June 20, 1997

Stanford Finishes Tied for Third at College World Series

STANFORD FINISHES TIED FOR THIRD AT COLLEGE WORLD SERIES: Stanford University finished the 1997 College World Series with a 2-2 mark, which tied it for third place and secured the Cardinal's best finish in Omaha since 1990. Stanford has now won two national championships (1987 and 1988) and finished tied for third three times (1967, 1990, 1997) in 10 trips to Omaha. Stanford, which is now 23-18 (.561) in Omaha and 69-37 (.651) all-time in the postseason, was making its eighth College World Series appearance since 1982.

THE RECORD: Stanford finished 1997 with a 45-20 overall mark, which is its highest win total since 1990 (59-12). The Cardinal finished 21-9 in conference, good for its seventh Six Pac title and first since 1994. The 21 Six Pac wins is Stanford's third highest win total since the conference was formed in 1979 (23, 1985; 24, 1990). Stanford still leads all Six Pac schools with a 346-228 (.603) all-time conference mark, which puts it ahead of Arizona's State 322-246 (.567). Stanford also went 6-2 in the postseason, including a 4-0 mark at the West Regional at Sunken Diamond on May 22-25. The Cardinal advanced to Omaha by defeating Northeastern 12-3 on Thursday, Texas A&M 3-1 on Friday, Santa Clara 9-2 on Saturday and Fresno State 5-2 on Sunday. Stanford has now won five of the six NCAA Regionals it has hosted dating back to 1983. In Omaha, the Cardinal had its fill of the Southeastern Conference - going 2-0 against Auburn (8-3 on May 30 & 11-4 on June 3) and 0-2 against eventual champion Louisiana State (10-5 on June 1 & 13-9 on June 4).

THE RANKINGS: Stanford finished the season ranked fourth by both is ranked sixth Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. In the 1997 preseason rankings, Stanford was No. 1 according to Baseball America and No. 15 according to Collegiate Baseball.

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES IN REVIEW:

GAME #62 - Stanford 8, Auburn 3 (May 30 @ Rosenblatt Stadium): Stanford used a five-run fifth to erase a 2-1 deficit and pull away from Auburn in the opening game of the College World Series. Stanford received run-scoring singles from Joe Kilburg (Bay Village, OH/Bay Village HS) in the big inning, and never looked back behind strong pitching performances from Chad Hutchinson (Del Mar, CA/Torrey Pines HS) and Jeff Austin (Kingwood, TX/Kingwood HS). The two combined to hold the Tigers to just six hits, with Austin working out of a bases loaded, nobody out jam in the sixth en route to his fourth save. In all, Auburn was 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Luke Quaccia (Oakdale, CA/Modesto JC) went 3-for-4, while John Gall (Portola Valley, CA/St. Francis HS) went 2-for-4. Gall had six hits in the series, and finished the year with 97 - the sixth highest total in Stanford single season history.

GAME #63 - Louisiana State 10, Stanford 5 (June 1 @ Rosenblatt Stadium): The defending champion Tigers blasted five homers en route to the second round win. Junior All-American Kyle Peterson (Elkhorn, NE/Creighton Prep HS), pitching in front of his hometown crowd, worked the first 5.0 innings to fall to 11-3. The Tigers scored three in the first and two each in the fourth and fifth to take control. Junior Jon Schaeffer (Tarzana, CA/Harvard-Westlake HS) drove in a pair of runs to pace the Cardinal offense.

GAME #64 - Stanford 11, Auburn 4 (June 3 @ Rosenblatt Stadium): Sophomore Jeff Austin worked 6.1 innings of scoreless relief to help Stanford eliminate Auburn. Austin allowed just six hits, while walking two and striking out five to continue his dominance of the Tigers. Austin eventually earned All-Tournament honors for his two relief appearances against Auburn: 1-0, 1 save, 10.1 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 K. Offensively, Stanford used a two-run homer by Luke Quaccia in the first inning to take an early lead. Auburn rebounded to take a 4-3 lead after three, but Stanford came back with a run in the fourth and four in the sixth to take a commanding 8-4 advantage. Junior Jay Pecci (Novato, CA/San Marin HS), who finished the CWS 10-for-17 (.588) with six runs scored and three RBI, went 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Pecci's .588 average is third in CWS history, behind only Jim Morris (Notre Dame, .714, 1957) and Robin Ventura (Oklahoma State, .600, 1986).

