-best 10 strikeouts in the win over No. 7 Texas. For the second-straight week to begin the year, Collegebaseball360 honored a Cardinal performer for its national weekly honor, choosing centerfielder Jake Stewart for his .538 average against Texas as well as his defensive efforts in center. Freshman LHP John Hochstatter was honored the first week after 6.1 no-hit innings of relief work.
Notables Off the Bench
25th Anniversary of Back-to-Back Champions
The 2012 season marks the 25th Anniversary of the 1987 and 1988 national champions under Mark Marquess. During the final weekend of the year the teams will be honored. That Cal team is coached by former shortstop David Esquer, who was the starting shortstop in 1987. The pregame ceremony will occur May 26. For more information email the baseball office at kjbills@stanford.edu
Number of Straight Years with an Active Major Leaguer
According to research by Washington State, Stanford has had 54-straight years with at least one Major Leaguer, dating all the way back to 1958 and Chuck Essegian (Phillies) and Dave Melton (Kansas City A's). USC has had a Major Leaguer every year since 1939, a span of 72 years.
Get Your Degree Under Marquess and Make the Majors
Of Stanford's 56 Major Leaguers under Mark Marquess, 47 have earned their degrees. Four of those players-- Drew Storen, Jason Castro, Michael Taylor and Cord Phelps are current Major Leaguers, who take classes in the off season. A 2011 Wall Street Journal report said that only two dozen Major Leaguers had earned their degrees in 2010. Some Cardinal Major Leaguers who have earned their degrees include: Gold Glove catcher Bob Boone, Cy Young Award winner Jack McDowell (communications), All Star Mike Mussina (economics), Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr., (biology) former manager A.J. Hinch (psychology) and long-time Major Leaguers Mike Aldrete (communications) and Jeffrey Hammonds (history).Marquess himself was a politics major, whose freshman roommate just happened to be Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Two-Sport Tradition
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 Century. That list has included: NFL Hall of Famer John Elway, current coach Mark Marquess (a punter, wide receiver and QB with Jim Plunkett in the late 1960s), NFL Executive Ray Anderson, Major League pitcher Joe Borchard (also a QB), NFL and MLB player Chad Hutchinson (RHP and QB), 1940s Major Leaguer and Korea War pilot Lloyd Merriman, Brian Johnson (QB), Toi Cook (NFL veteran and member of the 1987 CWS team) and John Lynch (QB and RHP).
2011 in Review
Stanford embarked on the 2011 campaign with the nation's last two top recruiting classes. The Cardinal featured upwards of seven or eight underclassmen in its everyday lineup, surviving top-15 road trips to No. 17-ranked Rice, No. 3 Vandy and No. 6 Texas to begin the year and a road schedule that featured 28 road games. Following a 15-day layoff for finals and unexpected rain, Stanford won nine of 11 to end March and rose to No. 11 nationally. April featured an unexpected series loss at USC and then three-straight weekends against the top-15 of Oregon State (loss), UCLA (win) and at Arizona State (loss). Stanford won six-straight to begin May and after briefly dropping out of the top-25, finished the year as high as No. 13. The Cardinal fought through a tough Fullerton Regional, beating the host Titans 1-0 on day two, before dropping two-straight at North Carolina in the Super Regional to finish the year at 35-22. Following a preseason loss to weekend starter Brett Mooneyham (finger), the weekend staff was relatively stable in Mark Appel and Jordan Pries, with senior Danny Sandbrink replacing Dean McArdle at midseason. Appel has had maybe the toughest road, pitching against a half dozen starters that are likely on the fast track to the majors in the next two years. First round pick and closer Chris Reed anchored the bullpen.