April 25, 2012
No . 9-ranked Stanford (25-10, 8-7 Pac-12), fresh off a sweep of No. 20 Arizona State and a win over BYU travels to Pac-12 second place and No. 10-ranked UCLA (27-10, 11-7 Pac-12) on Friday 6 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. The Cardinal hit .381 against the Sun Devils as it won its fourth series over a top-10 opponent. National Player of the Week Alex Blandino hit .563 last week to take over the team lead in homers. Three of the next four Pac-12 series are on the road, at UCLA, Oregon State and at Utah.
In the Rankings
• Ranking in the top-10 in each week of the regular season, in one of the three major polls, Stanford is No. 9 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll and No. 13 in Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America. A preseason No. 2, 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. In 12 of the last 25 seasons Stanford has been ranked at No. 1.
About the Bruins
(Bat: .314, Pitch: 3.23, Field: .973)
• John Savage’s Bruins rank second in the Pac-12 in batting (.314) and third in ERA (3.23) following the team’s midweek win over UC Irvine on Tuesday. UCLA has won seven of its last 10, winning Pac-12 series with Arizona, ASU, Utah and Washington State, and dropping series to Oregon and Oregon State. OF Jeff Gelaich chips in a .373 average and Pac-12 leading 13 steals. OF Beau Amaral has a Pac-12 best 45 runs. David Berg has a Pac-12 leading 1.69 ERA out of 25 games out of the pen, also going 4-2.
Weekend Rotation
• Stanford will toss RHP Mark Appel (5-1, 2.88 ERA) and LHP Brett Mooneyham (5-3, 3.32 ERA) in the first two games of the series at Jackie Robinson Staidum. UCLA will counter with RHP Adam Plutko (5-2, 2.98), RHP Nick Vander Tuig (4-3, 5.22) and RHP Zack Weiss (2-1, 3.16). All three are sophomores.
The Great Blandino
• Third baseman Alex Blandino was named Collegiate Baseball’s, the NCBWA’s national and the Pac-12 Conference’s player of the week after a .563 week (9-for-16), that included four home runs, 11 RBIs and eight runs. Four of his first seven hits went for home runs, as he also added a game-winning RBI single in the ninth in the series clincher over ASU. The freshman, who has only started since March 26, is batting .328 with 23 RBIs and a team-best six home runs.
Pac-12 Race
• Arizona (12-6) holds a 1.0 game lead over UCLA (11-7) and Oregon (11-7) and a 2.5 game lead over Stanford and Oregon State (both 8-7). ASU (9-9) and Washington State (7-7) sit 3.0 games out of first place in the 30-game Pac-12 race.
Power Surge
• Stanford enters the UCLA series hitting .375 over the last four games, including a .381 clip versus ASU, outscoring the Sun Devils 34-17. Against previous top-10 Vandy, the Cardinal exploded for a 35-13 score, while against Texas, it was a tune of 28-5. Stanford also beat Fresno State 29-9 in three games in the Central Valley.
Bats Wake Up in Sweep of No. 20 Arizona State
• No. 10-ranked Stanford hit .381 in the three-game series, outscoring the Sun Devils 34-17 in a key sweep of No. 20 Arizona State, winning 17-5, 8-7 and 9-5. National and Pac-12 Player of the Week Alex Blandino blasted three home runs in the series, and also had the game-winner on Saturday. In the opener, Mark Appel (5-1) pitched the first 6.0 innings to secure his fifth win of the year, as Stanford scored 15 runs in its last four innings. Stephen Piscotty drove in four, as did Blandino--who homered twice. Brain Ragira added a three RBI day. In a back-and-forth game two, Brett Mooneyham gave it over to the bullpen with a 7-3 lead in the seventh, as ASU eventually tied it in the ninth against A.J. Vanegas. Vanegas the projected Sunday starter, instead picked up the win as Blandino’s two-out single gave Stanford the series. On Sunday, Austin Wilson drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth and made a game-saving catch in the eighth as Vanegas picked up his first career save with the final 2.0 innnings of work. Blandino finished his weekend with two hits, a steal, and two of his seven runs in the series.
Cardinal Hold On Against BYU
• Austin Wilson drove in five runs with two, two-run singles and a solo home runs as the No. 9-ranked Cardinal then had to hold on for the 10-9 victory over BYU after building a 9-1 lead. Garrett Hughes (2-1), Sahil Bloom and Dean McArdle limited the WCC’s second place Cougars to one run on three hits over the first seven innings. Reliever David Schmidt then watched his ERA rise from 1.52 to 3.75 after six runs. Stephen Pisctotty limited the damage, allowing two runs, but securing the final five outs for his first career save.