GAME #65 - Louisiana State 13, Stanford 9 (June 4 @ Rosenblatt Stadium): Stanford trailed 11-4 after five innings, but rebounded to send the tyring run to the plate in the top of the ninth inning before being eliminated. The Cardinal outhit the Tigers 16-9, and faced a CWS record seven different pitchers, including three in the ninth inning. Sophomore Josh Hochgesang (Fullerton, CA/Sunny Hills HS) blasted the Cardinal's first grand slam in the CWS since 1987, when Paul Carey hit one off Ben McDonald in the bottom of the 10th to beat LSU. Jay Pecci went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI and Edmund Muth (Long Beach, CA/St. John Bosco HS) went 3-for-4 with two runs scored to pace the attack. Junior Kyle Peterson, who was selected in the first round by the Milwaukee Brewers in the previous day's Amateur Baseball Draft, struck out seven over the final 4.0 innings for the Cardinal. The last of those seven strikeouts was the 363rd of Peterson's career, which ties USC's Brent Strom's (1968-70) Pac-10 record.

PETERSON, SCHAEFFER EARN ALL-AMERICA HONORS: Junior pitcher Kyle Peterson has joined A.J. Hinch as the only three-time All-American in Stanford history. Peterson was named First Team All-America by Baseball America on May 29, while catcher Jon Schaeffer was named to the Second Team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. In addition, designated hitter John Gall and right fielder Edmund Muth were each named Freshman All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball. Peterson also became the first ever two-time Pac-10 Southern Division Pitcher of the Year when he was so honored on May 14. Peterson also won the honor in 1995 when he was 14-1 and the National Freshman of the Year. Stanford head coach Mark Marquess won Pac-10 Southern Division Coach of the Year honors for a record sixth time. The six coach of the year honors puts Marquess ahead of the five earned by Arizona State's Jim Brock. In addition, Schaeffer, sophomore Jody Gerut (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook HS) and Muth were all named to the First Team. Here's a complete look at Stanford's 1997 honors:

NAME            AWARD
Jeff Austin     College World Series All-Tournament Team
Chris Clark     Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 Southern Division
Tony Cogan      Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 Southern Division
John Gall       Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American
                Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 Southern Division
Jody Gerut      First Team All-Pac-10 Southern Division
                Pac-10 Southern Division Player of the Week (Mar. 4)
Adam Harris     Second Team Pac-10 All-Academic
Josh Hochgesang NCAA West Regional Most Outstanding Player
                NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team
                First Team Pac-10 All-Academic 
                Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 Southern Division
                Pac-10 Southern Division Player of the Week (Mar. 25)
Joe Kilburg     NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team
                Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 Southern Division
Mark Marquess   Pac-10 Southern Division Coach of the Year  
Edmund Muth     Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American
                First Team All-Pac-10 Southern Division
Cameron Newton  Second Team Pac-10 All-Academic
Jay Pecci       First Team Pac-10 All-Academic
                NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team
Kyle Peterson   Baseball America First Team All-American
                NCBWA First Team All-American
                Collegiate Baseball Second Team All-American
                Sporting News Second Team All-American
                First Team All-West Region
                Pac-10 Southern Division Pitcher of the Year
                NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team
                Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week (Feb. 10)
                Pac-10 Southern Division Pitcher of the Week (Mar. 4)
Luke Quaccia    Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 Southern Division
John Salter     Honorable Mention Pac-10 All-Academic
Jon Schaeffer   NCBWA Second Team All-American
                Collegiate Baseball Third Team All-American
                Second Team All-West Region
                First Team All-Pac-10 Southern Division
                NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team
                First Team Pac-10 All-Academic
                Pac-10 Southern Div. Player of the Week (Apr. 29 & May 6)

