Stanford Leads Six Pac By 3.5 Games
Second-ranked Stanford University returns to Sunken Diamond for the first time
since March 24 when it hosts No. 16 Arizona State in a three-game weekend set at
Sunken Diamond. The Cardinal are currently 13-2 in conference play, and lead
Arizona (11-7) by three-and-a-half game with 15 to play. Prior to hosting the
Sun Devils, Stanford wraps up its seven-game road swing with a Tuesday night
game at Santa Clara. Stanford has won 16 of its last 18 games overall, and 22 of
its last 24 conference games dating back to last season. This weekıs probable
starting pitching matchups: Tues. - Josh Koons (STAN; 2-2, 3.33) vs. TBA (SCU)
Fri. - Ryan Mills (ASU; 3-2, 3.26) vs. Kyle Peterson (STAN; 6-1, 4.10) Sat. -
Phill Lowery (ASU; 2-2, 4.02) vs. Chad Hutchinson (STAN; 3-1, 5.81) Sun. - Jeff
Cermak (ASU; 4-2, 5.96) vs. Brent Hoard (STAN; 7-1, 4.32)
THE RECORDS:
Stanford is 26-8 overall and 13-2 in the Six Pac following its
first three-game sweep at USC since 1988. The Cardinal also swept the season
series against the Trojans for the first time since 1988. Stanford defeated USC
15-9 on Friday, 4-2 on Saturday and 10-3 on Sunday. Santa Clara is 16-15 overall
and 5-3 in the West Coast Conference after winning three of four at home against
San Diego over the weekend (W 8-3, W 3-2, L 4-2, W 3-2). Arizona State is 24-16
overall and 9-12 in the Six Pac, after taking two of three from then-No. 2 UCLA
in Tempe. UCLA won 5- 2 on Friday, but ASU rebounded to win 4-3 on Saturday and
15-14 on Sunday.
THE RANKINGS:
Stanford is ranked No.2 by both Baseball America and Collegiate
Baseball. Arizona State is ranked No. 16 by Baseball America and No. 21 by
Colle-giate Baseball. Santa Clara is not ranked.
THE COACH:
Mark Marquess reached the career 800-win milestone with a 9-2 victory
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
834-441-4 career mark (.654), including a 344-247 (.582) 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. Marquess is also one of only
five active head coaches who have both played and coached in the College World
Series. Marquess played for the Cardinal in 1967, and coached his way to Omaha
in 1982, 83, 85, 87, 88, 90 and 95. John Oldham is 408-329 (.652) in his
13th season at Santa Clara, while Pat Murphy is 93-58 (.616) in his third year
at Arizona State.
THE SERIES:
Arizona State leads the all-time series with Stanford 68-63,
including a 56-55 mark in Six Pac contests. The Cardinal lead the 1997 series
after taking two out of three at Packard Stadium on Mar. 7-9. Stanford opened
the series by winning 11-9 and 10-4 in 10 innings, but the Sun Devils won the
series finale 12-8. Stanford is 56-24-1 against Santa Clara since Mark Marquess
took over in 1977. The Cardinal took two out of three from the Broncos on Feb.
15-17 of this season (W 9-8 at Stanford, L 6-5 in 10 innings at Santa Clara, W
8-6 at Stanford).
