@ ASU 11 – Cal 7
@ Stanford 26 – USC 5
@ OSU 4 – Arizona 3
UCLA 8 – @ Washington 1
@ WSU 8 – San Jose State 3
After pitching a complete game on Friday, Mike Leake started at 1B in place of an injured Ike Davis on Saturday for ASU. He was fantastic defensively and even better offensively, driving in the winning run with a 3 RBI triple in the 7th. David Cooper had 3 singles for Cal, but no RBI’s. while Dylan Tonneson hit a 3 run home run to tie the game up in the 6th, but had trouble behind the plate as the catcher.
Stanford didn’t need Erik Davis to pitch a complete game as the offense exploded for 24 hits. Toby Gerhart came on as a pinch hitter and went 2 for 2 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI’s, while Jason Castro went 4 for 6 with a triple and 4 RBI’s.
OSU snapped Arizona’s 13 game winning streak. Lonnie Lechelt goes 3 for 4 with a double and a run for OSU, while Tanner Robles picks up the win throwing 7.2 innings, walking 0, striking out 7, while giving up only 2 hits and 2 earned runs.
Charles Brewer picked up his 5th win of the year for UCLA by throwing 6.1 innings, walking 2, striking out 6, giving up 5 hits and just 1 earned run. Casey Haerther provided the offensive spark for UCLA going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles, 2 runs and 3 RBI’s.
WSU scores 5 runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead and win the game. Greg Lagreid’s only hit was key, a double in the 8th to tie the game.
Media Releases
(Tempe, AZ) – Mike Leake was the star of the show again Saturday night, as No. 4 Arizona State defeated No. 6 California 11-7 in front of a crowd of 2,130 at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. The Sun Devils improve to 34-7, 9-5 in the Pac-10, with the victory.
One night after throwing a complete game and earning his 20th career victory as the starting pitcher, Leake started at first base and drove in four runs, and his night included a bases-loaded three-run triple that put the Devils ahead for good in the bottom of the seventh.
Tommy Rafferty earned the win out of the bullpen and improved to 8-0 on the season, as he struck out four and allowed just two hits to shut out the Bears over the final three innings.
Greg Bordes got the scoring started with a two-run double to right center in the bottom of the second.
Cal took the lead back with three runs in the top of the third off Sun Devil starter Jason Franzblau, but ASU answered with a two-out rally in the bottom half of the inning. Brett Wallace walked and Petey Paramore singled, and Kiel Roling then drove them both in with a single through the left side.
After the Bears tied the game in the fifth, the Sun Devils responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Leake drove in a run with a bases-loaded sacrifice bunt before Wallace and Roling both scored on wild pitches.
Cal tied the game in the sixth, as catcher Dylan Tonneson hit a three-run homer to right field off Seth Blair.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the seventh, when Leake cleared the bases with his three-run triple down the right field line and then scored on a wild pitch to cap off the scoring.
Bordes and Ryan Sontag had two hits apiece, while Wallace, Leake and Roling drew a combined seven walks to lead the ASU offense. Ike Davis was not available to play on Saturday. His status for Sunday is also doubtful.
The Sun Devils look for the sweep of the Bears tomorrow, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark.
(Stanford, CA) – No. 5 Stanford’s counter-punch proved to be pretty potent Saturday afternoon as the Cardinal, after spotting USC three runs in the top of the first, responded with 26 consecutive runs to clinch its ninth weekend series of the season with the 26-5 victory over the Trojans. The 26 runs scored by the Cardinal mark a season high, and, in records dating back to 1959, is the second-most runs scored in a single-game by the Cardinal since a 28-3 victory over San Francisco on Jan. 31, 1983.
The Cardinal will go for the sweep Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Klein Field. RHP Jeff Inman (5-1, 2.79) will take the hill for Stanford, opposite RHP Ryan Cook (4-3, 4.90) for USC.
Every Stanford starter in the lineup managed at least one hit Saturday afternoon, as the Cardinal offense combined for 24 hits. Jason Castro led the way for the starting nine with four hits in six at-bats, tripling and driving in four runs, while Zach Jones went 3-for-4, doubling twice and driving in three runs. Toby Gerhart, a mid-game substitute, made the most of his two at-bats, smashing a pair of home runs and driving in a team-high five runs.