PETERSON BECOMES STANFORD, PAC-10 STRIKEOUT KING: In two-plus seasons, junior right-hander Kyle Peterson, a First Team All-American according to Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, has established himself as one of the best pitchers in Stanford history. Peterson was also selected in the first round of the 1997 Amateur Baseball Draft (13th pick overall) by the Milwaukee Brewers on June 3. The Elkhorn, Nebraska native is a career 35-9 with a 3.62 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). Peterson also made history on Thursday, May 15 when he recorded his 338th career strikeout, which moved him past Jack McDowell (1985-87) and into first place on Stanford's all-time strikeout list. He also tied the all-time Pac-10 record of 363 set by USC's Brent Strom from 1968-70, and now holds Stanford's single season strikeout record with 156 (Stan Spencer, 145, 1990). On Feb. 7, the junior right-hander threw a complete game four-hitter while striking out 17 and walking none in the Cardinal's 6-1 win over Fresno State. The 17 strikeouts is the most by a Cardinal in a game since Steve Dunning fanned 18 vs. USC twice in 1970. Here's a look at Peterson's career stats and where he stands in Stanford's all-time record book:

Year    W-L     ERA     G/GS    CG  IP  H   R-ER        BB  K
1995    14-1    2.96    20/18   10  142.2   129 54-47   35  112
1996    10-5    3.71    17/16   2   111.2   105 60-46   41  95
1997    11-3    4.19    20/19   3   144.0   134 81-67   38  156
TOT.    35-9    3.62    57/53   15  398.1   368 195-160 114 363

CAREER WINS                         CAREER STRIKEOUTS
1. Jeff Ballard (1982-85)       37  1. Kyle Peterson (1995-)        363
2. Jack McDowell (1985-87)      35  2. Jack McDowell (1985-87)      337
2. Kyle Peterson (1995-)        35  3. Lee Plemel (1985-88)         326
4. Lee Plemel (1985-88)         34  4. Jeff Ballard (1982-85)       316
5. Bruce Mignano (1979-82)      28  5. Stan Spencer (1988-90)       297

DRAFT RECAP: Stanford right-hander Kyle Peterson was just the 13th player chosen in the first round of the 1997 Amateur Baseball Draft when he was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers. The last Stanford player chosen in the first round was David McCarty by the Minnesota Twins in 1991 (fourth pick overall). Here's a complete look at Stanford players who were taken in the 1997 draft:

NAME            ROUND   TEAM (FARM CLUB)
Kyle Peterson    1st    Milwaukee Brewers
Jon Schaeffer    9th    Minnesota Twins
Joe Kilburg     10th    Cleveland Indians
Luke Quaccia    26th    St. Louis Cardinals
Chris Clark     37th    Pittsburgh Pirates

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 made the 1997 USA National Team. Chris Clark - Homered in each of the three Cal games (Apr. 25-27) to up his season total to nine. Tony Cogan - Sophomore closer picked up the save in Sunday, May 11 division-clinching win at UCLA. John Gall - Freshman first baseman/designated hitter hit a ninth inning grand slam in 9-2 win over Santa Clara at the West Regional. Brent Hoard - Sophomore lefty threw 5.1 scoreless innings in 9-2 victory over Santa Clara at the West Regional. Josh Hochgesang - Named Most Outstanding Player of the West Regional, and is batting .536 (30-for-56) in last his 13 games. Joe Kilburg - Went 5-for-5 with three doubles and a homer in Sunday, May 11 win at UCLA. Edmund Muth - First Team All-Six Pac selection. Jay Pecci -Went 10-for-17 (.588) at the College World Series. Luke Quaccia - Homered in four straight games from Apr. 26-May 2.

