No. 2 UCLA, No. 5 Stanford To Battle For Six Pac Lead
Second-ranked UCLA and
fifth-ranked Stanford will battle for the Pac-10 Southern Division lead this
weekend at Sunken Diamond. The Cardinal (13-5) leads the Bruins (12-6) by one
game with 12 games left to play. The teams will meet again on May 9-11 in Los
Angeles. Prior to the series with the Bruins, Stanford hosts WAC Western
Division leader San Jose State on Tuesday night at Sunken Diamond. Here are this
weekend's probable starting pitching matchups: Fri. - Jim Parque (UCLA; 11-0,
2.27) vs. Kyle Peterson (STAN; 6-2, 3.94) Sat. - Tom Jacquez (UCLA; 8-1, 2.31)
vs. Chad Hutchinson (STAN; 3-2, 6.67) Sun. - Peter Zamora (UCLA; 3-2, 5.46) vs.
Brent Hoard (STAN; 7-2, 4.34)
THE RECORDS
The Cardinal is 27-11 overall and 13-5 in the Six Pac after being
swept by Arizona State over the weekend at Sunken Diamond. The Sun Devils
prevailed 4-3 on Friday, 16-5 on Saturday and 5-3 on Sunday. Stanford won at
Santa Clara 15-4 on Tuesday. San Jose State enters the week 30-14 overall and
15-6 in the Western Athletic Conference. Last week, the Spartans defeated UC
Davis 18-5 on Tuesday and lost two of three at Fresno State on Friday-Sunday (L
1-0, W 2-0, L 10-1). UCLA is 32-10-1 overall and 12-6 in the Six Pac following a
14-3 loss to Long Beach State on Tuesday and a three game home sweep over
Arizona on Friday-Sunday. The Bruins defeated the Wildcats 11-3 on Friday, 13-6
on Saturday and 13-3 on Sunday.
THE RANKINGS
Stanford is ranked No.5 by Baseball America and No.7 by Collegiate
Baseball. UCLA is ranked No. 2 by Baseball America and No. 8 by Collegiate
Baseball. San Jose State is not ranked in either poll.
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. San Jose State's Sam Piraro is
344-265-2 (.565) in his 11th season, and Gary Adams of UCLA is 759-600-7 (.588)
in his 23rd year at UCLA and 947-669- 12 (.585) in his 24th year overall.
THE SERIES
These will be the first meetings of 1997 between Stanford and both
San Jose State and UCLA. The Cardinal is 65-27 all-time against San Jose State,
including a 1-1 mark last season. Both teams won at home last season, with San
Jose State winning 8-6 on Apr. 9 and Stanford prevailing 11-0 on Apr. 23.
Stanford is 160-124 all-time against UCLA, and was 4-2 against the Bruins last
year. UCLA took two of three from Stanford in Los Angeles on Feb. 23-25 (L 6-5,
W 9-1, L 7-5), but the Cardinal rebrounded to sweep the Bruins on Apr. 26-28 at
Sunken Diamond (W 4-0, W 10-8, W 6-4).
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW
Game #35 - Stanford 15, Santa Clara 4 (Apr. 8 @ Buck Shaw
Stadium): Sophomore Jody Gerut (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook HS) had a homer, four
runs scored and four RBI to pace Stanford to the easy win. The Cardinal led 12-0
after two-and-a-half innings, thanks to homers by junior Jon Schaeffer (Tarzana,
CA/Harvarad-Westlake HS) and Gerut and 15 walks issued by Bronco pitchers.