Cord Phelps, Sean Ratliff, Jake Schlander, Jeff Whitlow, and Austin Yount each recorded a pair of hits in the contest, with Phelps also scoring five runs and drawing three walks, and Yount driving in three runs. Joey August, Ben Clowe, Brendan Domaracki, Randy Molina, and Wande Olabisi all had one hit Saturday afternoon as well.
The contest got off to a start that did not at all foretell the eventual result. USC had a 3-0 lead within its first three batters of the game, as Grant Green hit his seventh home run of the season after Roberto Lopez walked to lead off the game and Nick Buss reached on an error.
But Cardinal starter Erik Davis, the reigning Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week, would settle down from this point on, retiring 17 of the next 20 batters he faced over a six-inning effort in which he allowed only four hits and struck out nine batters to earn his seventh win of the season.
The Stanford comeback began as soon as the team stepped to the plate in the bottom of the first. Phelps and Domaracki walked to start things, August singled to left to load the bases, and Castro followed with his own hit to left that plated Phelps. Domaracki would then score as Molina drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 3-2.
USC starter Brad Boxberger would settle down and strike out the next three Cardinall batters, though, to end the threat. But that would be the easiest it got for Boxberger, as in the second, a Schlander single, Phelps double, followed by Boxberger hitting Domaracki with a pitch loaded the sacks for August, who tied the game by plating Schlander with a sacrifice fly to center. Castro’s ensuing two-run triple down the right-field line would put Stanford ahead for good at 5-3, and end the day for Boxberger, who took his third loss of the season after giving up five runs on five hits and walking three over an inning and a third.
Although Trojan reliever Kevin Couture ended the inning with a pair of quick outs, he likewise did not escape unscathed in the third inning, being touched for three hits and six runs before being lifted with two out in the inning. Four of those runs were unearned, as the Cardinal took advantage of a Trojan fielding error.
After Yount grounded out to start the inning, the Cardinal surge began with Jones’ double down the left-field line. Schlander’s ground ball to shortstop was booted by Green, allowing him to advance to second and Jones to score Stanford’s sixth run. Phelps drew a walk, then Domaracki laced a triple into right-center field that drove in the pair. August was hit by a pitch, then two batters later, with two away, Castro doubled to right center, and advanced to third when the carom off the wall was misplayed by the USC outfield, driving in Schlander and Phelps. This signaled the end of Couture’s day, and reliever Chris Mezger was greeted with an RBI single from Sean Ratliff before getting out of the inning with the Cardinal now in possession of an 11-3 lead.
As Davis continued to cruise on the hill, the Cardinal piled on more runs in support of their hurler in the fifth. With two out and Castro and Ratliff on base with singles, Yount’s double down the left-field line drove in Castro, followed by Jones’ base hit to center plating Ratliff and Yount for the 14-3 Stanford lead.
A double by Phelps off of new USC reliever Danny Beck was followed by Whitlow walking and Gerhart being hit by a pitch to load the bases in the bottom of the sixth. Castro’s sacrifice fly to center scored Phelps, then Beck beaned Molina to re-load the bases. With two out, Yount drove in a pair with a single to center, followed by Jones’s second double, which scored Molina and ended Beck’s day.
The scoring didn’t stop there, as in the seventh, Gerhart hit his first home run of the day, smashing a Jordan Hershiser offering the opposite way to right-center. He would repeat the feat the following inning with two on and two out, sending a Chris McCaffery pitch over the left-centerfield fence.
The eighth had started with Wande Olabisi’s first hit of the season as the sophomore made the first plate appearances of his career. Colin Walsh would reach base on an error with one out, then he and Olabisi would advance a bag on a wild pitch. Olabisi would score on Schlander’s single up the middle, and Walsh on a fielder’s choice by Phelps. Gerhart hit his third home run after Whitlow’s single, and Castro would score Stanford’s final run of the contest after singling, advancing to second on a wild pitch, going to third on a balk, then scoring on pinch-hitter Clowe’s single to right-center to make it 26-5.
Stanford reliever Danny Sandbrink earned his first save of the season after striking out three batters over the final three innings, allowing only a pair of unearned runs in the ninth.
(Corvallis, OR) – Tanner Robles turned in a dominant performance, striking out seven in 7 2/3 innings, and Lonnie Lechelt went 3-for-4 as the Oregon State baseball team defeated No. 23 Arizona, 4-3, Saturday afternoon in front of a national television audience on FSN at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.
The teams played in front of a crowd of 2,729, the second-largest this season at Goss Stadium.