Slugging Away for the Cardinal
• Stanford enters the weekend with the Pac-12’s highest slugging percentage (.438), as it is second in the Pac-12 in doubles (83) and homers (27) and third in runs (253) despite a week’s less of games. The team’s combined average is .296 (fourth in the Pac-12).
Scoring in Bunches
• Eight times this year Stanford has put up double digits in a game, winning all of them. In addition, the Cardinal have hit at least six runs in another 12 games (going a combined 19-1). The Cardinal have scored in the first inning 11 times this year (winning all 11).
Don’t Forget About the Pitching
• The Cardinal are fourth in the Pac-12 in ERA (3.31) as weekend starters Mark Appel (71) and Brett Mooneyham (67) rank 1-2 in the Pac-12 in strikeouts. Twelve of the team’s wins have come when opponents have scored two or less runs.
Reserves to Starters
• With the loss of SS Lonnie Kauppila for the season, three players-- Danny Diekroeger, Alex Blandino and Brett Michael Doran have seen an increased amount of playing time. Diekroeger hit his first career homer last week and is batting .429 in 14 games. Diekreoger also made a defensive grab and throw in the ninth on Tuesday versus BYU which cut down the tying run in the 10-9 win. Blandino has a .672 slugging percentage and a .328 average over 20 career games and Doran is hitting .375 with nine runs in 16 games this year.
Getting On Base, Any Way He Can
• Outfielder Tyler Gaffney, whose average has dipped to .240 this season, still leads the club with 36 runs and is also the team leader in walks (20) and hit by pitches (12). He has a .387 on-base percentage, 150 points higher than his average.
Adding up the RBIs
• Stephen Piscotty, one of two projected first round picks at the mid-season, along with Mark Appel, has driven in seven runs twice this season, racking up a team-high 44 RBIs. Piscotty is also hitting .314 with a .497 slugging percentage. He also has a 2.79 ERA in six relief apperances.
Diekroeger Continues Strong Season
• Infielder Kenny Diekroeger moved back to shortstop this past week, a position he patrolled all of 2011. So far this season, Diekroeger has committed just five errors (.971) shifting between second and short. Diekroeger, the Cardinal’s leading hitter as a freshman, is bating .310 with a team-best 13 doubles.
Impressive Credentials on Friday
• No. 1 starter Mark Appel has fired off 72.0 innings this season, reaching the seventh in eight of nine starts this year, producing a 5-1 record and 2.88 ERA. He has struck out 71, hitting double digits four times. He has walked just 20, walking two batters in seven of his nine starts, and never more than three.
Keeping it Close
• Over the last two years, Mark Appel has dropped eight games, all which have been decided by three runs or less at the conclussion. Overall he is 11-8 over his two year’s as the team’s No. 1 starter.
Mooneyham Begins to Turn it Around
• Despite a no-decision on Saturday, leaving with a 7-3 lead after 6.0 innings of three-run baseball, Mooneyham is still looking for his first win since March 25. Prior to last weekend’s start, he had given up 10 earned runs over the previous 17.0 innings and three starts.
Vanegas Continues to Hum Along
• Sophomore A.J. Vanegas, who has been used out of the bullpen, and as a weekend starter, picked up a win and a save in the team’s series sweep of Arizona State last weekend. Vanegas has lowered his ERA to 2.57 in 10 games this season.
Game-Winners
• Stanford has six wins in its last at-bat, doing it again last weekend versus ASU. Alex Blandino’s two-out RBI single against the Sun Devils, on Saturday, gave the Cardinal the series en route to the sweep. On Sunday at Washington, an interference call at home followed by a double steal gave Stanford a 9-8 victory. Five days earlier, the Cardinal won 9-8 in 12th innings as Danny Diekroeger drove in the winning run in the 12th after Stanford scored five in the ninth to send it to extra innings against Saint Mary’s on April 2. Homers won three games this year-- Austin Wilson’s walk-off two-run homer in the ninth against USC, Stephen Piscotty’s two-run homer at Pacific in the 11th and Justin Ringo’s two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth against Rice.
Kauppila Out
• Shortstop Lonnie Kauppila, a starter on the infield for 29 games this year, will miss the rest of the season with a left knee injury suffered on Sunday. The sophomore was hitting .280 with 16 runs and 13 RBIs this year. In his place, Kenny Diekroeger will move back to short and Brett Michael Doran and Alex Blandino will play on the infield.
Notables Off the Bench
Opening Day on 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.
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.
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).