Apparently all the Stanford hitters needed was one trip
through the lineup. After shutting out the Cardinal over
the first two innings, Fullerton starter Jeff Housman and two
relievers were lit up for 15 runs over the next three frames en
route to a 17-1 pasting this afternoon at Sunken Diamond.
Ryan Garko and Jason Cooper each went 4-for-4 while Brian Hall
knocked in a career-high six runs in the 21-hit Stanford
offensive attack.
The Titans got on the board first off Stanford starter Tim
Cunningham in the top of the first inning. Consecutive
singles and a hit batsman loaded the bases with none out, but
Cunningham escaped with minimal damage yielding only a sacrifice
fly and then inducing Geoff Comfort to hit into an inning-ending
double play. This was probably the turning point in the
game as the Titans had a golden opportunity to take an early big
lead, but were only able to put across one run. Cunningham
then settled down tossing five shutout innings after his
struggles in the first frame. His final line had him giving
up five hits, one run, one walk, and three strikeouts. Drew
Ehrlich closed the game out tossing the final three innings
without giving up a run while striking out five.
As for the Stanford offense. It all started in the
bottom of third inning with a three spot with the help of some
shady Fullerton defense. Andy Topham began the inning with
a single and then the Cardinal were given a gift one batter later
on an error by the pitcher Housman. Sam Fuld was at the
plate and he hit a roller up the middle to which Housman came up
too early on the ball and squirted threw his legs and everybody
was safe. Stanford would take advantage of this miscue as
after Ryan Garko was hit by the pitch, Jason Cooper drove home
two runs with a single which was followed by a sacrifice fly to
deep left field by Carlos Quentin. The Cardinal put the
game out of reach in the fourth inning when they put across nine
runs. Every player reached base as 14 hitters came to the
plate in the nine run, nine hit inning. The big hits were a
two-run single by Chris O'Riordan, another two-run single by
Cooper, a three-run bases clearing double by Brian Hall, and an
RBI double from Scott Dragicevich. When the dust had
settled, the scoreboard showed the Cardinal ahead 12-1.
But Stanford wasn't done. In the bottom of the fifth,
Garko doubled and Cooper singled and with two out, Brian Hall
lofted a very high fly ball that just cleared the fence in left
for a three-run homer which increased Stanford's lead to
15-1. Ryan Garko accounted for the Cardinal's 16th run of
the game when he belted one over the fence in the sixth inning
while Stanford's final run came in the eighth on a Garko RBI
single bringing home Jonny Ash.
Other offensive stars this afternoon included Arik VanZandt
(3-for-4, 2 doubles), Scott Dragicevich (2-for-4, double), and
Andy Topham (2-for-4). Three players made their Stanford
debut this afternoon. Chris Carter, Donny Lucy, and Danny
Putnam all entered the game late with neither getting a hit.
Game Notes :
* The 16 run loss by the Titans was their worst in school
history.
* Over the first two games, Stanford pitchers have combined to
strike out 22 Fullerton hitters while only walking two.
* It got so bad today for Fullerton that they brought in
reserve infielder Mike Martinez to pitch the final inning.
Martinez gave up two hits and one run. It should be noted
though that Martinez was not without any experience as he was a
successful pitcher in high school.
Cal State Fullerton 1 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1
7 3
Stanford
0 0 3 9 3 1 0 1 x - 17
21 0
The series concludes tomorrow at 1pm at Sunken Diamond.
Stanford has not announced a starting pitcher while the Titans
are scheduled to start Darric Merrell (8-4, 2.95 ERA in 2001).