April 8, 2012
Stanford (19-7, 4-5 Pac-12) will play five times, traveling to struggling Cal (17-12, 2-7) on Monday at 2:30 p.m., host Pacific (10-21) on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and hosting top-20 and second place Oregon (20-9, 8-4) this weekend starting on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and continuing on Saturday at 1 p.m. andSunday at noon Stanford rebounded by winning two of three at Washington last weekend. Catcher Eric Smith, a reserve infielder the last two seasons, took over the team lead in average (.345), while Austin Wilson now leads in RBIs (26).
About the Golden Bears
(Bat: .287, Pitch: 3.72, Field: .951)
• Dave Esquer’s club has dropped three-straight Pac-12 series to ASU, Oregon State and USC, going 2-7. The Bears did win two of three over Texas two weeks ago. Infielders Tony Renda (.344 average with 22 runs) and Vince Bruno(.343 average and 24 runs) lead the team in batting, while Chad Krist and Chad Bunting have 24 RBIs a piece. Joey Donofrio has a 3-1 record and 2.18 ERA over 14 relief appearances. Cal ranks last in the Pac-12 in fielding (.951).
Marquess Rising
• Mark Marquess is slated to move further up the all-time list for wins as he enters the week with 1441 wins, three behind Chuck Hartman’s 1444 wins (1960-2006). Hartman sits at No. 5 among Division-I head coaches. Augie Garrido, Gene Stephenson and Mike Martin rank 1-2-3 all-time in wins and are all active coaches. Larry Hayes has 1508 wins.
Pitching Matchups
• RHP Mark Appel (4-1, 3.32) and LHP Brett Mooneyham (5-2, 2.68) will pitch the first two games against Oregon RHPs Alex Keudell (4-3, 2.10), Jake Reed (3-2, 2.47) and Brando Tessar (4-0, 3.35).
Cardinal Win in Seattle
• No. 6-ranked Stanford (19-7, 4-5 Pac-12) won a hard fought series at Washington (W 5-2, L 4-6, W 8-6) to get back on track after dropping all three in Arizona the previous weekend. In the opener, Mark Appel (4-1) pitched a four-hitter for his third complete game, at one point retiring 15 in a row. On Saturday, the Huskies evened the series after Brett Mooneyham (5-2) lost for the second-straight start, giving up a season-high five runs over 5.2 innings--his shortest outing of the year. In a wild rubber game, Stanford scored twice in the ninth on a interference at the plate and double steal of home to win 8-6. The victory made a winner out of Stephen Piscotty (2-0) for the second time on the week. Piscotty led UW tie it in the eighth, before pitching a scoreless ninth. Eric Smith took over the team lead in average (.345) and Austin Wilson took over the team lead in RBIs (26).
APPEL (AFTER THURSDAY): http://youtu.be/1bir3ussGA4
MARQUESS (AFTER SATURDAY): http://youtu.be/v4K2FR8HTAo
Wild Win over Saint Mary’s
• Danny Diekroeger’s pinch hit one-out RBI single in the 12th finished off a wild night, as No. 6-ranked Stanford (17-6) defeated Saint Mary’s 9-8 in 12 innings, after trailing 8-3 in the ninth inning. The game also saw third baseman Stephen Piscotty pitch twice. Brian Ragira’s two-run double, followed by Austin Wilson’s two-run single completed the five-run ninth and sent it into extra innings at 8-8. Piscotty had gotten the final two outs in the eighth, and after Garrett Hughes’ perfect ninth inning, was sent back out there in the 10th (after Hughes was pinch-hit for). Piscotty secured another 3.0 shutout innings for the win. Piscotty struck out three and retired seven in a row.
D.DIEKROEGER (AFTER MONDAY): http://youtu.be/HuO6eVrWmQo
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. John Mayberry, Jr. is slated to start at first for the Phillies; Sam Fuld is a returning starter for the Rays. Astros shortstop Jed Lowrie, 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.
Game-Winners
• Stanford enters the week with five wins in its last at-bat following two more last week. On Sunday an interference call at home followed by a double steal gave Stanford a 9-8 victory at Washington. 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.
Settling in on Defense
• After struggling defensively, 3B Stephen Piscotty and 2B Kenny Diekroeger have settled in at their respective positions. Piscotty has committed just three errors over the last 22 games, after four in his first four, and Diekroeger has not committed an error over his last 16 games since March 3.