After getting swept by the Cal State Fullerton Titans
last weekend, the Cardinal were in dire need of some victories as they
returned home to take on Fresno State. Unfortunately, the weather
proved to be Stanford's biggest foe for much of the weekend as rain
completely washed out Friday's scheduled contest. The clubs then
managed just four innings of play on Saturday afternoon before the
skies opened. Sunday, however, was a different story.
The Cardinal opened today with a 6-1 lead at the start of the fifth
inning thanks to some early offense and solid pitching from Nolan Gallagher on the soggy Saturday at Sunken Diamond. Jeff Inman
picked up right where Gallagher left off to start the fifth as the
freshman finished the contest with five quality innings of work to
record his first collegiate victory. Meanwhile, the offense kept
things going with three more runs to post a convincing 9-2 win.
Inman scattered six hits during his long relief outing with his only
run allowed coming with two outs in the top of the ninth inning.
The Bakersfield native, with his trademark big fastball and solid
off-speed pitches, displayed excellent control with no walks. He
also managed five strikeouts with a single punchout coming in every
inning he worked.
Gallagher got the starting call on Saturday and was short-changed a win
thanks to the rain that forced the contest to be resumed Sunday
afternoon. After getting rocked at Fullerton last weekend (3 IP,
8 H, 7 R), Gallagher rebounded nicely against the Bulldogs. In
four innings, the junior yielded one run on four hits with just one
walk and four strikeouts. Gallagher was especially effective in
the top of the fourth inning when he managed to pitch out of a runners
at 1st and 3rd, no out jam. He responded to the challenge by
inducing a pop-out of the next hitter before back-to-back
strikeouts.
Offensively, Stanford had little difficulties against Fresno starter
Brandon Miller tagging the left-hander for six runs in the first three
innings on Saturday. In the first, Austin Yount drove home a run
with a two-out single while another run scored on an error. The
Cardinal then opened things up in the third with a pair of freshman
doing most of the damage. With two outs and a runner on second,
rookie shortstop Adam Gaylord singled driving home a run. After
Cord Phelps walked, frosh Toby Gerhart stepped to the plate and blasted
an opposite-field, three-run homer to right field for a 6-1 lead.
Later in the contest (on Sunday), Phelps scored a run after tripling
before coming home on an error. Then in the seventh, an RBI
double from Gaylord brought home yet another Cardinal score.
The second game on Sunday afternoon was a much tighter affair as
Stanford scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to snap a
tie en route to a 6-4 victory. Back-to-back one-out singles from
pinch-hitters Brent Milleville and Ryan Seawell started the rally
putting runners on first and second. Brian Juhl was up next and
the catcher bounced a ball up the middle that shortstop Todd Sandell
was unable to come up with. Second baseman Erik Wetzel though was
able to get the baseball and make a throw over to third base to try to
get Seawell, but was late in his attempt. Then with Milleville
breaking for home, third baseman Tommy Mendonca's throw hit Milleville
which allowed both runners to score.
The two-run cushion was all Stanford needed as David Stringer come on
to start the seventh and shut down the Fresno hitters for his first
save of the year. Stringer allowed just two baserunners : a
two-out double in the seventh and a one-out single in the ninth.
The junior struck out three including a punchout of Steve Detwiler, who
was representing the potential tying run, to end the game and complete
the sweep.
Stanford scored their first four runs of the game in the bottom of the
first on the strength of six singles. With two on and two down,
Joey August reached on an infield single to first base as pitcher
Brandon Burke was late covering the bag on the ground ball.
Gerhart, who was at third at the start of the play, scored
easily. But Michael Taylor, who was at second, never stopped as
he rounded third base and scored ahead of the throw from the napping
pitcher.
Juhl and Gaylord scored runs later in the frame with clutch two-out
hits.
BOXSCORE
(Game Two)
Fresno State 0 0 0 0 4
0 0 0 0 - 4 13 2
Stanford 4 0 0 0 0 2 0
0 X - 6 9 1
Fresno
State POS AB
R H RBI BB SO
Loren Storey
LF 5 1 3
0 0 1
Brian Lapin
CF 5 1 2
2 0 0
Steve Susdorf 1B
5 0 2 0
0 0
Ozzie Lewis RF 4
0 1 1 0 0
Tommy Mendonca 3B 4 0 1
0 0 2
Erik Wetzel
2B 4 0 1
0 0 0
Todd Sandell SS
4 1 2 0
0 0
Steve Detwiler DH
3 0 0 1
0 2
Ryan Overland C
4 1 1 0
0 0
E: Mendonca, Sandell
2B: Sandell 2, Susdorf, Overland
SB: Lapin
IP H R ER BB SO
Brandon Burke
5.0 7 4 4 0
2
Justin Wilson (L) 1.1 2 2
0 0 2
Clayton Allison 1.2 0
0 0 0 3
Stanford
POS AB R H RBI BB
SO AVG
Sean Ratliff
CF 4 0 0
0 0 2 .292
Toby Gerhart
LF 4 1 1
0 0 0 .286
Michael Taylor RF 4 1
1 0 0 0 .250
Austin Yount 2B 3 0 1
0 0 0 .350
J.J. Jelmini
2B 1 0 0
0 0 1 .000
Joey August
1B 2 1 1
1 0 0 .300
Brent Milleville PH/1B 2 1
1 0 0 1 .167
Brendan Domaracki DH 2
1 1 0 0 0
.167
Ryan Seawell PH/DH
2 1 1 0
0 1 .167
Brian
Juhl
C 3 0 1
1 0 0 .389
Adam Gaylord
SS 3 0 1
1 0 1 .294
Cord Phelps
3B 3 0 0
0 0 1 .333
E: Yount
CS: Yount
IP H R ER BB
SO ERA
Jeremy Bleich
4.1 8 4 3 0
1 6.10
Max Fearnow (W) 1.2 3
0 0 0 2 2.08
David Stringer (S) 3.0 2 0
0 0 2 4.50
WP: Max Fearnow (1-1)
LP: Justin Wilson (1-1)
S: David Stringer (1)
Records: Stanford (2-3), Fresno State (1-5)
NOTES
* Some notable statistics from the first game of the series:
- Toby Gerhart, LF: 2-for-5, HR, 3 RBI
- Sean Ratliff, CF: 2-for-5
- Brian Juhl, C: 2-for-4
- Austin Yount, 2B: 2-for-4, RBI
- Adam Gaylord, SS: 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
- Nolan Gallagher, RHP: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
- Jeff Inman, RHP: 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO
* All nine runs scored by Stanford in the first game and the first four
runs of game #2 came with two outs in the inning.
