Stanford Set To Open Six-Game Homestand
After dropping two of three at No. 12
Cal State Fullerton, Stanford returns to Sunken Diamond for a six-game homestand
that runs through February 15. The Cardinal plays Division II Cal State Los
Angeles on Tuesday at 2 p.m. before Fresno State comes to The Farm for a
three-game weekend set. The Cardinal and the Bulldogs meet on Friday at 7 p.m.
and Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. This weekend's pitching matchups are as
follows: Fri. - Jeff Weaver (FSU; 1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Kyle Peterson (SU; 1-0,
6.55 ERA) Sat. - Adam Pettyjohn (FSU; 0-1, 9.82 ERA) vs. Jeff Austin (SU; 2-0,
3.75 ERA) Sun. - Kirk Griffin (FSU; 0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Chad Hutchinson (SU; 0-0,
5.40 ERA).
THE RECORDS
Stanford is 3-2 overall following a three-game series at Cal State
Fullerton. The Titans won 6-5 on Friday and 9-5 on Sunday, while Stanford posted
a 15- 5 victory on Saturday. Cal State Los Angeles is 2-4, not including
Monday's game at San Jose State. The Golden Eagles split a doubleheader at Cal
State Hayward on Saturday, losing the opener 2-0 and winning the nightcap 8-6.
Fresno State is 2-1 following its season-opening series against Long Beach
State. The Bulldogs won 7-2 on Friday and 7-6 on Sunday, but fell 6-3 on
Saturday.
THE RANKINGS
Stanford is ranked No.1 by Baseball America and No. 15 by
Collegiate Baseball in the 1997 preseason polls. A high preseason ranking by
Baseball America is nothing new for Stanford. The Cardinal was ranked No. 1
heading into the 1995 campaign, and No. 2 in 1996. Fresno State is ranked No. 22
by Collegiate Base-ball. Cal State Los Angeles is not ranked.
THE COACH
Mark Marquess reached the career 800-win milestone with a 9-2 win
over California on May 3, 1996 at Sunken Diamond. Marquess, who was inducted
into the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in January of 1997, has a
811-435-4 career mark (.650), including a 331-245 (.575) record against Six Pac
competition. The 1969 Stanford graduate has been named NCAA Coach of the Year
three times (1985, 1987 and 1988), Pac-10 South Coach of the Year five times
(1983, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1994) and also led the United States to the gold medal
at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Cal State Los Angeles head
coach John Herbold, a Stanford graduate, is 280-439 (.389) in his 14th year at
CSLA and 808-677 (.544) in his 43rd year overall. Fresno State's Bob Bennett is
1086-600 (.644) in his 29th season.
THE SERIES
Stanford is 8-0 against Cal State Los Angeles dating back to 1977.
The Cardinal defeated the Golden Eagles 6-2 on February 5th of last season,
behind six strong innings from then-freshman pitcher Jeff Austin (Kingwood,
TX/Kingwood HS). Austin allowed just three hits and one earned run over 6.0
innings, while the Cardinal offense took advantage of seven Golden Eagles
errors. The Cardinal is 55-42 against Fresno State in the Mark Marquess era,
after winning two of the three at Beiden Field on February 16-18 of last season.
The Bulldogs won the series opener 16-1 behind a complete game four-hitter by
1996 U.S. Olympian Jeff Weaver. Stanford bounced back with a 6-0 win on
Saturday, as Jeff Austin and Tom Reimers combined on a five-hit shutout.
Stanford then captured Sunday's getaway game 9-5 behind three hits and two RBI
by Cale Carter.
CARDINAL DROPS TWO OF THREE AT FULLERTON
Stanford moved to 3-2 on the young
season after dropping two of three to No. 12 Cal State Fullerton at Titan Field.
Fullerton won the series opener 6-5 on Friday night on C.J. Ankrum's two-out,
two-strike RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Titans led 5-2
after six, but Stanford tied it up with two in the seventh and one in the ninth.
Sophomore Tony Schrager (Omaha, NE/Westside HS/Yale University) led Stanford
with two hits and two runs scored. Saturday was all Stanford. The Cardinal led
13-3 after four innings en route to an easy 15-5 win. Junior Joe Kilburg (Bay
Village, OH/Bay Village HS) went 4-for-6 with five RBI, including a homer and
two doubles, while junior Jay Pecci (Novato, CA/San Marin HS) went 3-for-4 with
a homer, three runs scored and two RBI. Sophomore Jeff Austin improved to 2-0 by
working the first 7.0 innings. Freshman John Gall (Portola Valley, CA/St.
