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Stanford Baseball to Battle USC this Weekend
April 1, 1998
NO. 1 STANFORD, NO. 2 USC BATTLE FOR DIVISION LEAD: Top-ranked Stanford and No. 2 USC battle for the Six-Pac lead this weekend in a three-game weekend set at Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles. The Trojans enter the weekend 13-2 in conference play, and 1.5 games ahead of 10-2 Stanford. The teams also meet in the final weekend of Six-Pac play on May 9-11 at Stanford's Sunken Diamond. Here's a look at this weekend's probable starting matchups:
Friday - Jeff Austin (SU; 8-0, 1.75) vs. Seth Etherton (USC; 8-0, 2.44) SCHEDULE CHANGE(S): To accommodate Fox Sports Bay Area, the game times of the Stanford-Cal games on Saturday, April 25 (at Cal) and Sunday, April 26 (at Stanford) have been moved from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. The Stanford-Nevada game that was originally scheduled for Tuesday, February 10 has been pushed back to Tuesday, April 7 at 3 p.m. at Sunken Diamond.
MEDIA INFORMATION: All three USC games will be broadcast live by Stanford student station KZSU 90.1 FM beginning with the Mark Marquess Show on Friday at 6:50 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 12:50 p.m. Each of the games will also be heard on the internet via Audionet.
GAME PROMOTIONS: Stanford returns home to face Nevada on Tuesday, April 7 at 3 p.m. in a game that was originally scheduled for February 10. All tickets for the Nevada game will be only $1. The Cardinal then plays host to California on Friday, April 10 with all Stanford students being admitted for free. In addition, all children 14-and-under who wear a youth sports uniform will be admitted to any home game for just $1.
THE RECORDS: Stanford is 25-4-1 overall and 10-2 in the Pac-10 Southern Division after sweeping UCLA at Sunken Diamond over the weekend. The Cardinal won 4-1 Saturday, 15-3 Sunday and 7-6 Monday to complete a six-game season sweep of the Bruins. USC is 27-5 overall and 13-2 in the Six-Pac after a three-game sweep at California over the weekend. The Trojans defeated the Golden Bears 10-6 Friday, 7-6 in 10 innings Saturday and 8-1 Sunday, and have won 11 in a row overall.
THE RANKINGS: Stanford is ranked No. 1 by Baseball America and USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN, and No. 2 according to Collegiate Baseball and Sporting News. USC is ranked No. 2 by Baseball America, and No. 3 by Collegiate Baseball, Sporting News and USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN.
THE COACH: Stanford head coach Mark Marquess is currently in his 22nd season on The Farm. Marquess, who was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in January of 1997, has a 878-457-5 career mark (.657), including a 363-255 (.587) record against Six-Pac competition. The 1969 Stanford graduate has been named NCAA Coach of the Year three times (1985, '87 and '88), Pac-10 Southern Division Coach of the Year six times (1983, '85, '87, '90, '94 and '97) and also led the U.S. 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, '95 and '97. USC's Mike Gillespie is 461-255-2 (.643) in his 12th season.
THE SERIES: Stanford is 122-186-3 all-time against USC, but was 6-0 last season. The Cardinal swept the Trojans on Feb. 28-Mar. 2 at Sunken Diamond (4-0, 5-4 12 innings, 22-13) and Apr. 4-6 at Dedeaux Field (15-9, 4-2, 10-3) THE WEEK IN REVIEW: Game #28 - #1 Stanford 4, UCLA 1 (March 29 @ Sunken Diamond): Junior right-hander Jeff Austin (Kingwood, TX/Kingwood HS) threw a complete game eight-hitter to lead Stanford in the series opener. Austin is now 8-0 with a 1.75 ERA overall, and 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA in conference play. He allowed just one earned run while walking one and striking out nine en route to his third complete game of the season. Junior Jody Gerut (Villa Park, IL/Willowbrook HS) put the Cardinal on top for good with a solo homer in the first, his 10th of the season. Jay Pecci (Novato, CA/San Marin HS) and Nick Day (Las Vegas, NV/Green Valley HS) later added RBI doubles to put the hosts in control.