* Jeremy Bleich got the start in game two and initially threw well with
four scoreless innings. Bleich managed to scatter five hits in
those four innings with no walks and a strikeout. The sophomore
would run into some trouble in the fifth though as a double, a
sacrifice fly, an error, and a pair of singles knocked the southpaw out
of the game. The error, the only miscue in the field for Stanford
during the game, was a fielding mishap at second from Yount and opened
the door for the big inning. Bleich left the contest with
Stanford up 4-3 and one runner on base. Max Fearnow came on in
relief and promptly allowed two singles which tied the game before
setting down the next two hitters retiring the side. Fearnow also
worked a scoreless top of the sixth and was officially credited with
the victory.
* Only five pitchers saw action on the mound for the Cardinal in this
rain-shortened two-game series. It was no surprise that Fearnow
and Stringer were the relievers on the hill on Sunday as the duo is
expected to log key innings out of the bullpen this season.
Although Fearnow did allow the two singles at the beginning of his
outing, they did combine for 4 2/3 scoreless innings of work - a
refreshing change from the horrific numbers put up by the bullpen last
weekend in Fullerton.
* All total, the pitching staff allowed five earned runs in the two
games for a 2.50 team ERA. Meanwhile, the hitters compiled a .296
batting average (21-for-71).
* Brent Milleville and Ryan Seawell made their 2007 debuts this weekend
after missing the Fullerton series with injuries. Both started in
the first game with Milleville at first base and Seawell at DH and each
finished 0-for-4. Milleville struck out three times while Seawell
did manage one walk. With a right-hander on the mound in game
two, Mark Marquess went to a pair of left-handed hitters at first base
(Joey August) and DH (Brendan Domaracki). But once Fresno State
put left-handed reliever Justin Wilson into the contest, Marquess
lifted his starters for Milleville and Seawell in the pivotal bottom of
the sixth. The duo both singled in the frame to help put Stanford
ahead.
* Adam Sorgi, who continues to recover from his serious shoulder
injury, did not play all weekend. Jason Castro also continues to
recover from an injury (hand), but is expected to return within the
next few weeks during the non-conference portion of the schedule.
* August made his first career start at first base when he got the nod
for game two of the series. August, who played exclusively corner
outfield last season, also saw action at first late in game #1.
The sophomore has been working out at the position (in addition to
outfield) since Castro went down with an injury last month.
August played a very capable first base during games this weekend and
this added versatility gives Marquess another option at the position
(along with Castro, Milleville, Grant Escue, and Randy Molina).
* Gaylord has started all five games this season at shortstop.
The freshman has held his own at the plate recording a .294 batting
average (5-for-17) with one double and three RBI. He hit in the
#8 spot in the batting order in both games this weekend. In
addition, Gaylord has committed just one error thus far.
* Juhl is the early leader in batting average as the junior is hitting
an impressive .389 (7-for-18) with a pair of RBI.
* With a lefty on the mound in the first game, Gerhart made his first
career appearance in the leadoff spot in the batting order. The
freshman made an immediate impact on the game with a single in the
second inning and his three-run homer in the third. In the first,
Gerhart was robbed of an extra-base hit when right fielder Ozzie Lewis
made a spectacular catch on a fly ball as he crashed into the fence.
* Gallagher displayed nice velocity on Saturday reaching 90 and 91
M.P.H. with his fastball.
* The scheduled third game of this series will now be played on
Wednesday, April 25th at Sunken Diamond (time TBA).
ON DECK
Stanford will host Rikkyo University of Japan in an exhibition
game at Sunken Diamond on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch is
scheduled for 2:00 P.M. Admission is free to the public.
Expect a number of pitchers to see brief action on the mound during the
contest.
Stanford's next official games will come at 7th ranked Texas over the
weekend. The Longhorns and Cardinal will play on Friday at 12:30
P.M. (PST) and Saturday and Sunday at 11:00 A.M. (PST). The
entire series will be played in Round Rock with Disch-Falk Field
currently undergoing renovations. Texas dropped two-of-three
games to host Long Beach State this weekend.
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