Junior Josh Koons (West Lafayette, IN/West Lafayette HS) worked the first 3.0
innings to improve to 3-2. Game #36 - Arizona State 4, Stanford 3 (Apr. 11 @
Sunken Diamond): The Sun Devils scored four unearned runs in the top of the
ninth to capture game one of the three-game set. The Cardinal led 2-0 after
eight innings and added a solo homer by Jon Schaeffer in the bottom of the
ninth, but it wasn't enough. Junior Kyle Peterson (Elkhorn, NE/ Creighton Prep
HS) was the hard-luck loser after allowing just five hits and the four unearned
runs over 8.2 innings. Game #37 - Arizona State 16, Stanford 5 (Apr. 12 @ Sunken
Diamond): Arizona State scored 10 runs in the first three innings en route to
handing Stanford its worst defeat of the season. Arizona State banged out 16
hits, and received four runs scored and four RBI from Andrew Beinbrink. Freshman
John Gall (Portola Valley, CA/St. Francis HS) went 3-for-4 to lead the hosts.
Game #38 - Arizona State 5, Stanford 3 (Apr. 13 @ Sunken Diamond): The Sun
Devils rebounded from a 3-0 deficit to complete the series sweep. A two-run
homer by Edmund Muth (Long Beach, CA/St. John Bosco HS) and a run-scoring single
by senior Luke Quaccia (Oakdale, CA/Modesto JC) in the bottom of the third
staked the Cardinal to the lead. The visitors later took the lead for good with
two runs in the top of the seventh. Sophomore Josh Hochgesang (Fullerton,
CA/Sunny Hills HS) doubled in the contest to extend his career-best hitting
streak to 18 games.
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 Association's 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 America's 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 America's 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 Cardinal's 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 Baseball's 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 30-8 with a 3.38 ERA, and ranks on
four of Stanford's 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 perspective, Peterson
has already passed the Baltimore Orioles' Mike Mussina (25; 1988-90) on
Stanford's 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 fourth on the
career strikeout list with 299, and is just 38 behind all-time leader McDowell.
CAREER WINS CAREER STRIKEOUTS
1. Jeff Ballard (1982-85) 37 1. Jack McDowell (1985-87) 337
2. Jack McDowell (1985-87) 35 2. Lee Plemel (1985-88) 326
3. Lee Plemel (1985-88) 34 3. Jeff Ballard (1982-85) 316
4. Kyle Peterson (1995-) 30 4. Kyle Peterson (1995-) 299
5. Bruce Mignano (1979-82) 28 5. Stan Spencer (1988-90) 297
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 Willingham's
squad and completed 190-of-312 passes for 2,134 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Hutchinson has appeared in nine games this season, and is 3-2 with a 6.67 ERA in
55.1 innings. In his best outing of the year, Hutchinson worked 7.0 scoreless
innings and allowed just three hits in a 4-2 win over USC on Apr. 5. 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 of 1996 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 .365 (57-for-156) 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 .385 in 38 games with five homers and
a team-high 48 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
Here's 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 10 of his 17 appearances. Chris Clark - Hit .220 with one
homer in his first three seasons combined, but is hitting .368 with six homers
in 1997. Tony Cogan - Sophomore closer 5-1 with a team-high 2.20 ERA and two
saves. John Gall - Freshman went 3-for-4 in Saturday's 16-5 loss to Arizona
State. Brent Hoard - Sophomore lefty is 3-1 since being moved into the starting
rotation on Mar. 24. Josh Hochgesang - Has career-high 18-game hitting streak
dating back to Mar. 2. Edmund Muth - Freshman right fielder went 7-for-10 in the
three wins at USC on Apr. 4-6. Jay Pecci -Had career-high 10-game hitting streak
snapped in Saturday's loss to Arizona State. Luke Quaccia -Went 7-for-11 in the
three-game sweep at USC. Jon Schaeffer - Has a team-high nine home runs after
going deep in both Tuesday's win at Santa Clara and Friday's loss to Arizona
State.
OFFENSIVE UPRISING
With 16 games remaining in the 1997 season, Stanford is on a
pace to record the highest single season batting average in school history. The
Cardinal enters the week hitting .343 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 357 runs through 38 games, while the 1996
squad scored 435 in 60 contests. The Cardinal has also scored 10 or more runs in
17 of its 38 games, and has a perfect 17-0 mark in those contests.