Francis HS) went 5-for-5 with a homer on Sunday, but it wsn't enough as
Fullerton pulled out a 9-5 win. The Titans scored four in the bottom of the
fifth to erase a 5-4 deficit and take control.
1996 AT A GLANCE
Stanford finished the season 41-19 overall and 19-11 in the
Six Pac, good for second place. The Cardinal wrapped up the campaign by going
2-2 at the NCAA West Regionals. Stanford opened the tournament with a 10-5 win
over Cal State Northridge and an 8-6 victory over Mississippi State before
falling to Florida State 5-4 and Cal State Northridge 4-3. The season was
highlighted by an 18-game winning streak, which ran from Tuesday, April
16-Friday, May 24. The Cardinal also compiled a 26-7 record at Sunken Diamond,
including 20 wins in its last 24 tries. The 41 wins was the most for Stanford
since a 59-12 record in 1990.
FOUR NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA SQUADS
Junior right-hander Kyle Peterson
added two more honors to its lengthy resume when he was selected Second Team
Preseason All-American by Baseball America and Third Team by Collegiate
Baseball. Peterson was joined on Baseball America's Second Team by the other two
members of the Cardinal's starting rotation - sophomores Jeff Austin and Chad
Hutchinson. Rounding out the group is center fielder Jody Gerut, a Third Team
selection by Baseball America. Stanford is the only school to have four players
selected to Baseball America's Preseason All-America squads.
CARDINAL RACKS UP 1996 POSTSEASON HONORS
Senior catcher A.J. Hinch further
wrote his name into Stanford's baseball record book when he became the first
player in school history to win Six Pac Player of the Year honors twice. He also
became only the second player in conference history to win the award twice,
along with Arizona's Torey Lovullo (1986-1987). Hinch was joined on the
All-Pac-10 Team by teammates Brian Dallimore, Joe Kilburg and Kyle Peterson. The
selection was the second for Peterson and the first for Dallimore and
Kilburg. Hinch was also named First Team All-America by the Smith Super Team and
the Coaches Association and Second Team All-America by both Collegiate Baseball
and Baseball America and First Team All-District VIII, while Jeff Austin and
Chad Hutchinson were First Team Freshman All-Americans and Jody Gerut an
Honorable Mention All-Freshman selection, also according to Collegiate Baseball.
Peterson was named to the Smith Super Team's Second Team, while Dallimore and
Hutchinson were both Honorable Mention selec-tions. Stanford also had two
players - second baseman Dallimore and designated hitter Jon Schaeffer -
selected to the West Region All-Tournament Team. Stanford had a conference-high
six players selected to the Pac-10 All-Academic Team, with Cale Carter, Luke
Quaccia (Oakdale, CA/Modsto JC/Oakldale HS) and Brendan Sullivan being named to
the first team, Jay Pecci (Novato, CA/San Marin HS) and Eric Sees the second
team and Jon Schaeffer honorable mention.
PETERSON CLOSES IN ON HISTORY
In just two seasons, Kyle Peterson has already
established himself as one of the best pitchers in Stanford history. The
Elkhorn, Nebraska native is 25-6 with a 3.43 ERA, and ranks on two of Stanford's
career top 10 lists and four single season top 10 lists. To put it in
perspective, Peterson is tied with the Baltimore Orioles' Mike Mussina (1988-90)
on Stanford's all-time win list. The junior is currently tied for seventh in
Stanford history in career wins, which puts him 12 behind all-time leader Jeff
Ballard (1982-85) and 11 behind second place Jack McDowell (1985-87). Peterson
burst onto the scene in 1995 with one of the best ever single season pitching
performaces by a freshman. Peterson finished his first campaign with a 14-1 mark
and a 2.96 ERA, which earned him National Feshman of the Year, First Team
All-American and Pac-10 Co-Pitcher of the Year Honors. He followed up his frosh
cam-paign by going 10-5 last season en route to All-Pac-10 and Second Team
All-American honors. In two starts this season, Peterson is 1-0 with a 6.55 ERA
in 11.0 innings of work.