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW:
Game #28 - Stanford 15, USC 9 (April 4 @ Dedeaux Field):
Stanford took a 12-0 lead after five innings, and never looked back en route to
its fourth straight win over the Trojans. Trojan ace Randy Flores allowed 10
runs and nine hits in just 4.1 innings, as the Cardinal jumped out of the box
early. Sophomore Josh Hochgesang (Fullerton, CA/Sunny Hills HS) hit his
team-leading eighth home of the year, while senior Chris Clark (Cohoes,
NY/Albany Academy) added four RBI. Junior right-hander Kyle Peterson (Elkhorn,
NE )Creighton Prep HS) worked 8.0 innings to improve to 5-1, and became just the
fourth Cardinal pitcher to record 30 career wins (Lee Plemel, Jack McDowell and
Jeff Ballard). Game #29 - Stanford 4, USC 2 (April 5 @ Dedeaux Field): Sophomore
right-hander Chad Hutchinson (Del Mar, CA/Torry Pines HS) worked 7.0 scoreless
innings as Stanford held off a late Trojan rally for the win. Hutchinson, who
retired 12 in a row at one point, allowed just three hits in improving to 3-1,
while walking one and striking out nine. Senior Luke Quaccia (Oakldle,
CA/Modesto JC) and freshman Edmund Muth (Long Beach, CA/St. John Bosco HS) each
had three hits for the winners. The Trojans scored two in the ninth, but
sophomore Tony Cogan (Highland Park, IL/Highland Park HS) put out the fire to
pick up his second save. Game #30 - Stanford 10, USC 3 (April 6 @ Dedeaux
Field): Junior Jon Schaefferıs (Tarzana, CA/Harvard-Westlake HS) three-run homer
keyed a seven-run third inning that helped Stanford win going away. The sweep by
Stanford was the first by a visiting team at USCıs Dedeaux Field since Arizona
State did it in 1993. Freshman John Gall (Portola Valley, CA/St. Francis HS) and
Quaccia each had three hits apiece for Stanford, while sophomore Brent Hoard
(Los Gatos, CA/Bellarmine Prep HS) picked up the win to improve to 7-1.
AUSTIN, GERUT INVITED TO TRY OUT FOR TEAM USA:
Sophomores Jeff Austin (Kingwood,
TX/Kingwood TX) and Jody Gerut (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook HS) are among 21
players who have been invited to participate at the 1997 USA Baseball National
Team Summer Camp. Forty players in total will be invited to the camp, which
begins June 4. Head coach Bob Milano of California will pick 24 of those players
to participate in a 25-game national tour in mid-June and the International
Baseball Associationıs XIII Intercontinental Cup in Barcelona, Spain. Gerut
previously played for the 1995 Junior National Team that won the gold at the
World Junior Cham-pionships, while Austin participated in the USA Baseball
National Team Trials in October of 1995.
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 Americaıs
Second Team by the two other Cardinal hurlers - sophomores Jeff Austin
(Kingwood, TX/Kingwood HS) and Chad Hutchinson (Del Mar, CA/Torrey Pines HS).
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 Americaıs Preseason All-America squads.
PETERSON CLOSES IN ON HISTORY:
In just two-plus seasons, Kyle Peterson has
already established himself as one of the best pitchers in Stanford history. And
on Friday, February 7 against Fresno State, Peterson showed why. The junior
right-hander threw a complete game four-hitter while striking out 17 and walking
none in the Cardinalıs 6-1 win. The 17 strikeouts is the most by a Cardinal
since Steve Dunning fanned 18 in a game in 1970. For the effort, Peterson was
named as one of Collegiate Baseballıs National Players of the Week. He was also
later named Pac-10 Player of the Week on Mar. 4 after hurling a six-hit shutout
against USC. The Elkhorn, Nebraska native is 30-7 with a 3.45 ERA, and ranks on
four of Stanfordıs career top 10 lists (innings pitched, wins, winning
percentage and strikeouts) and four single season top 10 lists (wins, winning
percentage, innings pitched and strikeouts). To put it in perspec-tive, Peterson
has already passed the Baltimore Oriolesı Mike Mussina (25; 1988-90) on
Stanfordıs all-time win list. The junior is fourth in Stanford history with 30
career wins, which puts him seven behind all-time leader Jeff Ballard (1982-85)
and five behind second place Jack McDowell (1985-87). He is also fifth on the
career strikeout list with 291, and is just 46 behind all-time leader McDowell.