OFFENSIVE UPRISING: The 1997 Stanford squad wrote its name into the school record book on May 22 when Joe Kilburg hit the Cardinal's 94th homer of the year. The 1990 squad needed 71 games to reach that number, while the 1997 squad needed just 57. Stanford now has 99, and needs just one more to become the first team to hit the 100 mark. The Cardinal enters the week hitting .335 as a club, which puts it just behind the .337 mark established in 1981. Stanford has already scored 549 runs in 61 games, which is just 16 short of the school record set in 1985 (565). The Cardinal has also scored 10 or more runs in 23 of its 61 games, and is 23-0 in those games.

• Stanford enters its 102nd season of baseball in 1995 with an all-time record of 2000-1346-31 (.597).
• The Cardinal have captured two national titles (1987, 1988) and advanced to the NCAA College World Series nine times, including seven appearances in the last 13 years.
• Stanford has advanced to the NCAA Tournament 16 times, including 13 regional appearances in the last 15 seasons.
• The Cardinal own a record of 306-208 in Six-Pac action (1979-1995) for a league-best .595 winning percentage.
• Stanford has captured 14 total conference titles, including six of the last 13 Six-Pac conference crowns.
• Six Stanford players/coaches have played on the United States Olympic team, including three gold medal winners.
• The Cardinal boasts two NCAA Player of the Year winners (David McCarty - 1991, Steve Dunning - 1970) and three NCAA Freshman of the Year selections (Kyle Peterson - 1995, Jeffrey Hammonds - 1990, Paul Carey - 1987).
• Ten Stanford players have earned CWS All-Tournament team honors, including two MVP awards.
• Stanford has produced 31 All-Americans who have won 35 All-America honors.
• Eighty-two Stanford players have been named to All-Conference teams, collecting a combined 99 All-League honors.
• Forty-four (44) former Cardinal players have gone on to play in the major leagues. Last season, 16 former Stanford stars either coached or played at the major league level.
• There have been seven no-hitters thrown by Cardinal pitchers in school history.

7 FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICKS IN THE LAST 9 YEARS
Jack McDowell    (1987)
Ed Sprague       (1988)
Mike Mussina     (1990)
Stan Spencer     (1990)
David McCarty    (1991)
Jeffrey Hammonds (1991)
Willie Adams     (1993)
45 MAJOR LEAGUE PLAYERS
Mike Aldrete
Ruben Amaro
Jeff Ballard
Bob Boone
Bobby Brown
Steve Buechele
Doug Camilli
Paul Carey
Steve Chitren
Mark Davis
Steve Davis
Frank Duffy
Steve Dunning
Chuck Essegian
Dave Frost
Bob Gallagher
Peter Hamm
Jeffrey Hammonds
Rick Helling
Jim Hibbs
Steve Hovley
Brian Johnson
Bob Kammeyer
Brian Keyser
Jim Lonborg
Andrew Lorraine
David McCarty
Jack McDowell
Dave Meier
Lloyd Merriman
Mike Mussina
Al Osuna
John Ramos
Bob Reece
Bob Robinson
Don Rose
Harvey Shank
Jack Shepard
Ed Sprague
Pete Stanicek
Darrell Sutherland
Zeb Terry
Sandy Vance
Ron Witmeyer
Paul Zuvella

1997 SEASON
Overall Record:    45-20
Conference Record: 21-9
Home:   28-10
Away:   15-8
Neutral: 2-2
(Three games played as visitors at Sunken)
Day Games:            31-12
Night Games:          14-8
vs. Ranked Opponents: 16-13
On Television:         5-5
January:   2-1
February: 11-5
March:    10-2
April:    11-5
May:      10-5
June:      1-2
Monday:    3-0
Tuesday:  10-1
Wednesday: 0-1
Thursday:  3-0
Friday:    8-6
Saturday: 11-6
Sunday:   10-6
1-run games:   6-5
2-run games:   6-4
3+ run games: 33-11
Stanford scores first: 30-7
Opponent scores first: 15-13
Leading after 5:  38-4
Trailing after 5:  4-14
Tied after 5:      3-2
Leading after 8:  41-1
Trailing after 8:  2-17
Tied after 8:      2-2