HUTCHINSON CONCLUDES A BANNER 1996
Sophomore right-hander/quarter-back Chad
Hutchinson has a tough act to follow. In 1996, Hutchinson was named a Freshman
All-American on the diamond after going 7-2 with a 3.51 ERA. He was twice named
Pac-10 Player of the Week, and was 5-0 with a 3.54 ERA in conference action. He
followed that up by leading the Stanford football team to a 7-5 mark in 1996,
including an MVP performance in a 38-0 win over Michigan State at the Norwest
Sun Bowl. Hutchinson started all 12 games at quarterback for Tyrone Willingham's
squad and completed 190-of-312 passes for 2,134 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Hutchinson has appeared in two games this season, and is 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in
5.0 innings. The Del Mar, California native came to The Farm as one of the top
ranked recruits in the country. Hutchinson, who was drafted in the first round
of the June 1996 Amateur Draft by the Atlanta Braves (26th pick overall), turned
down a $1.5-million dollar offer from the Braves in order to play baseball and
football on The Farm.
KILBURG AIMS FOR ENCORE PERFORMANCE
Junior right fielder Joe Kilburg joins Kyle
Peterson as Stanford's other returning All-Pac-10 selection. Kilburg hit safely
in 30 of the Cardinal's final 35 games to raise his average from .308 to .358.
The Cardinal's leadoff man finished the season ranked first on the squad in hits
(87) and stolen bases (23) and second in on-base percentage (.434). Kilburg also
lifted himself into the spotlight with a four-day power spree. After hitting
just one home run in his first 341 career at-bats, he hit four in the span of
just four games and 19 at-bats. Kilburg's hot hitting has continued into 1997.
Kilburg is batting .450 with one homer and eight RBI in the No. 2 spot in the
order behind transfer Tony Schrager. In Saturday night's 15-5 win over Cal State
Fullerton, Kilburg homered and doubled twice en route to a 4-for-6, five-RBI
performance.
SCHRAGER MAKING A GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION
Sophomore second baseman Tony
Schrager, who transfered to Stanford from Yale University over the summer, has
quickly developed as one of the Cardinal's top offensive threats. The Cardinal's
leadoff man has reached base to start the first inning in each of Stanford's
five games. Schrager enters the week hitting a team-high .529 (9-for-17) with
one homer, three RBI and six walks. He has also scored nine of the Cardinal's 53
runs this season. Against Cal State Fullerton, Schrager went 7-for-10 with five
runs scored and an RBI.
IN SHORT
Here's a quick look at just some of the other Stanford players to
watch in 1997. Jeff Austin - Hard-throwing sophomore leads the team in wins (2)
and innings pitched (12). Chris Clark - Starting left fielder went 4-for-13 in
Fullerton series. Tony Cogan - Sophomore lefty has allowed three hits and no
earned runs in 7.0 innings of work in 1997. Nick Day - Freshman left fielder
comes to Stanford after being named the 1996 Nevada Player of the Year. John
Gall - Went 5-for-5, including his second homer of the year, in 9-5 loss to Cal
State Fullerton on Sunday. Josh Hochgesang -Hit solo homer in second inning of
10-0 win over Saint Mary's on January 27. Jay Pecci -Defensive standout is also
hitting .500 with one homer and three RBI. Luke Quaccia -Starting first baseman
raised his average nearly .200 points over the final two months of the 1996
season. Jeff Rizzo - Freshman infielder was the St. Louis Cardinals' fifth round
pick in the June 1996 Amateur Draft. John Salter - Hit pinch hit two-run homer
in Saturday's 15-5 win over Cal State Fullerton. Jon Schaeffer - Went 3-for-6
with a team-high five RBI against Saint Mary's.
SIX PAC AMONG NATION'S BEST - AGAIN
The Pacific-10 Conference's Southern
Division figures to once again be one of the best in the nation. An astounding
four of Baseball America's top seven teams - No. 1 Stanford, No. 3 USC, No. 5
UCLA and No. 7 Arizona State - are from the Six Pac. In all, five Six Pac teams
are in Baseball America's top 25 (No. 25 California) and all six are in
Collegiate Baseball's Fabulous 40 (No. 2 UCLA, No. 6 USC, No. 12 Arizona State,
No. 15 Stanford, No. 30 California, No. 40 Arizona).