HUTCHINSON CONCLUDES A BANNER 1996:
Sophomore right-hander/ quarterback 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 confer-ence 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 Willinghamıs
squad and completed 190-of-312 passes for 2,134 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Hutchinson has appeared in nine games this season, and is 3-1 with a 5.81 ERA in
52.2 innings. In his best outing of the year, Hutchinson worked 7.0 scoreless
innings and allowed just three hits in Saturdayıs 4-2 win over USC. 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 Stanfordıs other returning All-Pac-10 selection. Kilburg hit safely
in 30 of the Cardinalıs final 35 games of 1996 to raise his average
Overall Record: 26-8, Conference Record: 13-2
Home: 15-3, Away: 13-5, Neutral: 0-0
Day Games: 18-5, Night Games: 8-3
On Grass: 26-8, On Turf: 0-0
vs. Ranked Opponents: 11-4
On Television: 3-0
January: 2-1, February: 11-5, March: 10-2, April: 3-0, May: 0-0, June: 0-0
Monday: 3-0, Tuesday: 5-0, Wednesday: 0-0, Thursday: 1-0, Friday: 4-3, Saturday: 7-2, Sunday: 6-3
1-run games: 4-3 from .308 to .358.
The Cardinalıs 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. Kilburgıs hot hitting has
continued into 1997. Kilburg is batting .373 (53-for-142) with
five homers and 30 RBI, while splitting time defensively between
second base and right field.
GERUT FOLLOWING UP ON FRESHMAN SUCCESS:
Sophomore center fielder
Jody Gerut continues to emerge as one of both the top offensive
and defensive players in the Pac-10. The center fielder is
hitting .382 in 34 games with four homers and a team-high 44 RBI.
Gerut drove in six runs in a game for the second time in his
career in an 18-4 win at Sacramento State on Feb. 25. In that
contest, Gerut went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a grand
slam. He followed that up with a 3-for-4, five-RBI performance in
a 22-13 slugfest with USC on Sunday, Mar. 2. Gerut earned Pac-10
Player of the Week honors on Mar. 4 for his efforts in the USC
series. A Third Team Preseason All-American selection by Baseball
America, Gerut was an Honorable Mention Freshman All-American
selection by Collegiate Baseball in 1996. On March 28, Gerut was
invited to participate in the 1997 USA Baseball National Team
Camp in June.
IN SHORT:
Hereıs a quick look at just some of the other Stanford
players to watch in 1997. Jeff Austin - Hard-throwing sophomore
has moved to the bullpen, where he has made eight of his 15
appearances. Chris Clark - Hit .220 with one homer in his first
three seasons combined, is hitting .377 with six homers in 1997.
Tony Cogan - Sopho-more closer is the Pac-10ıs ERA leader (1.96).
John Gall - Freshman is fifth on the team in RBI with 32. Brent
Hoard - Sophomore lefty is 3-0 since being moved into the
starting rotation on Mar. 24. Josh Hochgesang -Has career-high
14-game hitting streak dating back to Mar. 2. Edmund Muth -
Freshman right fielder went 7-for-10 in the three wins at USC.
Jay Pecci - Defensive standout is also hitting .342 with three
homers and 19 RBI. Luke Quaccia - Went 7-for-11 in the three-game
sweep at USC. Jon Schaeffer - Homered in three consecutive
at-bats from Feb. 9-11.
OFFENSIVE UPRISING:
As Stanford reaches the halfway point of the
1997 season, it is on a pace to record the highest single season
batting average in school history. The Cardinal enters the week
hitting .347 as a club, which puts it ahead of the .337 mark
established in 1981. All nine Cardinal starters are currently
above the .300 mark. Stanford has already scored 331 runs through
34 games, while the 1996 squad scored 435 in 60 contests. The
single-season record for runs scored of 565 was set in 1985. The
Cardinal has also scored 10 or more runs in 16 of its 34 games,
and has a perfect 14-0 mark in those contests.