1997 STANFORD BASEBALL HIGHS/LOWS

Team
Single Game Batting
At bats:           50 at Sacramento State (2/25)
Runs:              22 vs. USC (3/2)
Runs (inning):     10 vs. Saint Mary's (1/26, 1st)
Hits:              24 at California (3/23)
RBI:               21 vs. USC (3/2)
Fewest Runs:        0 at Fresno State (2/8)
Hits:              24 at California (3/23)
Hits (inning):      8, twice, last at USC (4/6)
Fewest Hits:        4 vs. Fresno State (2/8)
Home Runs:          7 at California (4/25)
RBI:               21 vs. USC (3/2)
Singles:           18 at California (3/23)
Doubles:            8 vs. USC (3/2)
Triples:            3 vs. Northeastern (5/22)
Extra Base Hits:   12 vs. USC (3/2)
Most Walks:        15, twice, last at Santa Clara (4/8)
Least Walks:        0 vs. Fresno State (2/8)
Most Strikeouts:   12, three times, last vs. UCLA (4/20)
Least Strikeouts:   1 vs. USC (3/2)
Stolen Bases:       6 at Arizona (3/29)
Most Left on Base: 20 vs. USF (3/4)
Least Left on Base: 3, twice, last vs. LSU (6/1)
Single Game Pitching
Runs:             16 vs. Arizona State (4/12)
Runs (inning):     9, twice, vs. Washington (5/16, 6th)
Fewest Runs:       0, three times, last vs. California (4/26)
Most Earned Runs: 13 vs. Arizona State (4/12)
Most Hits:        16, three times, last vs. Arizona (5/3)
Most Hits (inn.):  5, four times, last vs. Ariz. (5/3, 1st)
Fewest Hits:       2 vs. Saint Mary's (1/27)
Most Walks:        9, twice, last at Cal (3/23)
Least Walks:       0, five times, last vs. Fresno St. (5/25) 
Most Strikeouts:  17, twice, last vs. UCSB (2/23)
Least Strikeouts:  0 at Arizona State (3/9)
Single Game Fielding
Double Plays:      4 at Arizona State (3/7)
Putouts:          36, twice, last vs. San Francisco (3/4)
Assists:          20 vs. Texas A&M (5/23)
Errors:            6, vs. Washington (5/17)
Errorless Games:  22

Individual
Single Game Batting
AB:                  6, 18 tms., last Josh Hochgesang vs. Auburn (6/3)
Runs:                4, 5 times, last Jody Gerut at Santa Clara (4/8)
Hits:                5, twice, last Joe Kilburg at UCLA (5/11)
RBI:                 6, Jody Gerut at Sacramento State (2/25)
HR:                  2, 6 times, last J. Hochgesang at UCLA (5/10)
Doubles:             3, Joe Kilburg at UCLA (5/11)
Triples:             1, 12 times, last E. Muth vs. Northeast. (5/22)
Total Bases:        11, Joe Kilburg at UCLA (5/11)
Walks:               4, twice, last Joe Kilburg at Santa Clara (4/8)
Strikeouts:          4, Jody Gerut vs. San Francisco (3/4)
Stolen Bases:        4, Jody Gerut at Arizona (3/29)
Longest hit streak: 19 gms., J. Hochgesang (3/2-4/19)
Single Game Pitching
Innings:            9, 6 times, last K. Peterson vs. Fresno (5/25)
Innings (relief):  6.1, Jeff Austin vs. Auburn (6/3)
 Runs:             10, Chad Hutchinson vs. ASU (4/12)
 ER:                8, 4 times, last Kyle Peterson at UCLA (5/9)
Few. Runs (CG):     0, twice, last B. Hoard vs. Cal (4/26)
Most Hits:         11, Kyle Peterson at Arizona State (3/7)
Few. Hits (CG):     4, 3 times, last C. Hutchinson (5/23)
Strikeouts:        17, Kyle Peterson vs. Fresno State (2/7)
Most Walks:         7, twice, lst C. Hutchnsn vs. TAM (5/23)

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