Game #29 - #1 Stanford 15, UCLA 3 (March 30 @ Sunken Diamond): Junior Tony Schrager (Omaha, NE/Yale University) hit two homers in a game for the second time this season to pace the Cardinal to the easy win. Schrager also hit two round-trippers in a 17-5 win at Arizona State on Feb. 28. The Stanford second baseman hit a three-run shot in the first and a solo homer in the fifth to help the Cardinal build a 15-0 lead after six innings. John Gall (Portola Valley, CA/St. Francis HS) and Jody Gerut also homered for Stanford, while junior right-hander Chad Hutchinson (Del Mar, CA/Torrey Pines HS) improved to 5-2 after allowing just two hits and one run, while striking out eight, over 7.0 innings.
Game #30 - #1 Stanford 7, UCLA 6 (March 31 @ Sunken Diamond): Sophomore Nick Day's three-RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning keyed a four-run rally that gave Stanford the come-from-behind win. Day's line drive into the right-center field gap with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Stanford its seventh straight win over the Bruins dating back to last season. John Gall led the Cardinal offensively by going 4-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. The ninth-inning rally gave freshman right-hander Austin Coose (Kokomo, IN/Kokomo HS) his first career win.
STANFORD HURLERS RACK UP PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN HONORS: Stanford's starting pitching rotation of Jeff Austin, Brent Hoard (Los Gatos, CA/Bellarmine Prep HS) and Chad Hutchinson has wasted little time in racking up honors this season. Stanford is the only team in the nation with all three starting pitchers on Preseason All-American teams. Austin and Hutchinson both earned First Team All-American honors from Baseball America and the Sporting News, while Collegiate Baseball selected Hutchinson to the Second Team and Austin to the Third Team. Hoard was named a Third Team Preseason All-American by Baseball America. The threesome combined to go 22-10 in 1997, and has a combined career mark of 50-19. Austin was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 1997 College World Series, and also went 4-1 with a 3.63 ERA for Team USA over the summer. Two-sport standout Hutchinson (two-year starting football quarterback), who was a first round pick by the Atlanta Braves in the June 1995 Amateur Draft, is expected to be among the first few players chosen in the 1998 draft. Hoard burst onto the scene over the summer by earning Cape Cod League Pitcher of the Year honors after going 2-1 with an 0.72 ERA for the Harwich Mariners. The trio is coming off an outstanding weekend which it combined to allow just three earned runs in 20.1 innings of work in the home sweep over UCLA. Here's the career stats for all three Cardinal starters: Name W-L ERA SV IP H ER BB K Jeff Austin 19-6 3.33 5 248.2 246 92 88 251 Brent Hoard 11-5 5.85 0 123.0 126 80 86 121 Chad Hutchinson 20-8 4.84 1 239.2 232 129 125 250 Totals 50-19 4.44 6 610.2 604 301 299 622 THE BIG (CARDINAL) RED MACHINE: After rewriting the school offensive record book in 1997, the 1998 squad is quickly showing that last year's numbers were no fluke. Stanford has racked up 287 runs (9.6 pg) on 355 hits (11.8 pg) in its first 30 contests, including its 54-run, 52-hit performance at UCLA on February 20-22. The 54 runs at UCLA is the most ever by a Cardinal team in a three-game series. All nine of Stanford's starters are hitting over .300, led by John Gall (.378), Joe Borchard (.371), Jay Pecci (.371) and Jody Gerut (.355). The Cardinal also has five players who have scored 30 or more runs through the first 30 games, and four that have at least 30 RBI en route to a .331 team average and 46 homers. The Cardinal returns five starters who hit .300 or better in 1997, including First Team All-Six-Pac selections Gerut and Edmund Muth. Stanford set school marks in hits (802), runs (582) and home runs (102) in 1997, while also posting the second highest batting average (.334) in school history.