“It was a great atmosphere this afternoon and Tanner threw an absolutely great game,” Oregon State head coach Pat Casey said. “He was very effective. Lonnie and the rest of the offense really responded with 10 hits and we came through defensively as well.”
Robles picked up his third win of the season with the longest outing of his career, going 7 2/3 innings while allowing just two runs on two hits, and letting only five Arizona (28-12 overall, 7-7 Pacific-10 Conference) hitters to reach base. Robles also struck out a career-high seven while not allowing any walks.
The lefty retired the side in order in five of the seven innings he completed. The outing lowered his earned run average from 3.00 to 2.84. Since his freshman season at Cottonwood High School, the Murray, Utah native has never lost a game, going 34-0, including the three wins at OSU.
Lechelt, meanwhile, collected three hits for the third time this season. He singled and scored in the second, doubled in the sixth and reached on an infield single in the eighth.
Chris Hopkins continued his hot hitting in this series, picking up another hit to extend his streak to five games. Hopkins’ on-base abilities proved crucial for the Beavers as he scored two of Oregon State’s (19-14, 7-7 Pac-10) four runs.
Eric Ammon and Ryan Ortiz both drove in runs for the Beavers.
Kevin Rhoderick picked up his eighth save of the year, pitching 1 1/3 innings to lock down the win for the Beavers.
Lechelt got the Beavers started on the day by singling into right field with one out in the second. After a wild pitch advanced him to second, Ammon followed up with his first double of the season, scoring Lechelt and giving the Beavers a 1-0 advantage.
After hitting T.J. Steele with a pitch to start the first, Robles settled down to retire the next nine Wildcat hitters, three by strike out. Trouble came in the fourth as the Wildcats put the first two hitters of the inning on with no outs. Oregon State recorded one out on a fielder’s choice before Dillon Baird flied out to right field to score the Bobby Coyle from third on sac fly. Colt Sedbrook followed with a double to right field that gave the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. Robles quickly recovered, striking out Jon Gaston to end the inning.
Oregon State started a two-out rally in the fifth, with Hopkins reaching on a single to the left side of the infield, followed by a walk by Braden Wells. Ogata delivered for the Beavers with a single past the second baseman that scored Hopkins from second. Ortiz followed with a single past the first baseman to score Wells and put the Beavers back on top, 3-2.
Hopkins began the Beavers attack again in the seventh, reaching on a single to the left side and advancing to second on a passed ball. A well executed bunt by pinch-hitter John Wallace gave the Beavers runners on the corners with no outs. Ogata followed by grounding into a double play that scored Hopkins and gave the Beavers a 4-2 advantage headed into the eighth.
David Coulon started for Arizona and went five full innings, scattering six hits and three runs to go along with four strikeouts. He dropped to 6-3 this season.
The Beavers will return to action on Sunday in the rubber match of their series against Arizona. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Catch the game live by tuning into the Beaver Sports Network, Beaver Nation Online (www.osubeavers.com) and Yahoo! Sports.
OSU Notes: Chris Hopkins extended his hitting streak to five games with a single in the fifth… Ryan Ortiz extended his hitting streak to five games as well with two singles on the day, giving him his 11th multi-hit game of the year… Ortiz made his third career start at first base, while Erik Ammon started his eighth game at catcher on the season… Lonnie Lechelt’s three hits gave him his fourth multi-hit performance of the year and third three-hit game… With today’s start, Tanner Robles has now pitched six innings or longer in his past three starts.
(Seattle, WA) – Right-hander Charles Brewer allowed one run and five hits, striking out six in 6.1 innings, and first baseman Casey Haerther went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run, two doubles, three RBI and two runs to lead the UCLA baseball team past Washington, 8-1, Saturday afternoon at Husky Ballpark.
Brewer (5-4) picked up his team-leading fifth victory of the season, as the Bruins (21-17, 5-6 Pac-10) evened the three-game Pac-10 series against Washington (25-15, 5-6 Pac-10). Right fielder Mickey Weisser went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI, and second baseman Niko Gallego went 2-for-4 with one RBI.
Bruin left-hander Matt Drummond recorded his second save, recording three strikeouts in 2.2 scoreless innings. The sophomore left-hander allowed one hit and three walks. Washington’s Cam Nobles (3-3) was tagged with the loss, surrendering four runs (three earned) and five hits in 6.1 innings. Nobles totaled four strikeouts and issued two walks.
