May 23, 2013
Stanford Cardinal (30-21 14-13 Pac-12)No. 8 UCLA Bruins (38-15 20-7 Pac-12)
May 24 - 7 p.m. (PT) May 25 - 7 p.m. May 26 - 3 p.m.
Sunken Diamond (4,000) Stanford, Calif.
Game Notes
| Rankings | Pac-12 StandingsTelevision The entire series will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks with Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play), Paul Sunderland (play-by-play) and J.T. Snow (color) on the callRadio Stanford's KZSU student-radio broadcast will be available via GoStanford.com
Live Stats Live in-game statistics will be provided via GoStanford.com
Polls Stanford (RV - NCBWA, NR - BA, NR - CB, RV - USA Today)
UCLA (11th - NCBWA, 11th - BA, 8th - CB, 11th - USA Today)
On the Web GoStanford.com UCLAbruins.com Pac-12.com
Social Hour facebook.com/StanfordBaseball @StanfordBSB #goStanford #farmBall
Tickets 1.800.STANFORD GoStanford.com
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday RHP Mark Appel (9-4, 2.20) vs. RHP Adam Plutko (7-2, 2.60)
Saturday LHP John Hochstatter (3-3, 3.65) vs. RHP Nick Vander Tuig (10-3, 1.96)
Sunday TBD vs. LHP Grant Watson (6-3, 3.38)
The Farm Report Winners of four straight heading into the weekend, Stanford will be fighting for a spot in the NCAA Championship field when it plays host to UCLA (May 24-26) at Sunken Diamond. The entire series will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks.
Stanford found an answer for a six-game skid earlier this month - the program's longest since 2009 - with a three-game sweep at rival Cal and a midweek home win over Pacific. Four of Stanford's defeats during its six-game losing streak came at the hands of top-10 opponents.
A consensus preseason top-10 squad and the Pac-12 coaches' favorite to win the league title, the Cardinal is unranked in any of the five major national polls for the second time on the season. Stanford is receiving votes in both the NCBWA and USA Today polls.
Senior RHP Mark Appel leads the league and ranks fourth in the NCAA with 121 strikeouts. Appel has allowed only one earned run this season past the fifth inning.
Appel is third among active NCAA pitchers with 369.2 innings pitched and second with 363 career strikeouts. Appel is tied for fourth with 27 victories.
Following an 11-punchout outing in his start at Cal, Appel's strikeout total is tied for first in program history alongside Justin Wayne (1998-2000) and Kyle Peterson (1995-97), each of whom fanned 363 in their respective careers.
Here's how the 2013 looks when broken down by streaks: Lost two of three at Rice on opening weekend, won nine straight, lost seven of six, won 12 of 16, lost three straight, won three straight, lost six straight, won four straight.
With a career record of 1,493-780-7 (.656), Stanford head coach Mark Marquess is seven wins away from joining Augie Garrido (Texas), Gene Stephenson (Wichita State) and Mike Martin (Florida) as the only active Division I head coaches with at least 1,500 career wins.
Stanford's bullpen has thrown 214.0 innings (4.19 innings per game), and has allowed two or more earned runs in only 17 contests. No Cardinal starting pitcher has allowed more than five earned runs in a single outing.
Through 51 games, Stanford has employed 47 different starting lineups.
Junior 1B Brian Ragira is tied among Pac-12 sluggers with eight home runs. Ragira has had at least one hit in 20 of the last 23 games and has reached base in each of the last 14 contests. Junior OF Austin Wilson has reached base safely in each of the last 13 games.
The Cardinal women's tennis team, which claimed its 17th NCAA title earlier this week, will throw out the first pitch prior to Friday night's game.
Stanford will honor its senior class - Mark Appel, Sahil Bloom, Garrett Hughes, Dean McArdle and Justin Ringo - prior to its final regular-season home contest on Sunday.
Game Notes for complete notes package
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