AUSTIN LEADS THE WAY: Junior right-hander and Kingwood, Texas native Jeff Austin, a projected first-round pick in the June 1998 Amateur Draft, has been dominant this season. Austin earned Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honors for a complete game eight-hitter against UCLA on Saturday, March 28 to improve to 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in four Six-Pac starts, and 8-0 with a conference-best 1.75 ERA overall. Austin, who was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 10th round of the June 1995 Amateur Draft, was an all-state selection as a senior at Kingwood High School, and a two-time all-Houston selection by the Houston Chronicle. The Texan has flourished on The Farm, going 19-6 with a 3.33 ERA and five saves in his three seasons. The Baseball America First Team Preseason All-American and 1997 College World Series All-Tournament Team selection is just four strikeouts aaway from tying Rod Poteete (255; 1967-69) for 10th place on the school's all-time list. He has also allowed just 55 hits in 72.0 innings of work, while allowing 24 runs, 14 of them earned, while walking 24 and striking out 70. Here's a look at Austin's career stats: Year W-L ERA SV IP H ER BB K 1996 6-4 3.81 1 89.2 94 38 36 88 1997 5-2 4.14 4 87.0 97 40 28 93 1998 8-0 1.75 0 72.0 55 14 24 70 Totals 19-6 3.33 5 248.2 246 92 88 251 HUTCHINSON CONTINUES TO IMPRESS: Junior two-sport star Chad Hutchinson, a projected first rounder in the June 1998 Amateur Draft, continues to have success both on the diamond and the gridiron. The hard-throwing right-hander is currently 5-2 with a 5.36 ERA as the Cardinal's No. 2 starter, and has allowed 44 hits in 48.2 innings while walking 25 and striking out 66. He further wrote his name into the school record books by hurling a rain-shortened, five-inning no-hitter in a 4-0 win at Fresno State on Sunday, February 1. Hutchinson threw 63 pitches en route to Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honors, including 39 strikes, and allowed only one ball out of the infield. The no-hitter was the eighth in Stanford history, and first since Jason Middlebrook did it against UCLA on May 8, 1994. Hutchinson is now 20-8 with a 4.84 ERA in his Stanford baseball career. As a two-year starting quarterback for Tyrone Willingham's football squad, Hutchinson has thrown for 4,235 yards and 20 touchdowns. He has two years of football eligibility remaining, but has yet to announce his professional plans.
CARDINALCONTINUES SIX-PAC SUCCESS: With its 10-2 start in Pac-10 Southern Division play this season, Stanford appears to be well on its way to its fifth consecutive Six-Pac winning season. In fact, the Cardinal is 91-41 in the last four-plus season, good for a .689 winning percentage. Stanford has won two titles in that span (1994 and 1997), and finished second on the other two occasions (1995 and 1996). In the history of the Pac-10 Southern Division, which began in 1979, Stanford is 359-230 (.610), which is nearly 50 percentage points ahead of second place Arizona State (330-252; .567). Stanford also has a all-time winning record against all five divisional opponents in conference contests - Arizona (75-42), Arizona State (59-58), California (78-36), UCLA (76-44) and USC (64-50). Here's a look at what all six conference teams have done in Six-Pac play in both the last five years and since the conference's inception:
SCHOOL SIX-PAC RECORD ('79-'98) ('94-'98)
Stanford 359-230 (.610) 91-41 (.689)
Arizona State 330-252 (.567) 71-63 (.530)
USC 308-277 (.526) 94-41 (.647)
UCLA 267-320 (.455) 63-74 (.460)
Arizona 264-319 (.453) 40-95 (.296)
California 228-351 (.394) 44-89 (.331)
AUSTIN, GERUT SWEEP SIX-PAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS: Juniors Jeff Austin and Jody Gerut earned Pac-10 Southern Division Pitcher and Player of the Week honors, respectively, for their efforts the week of March 23-29. Austin earned his first conference Player of the Week award this season and second of his career (Feb. 20, 1996) after throwing a complete game eight-hitter against UCLA on Saturday. Gerut also earned his first POW honor of the year and second of his career (Mar. 4, 1997), after hitting .600 (9-for-15) with five runs scored, two doubles, three homers and five RBI in two wins over UCLA, a victory over Washington and a loss at Nevada. He had three hits in the Cardinal's 4-3, 10-inning win over Washington on Mar. 24, and already has 17 multi-hit games this season.
CARDINAL CORNER:Stanford had four players listed among Baseball America's top 10 Six-Pac prospects: Chad Hutchinson (#2), Jeff Austin (#4), Jody Gerut (#7) and Brent Hoard (#10) ... Hutchinson and Austin were also ranked as the fourth and sixth top college prospects, respectively, in the June 1998 Amateur Draft ... Stanford has 18 triples in its first 30 games of 1998, after hitting just 12 in 65 games last season ... Juniors Jeff Austin and Chad Hutchinson are close to breaking into the school's all-time top 10 in strikeouts ... Rod Poteete (1967-69) is currently 10th with 255 K's, while Austin has 251 and Hutchinson 250 ... Stanford's tie on February 15 at Texas (7-7) was its first since February 26, 1984 at Hawaii (13-13) ... First baseman John Gall was named Six-Pac Player of the Week on Feb. 24, and second baseman Tony Schrager received the same honor on Mar. 3.
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 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.
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