In a game that turned into a fantastic pitcher’s duel through the first five innings, Haerther helped UCLA break the game open in the top of the sixth. UCLA scored four runs in the inning, as Haerther’s three-run homer to left put the Bruins ahead, 3-0. After two first-pitch groundouts to begin the inning, third baseman Jermaine Curtis drew a walk and shortstop Brandon Crawford singled through the right side. Haerther belted the first pitch of his third at-bat over the scoreboard above the left-field wall.
UCLA continued the inning with a double to the left-center field gap by Weisser. Designated hitter Tim Murphy was safe at first on a throwing error by Husky shortstop Doug Cherry, allowing Weisser to score from second base.
Washington added one run in the bottom of the seventh. Right fielder Andy Lentz doubled off the center field wall with one out and scored on the next at-bat, as Cherry singled up the middle. UCLA ended the Huskies’ threat to score later in the inning, as left-hander Matt Drummond struck out pinch-hitter Ty Rasmussen on a check swing with a full count and Cherry was caught stealing.
The Bruins raced to a 7-1 lead, scoring three runs in the top of the eighth. Haerther led off the frame with a double to right-center field and scored on a single to right by Weisser. Murphy reached first base on a sacrifice bunt and throwing error by catcher Brett Wilcox. Brent Dean’s sacrifice fly to right plated Raul Duran, who entered the game to pinch-run for Weisser. Murphy scored on a two-out base-hit up the middle by Gallego.
UCLA added one more run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly to right field by Raul Duran, scoring Crawford from third.
The Bruins and Huskies conclude their series Sunday 1 p.m. Left-hander Gavin Brooks (4-2) will start for the Bruins, as the Huskies will counter with left-hander Nick Haughian (4-3).
Game Notes: Casey Haerther has belted seven home runs, tied for the team lead with Gabe Cohen…Haerther has recorded an 11-game hitting streak…Charles Brewer limited Washington to just two hits through the first six innings…Cam Nobles surrendered one hit in the first five innings…UCLA and Washington are tied with conference records of 5-6 in a hotly-contested Pac-10 race.
(Pullman, WA) – For the second time in five days, Washington State rallied in its last at bat to earn a victory as the Cougars defeated San Jose State 7-5 in nonconference baseball at Bailey-Brayton Field, Saturday.
Travis Coulter capped a four-run bottom of the eighth for Washington State (22-18) with a two-run single that broke a 5-5 tie and made a winner out of reliever Andrew Davis (4-2).
“We’ve been on the other side of these types of games for the past few weeks, so to have a couple of them go our way this week has been huge,” Cougar Head Coach Donnie Marbut said.
The Cougars broke a 46-game losing streak when trailing after eight innings when they scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat Gonzaga 9-8, Tuesday. Coulter also registered the game-winning hit in that victory.
Saturday, Washington State snapped a 32-game losing streak when trailing after seven innings. Down 5-2 entering the bottom of the eighth, the Cougars caught a break when Jim Murphy’s fly ball to centerfield was misjudged for a one-out double. Jared Prince followed with a single to put runners at the corners, and Alex Burg knocked in a run with a single to send Prince to second.
Greg Lagreid, who has hit safely in 16 of his last 19 games to raise his average 65 points, then laced a two-run double into the left-centerfield gap off Jack Adams (3-1) tying the game 5-5. After San Jose State (23-18) reliever Trevor Gibson retired Scott Suttmeier, he intentionally walked pinch hitter Michael Weber and unintentionally walked Shea Vucinich to load the bases prior to Coulter’s heroics.
Ross Humes came on in the ninth inning to earn his fifth save of the season and received a little help from Suttmeier. With one out, pinch hitter Karsten Klauer drilled a ball into the left field corner, but was gunned down by Suttmeier trying to stretch the hit into a double.
The Spartans built a 4-0 lead with three runs in the fourth and one in the sixth. It could have been more in the fourth, but Paul Gran made a diving stop to his left on a ground ball and threw out Jason Martin, who had tripled, out at the plate.
The Cougars tallied twice in the sixth on a RBI-single by Suttmeier and a run-scoring ground out by Vucinich to draw within 4-2 before San Jose State tacked on a run in the seventh.
WSU starter Jayson Miller pitched seven and one-third innings and struck out six to mark the 10th-straight game he has logged at least six innings.
The teams conclude their three-game series at 11 a.m., Sunday.
