USC 10 – @ Stanford 9
@ ASU 18 – Cal 2 (7 innings)
@ OSU 3 – Arizona 2
UCLA 4 – @ Washington 3
San Jose State 6 – @ WSU 2
USC snaps a six game loosing streak. Stanford’s loss drops them into a tie with ASU for first place in the Pac-10. Derek Perren went 2 for 3 for USC with a double, a home runs and 5 RBI’s. Jason Castro had another good day for Stanford, going 2 for 5 with a home run and 3 RBI’s.
ASU scored 10 runs in the second inning on only 3 hits. ASU’s win and Stanford’s loss puts both teams in a tie for first pace in the Pac-10 standings. The game was concluded after seven innings due to a combination of the 10 run mercy rule and Sunday travel requirements. Ryan Sontag was perfect at the plate for ASU going 3 for 3 including a triple. Petey Paramore’s only hit for ASU was a two run home run into a very strong wind blowing in. Cal starter Daniel Wolford only faced two batters and left the game after developing blisters. Dwight Tanaka of Cal was hit in the batting helmet by a pitch and left the game.
OSU’s Jorge Reyes picked up the win after going 8 innings, walking 0, striking out 6, giving up 6 hits and 1 earned run. Arizona’s Jon Gaston collected 3 of those hits in 4 at bats.
For UCLA Jermaine Curtis went 2 for 3 with the only extra base hit of the afternoon, a double and he also scored twice. Gavin Brooks picked up the win after throwing 7 innings, walking 5, striking out 8, giving up 7 hits and 2 earned run. Nick Haughian pitched all 9 innings for Washington but takes the loss. He struck out 8, walked 5, gave up 7 hits and just 2 earned run in the effort.
Kyle Bellows of SJS went 2 for 5 with a key 3 run double.
Media Releases
(Stanford, CA) – Senior first baseman Derek Perren (Chatsworth/Granada Hills HS/L.A. Pierce College) went 2-for-3 with a home run and career-high five RBI Sunday as the USC Trojans held on for the 10-9 win over the No. 5 Stanford Cardinal to salvage a win in the Pac-10 Conference series.
USC (20-22, 7-8) snapped a six-game losing streak both on the season and in the all-time series against Stanford (25-13-2, 10-5). Ryan Cook (5-3) threw seven key innings for the Trojans, allowing six runs and eight hits, as he never relinquished the lead in the game. Robert Stock relieved Anthony Vasquez in the ninth to retire pinch hitter Brent Milleville for his third save with the tying run at third for the Cardinal.
The Trojans struck early in the first when Perren hit his fifth home run with a two-run shot to right center for a 2-0 lead. Senior designated hitter Mike Roskopf made it a three-run advantage as he led off the second with a solo shot to left center, his eighth on the year.
Sean Ratliff hammered an RBI triple to center in the Stanford second and later scored on Austin Yount’s sacrifice fly as the Cardinal cut the deficit, 3-2.
An error by Stanford third baseman Zach Jones led to four unearned runs for the Trojans in the fourth. Perren cleared the bases with a three-run double to right, but the Cardinal responded with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth when Jason Castro hit his ninth of the season with a two-run homer to right.
With a 7-5 lead, sophomore Grant Green (Anaheim Hills/Canyon HS) extended his career-best hitting streak to 17 games with a solo shot to left for the Trojans. Jake Schlander singled and Cord Phelps walked to lead off the Stanford half of the seventh, but Cook induced a key double play from Brendan Domaracki as Schlander moved to third. Joey August brought home Schlander with a single to right with USC still leading, 8-6.
After Vasquez entered as a pitcher in the eighth, he hit a two-run double in the ninth which would prove important for the Trojans. Vasquez recorded the first two outs of the inning, but four consecutive singles produced three runs for the Cardinal. Stock entered the game and threw a wild pitch that allowed pinch hitter Wande Olabisi to go from first to third. Milleville hit a soft chopper on the third base side as Stock came off the mound and fired a strike to Perren at first to finish the win.
USC travels to Cal Poly on Tuesday (April 29) for a 6 p.m. game before resuming Pac-10 Conference play at home against Washington. The series with the Huskies begins on Friday (May 2) at 7 p.m. with a 1:30 p.m. start on Saturday (May 3) and a 1 p.m. start on Sunday (May 4). All four games will be broadcast live on usctrojans.com with the Washington series on a video webcast, courtesy of TrojanTV All-Access.
(Tempe, AZ) – Powered by a 10 run second inning, #4 Arizona State swept the #6 Cal Golden Bears 18-2 in front of 2,569 at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium. ASU pounded out 11 hits and was aided by five Cal errors to improve to 35-7, 10-5 in Pac-10 play.
The game was called after the top of the seventh inning to allow California to travel home to Berkeley.
Cal jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the first on starter Josh Satow, but Arizona State answered in a big way in the second. Ryan Sontag got the scoring started with a bases loaded bunt single to first that scored Ryan Sontag. Jason Kipnis hit a sac fly to center that scored Mike Leake and tied things at 2-2. Brett Wallace gave ASU the lead with a single through the left side to bring home Greg Bordes and make it 3-2.
Petey Paramore hit a grounder to second that Josh Satin mishandled and then threw the ball away. Sontag and Wallace both came home to score on the play. Kiel Roling scored on a wild pitch, then a dropped pop up by Cal third basemen Jeff Kobernus allowed Leake to reach and Paramore and Matt Newman to score. Raoul Torrez singled home Leake, then a bases loaded walk to Kipnis scored Torrez and ended the scoring.
All told, 16 Sun Devils came to the plate in the inning, including a stretch that saw seven straight reach base. ASU only had three hits in the second, but drew seven walks and was hit by a pitch.
Paramore hit a two-run homer to right center in the third that made it 12-2. It was Paramore’s fourth homer of the season. Jason Kipnis brought home a run with a sac fly in the fourth.
Arizona State added five more in the fifth, thanks to RBI from Greg Bordes, Jason Kipnis, Brett Wallace, Kiel Roling and Matt Newman.
Satow went five innings, allowing two runs on four hits to move to 5-2 on the year. He struck out five and walked five before giving way to Dustin Brader and Kyle Brule.
Ryan Sontag was 3-3 with and RBI and two walks, while Brett Wallace went 3-6 with two RBI. Every starter with the exception of Mike Leake brought home a run, but Leake scored two runs on his own. Jason Kipnis was 0-1, but had four RBI, walked three times, scored a run and stole a base.
The Sun Devils now head back to the road, traveling to UCLA for a three-game Pac-10 series at Jackie Robinson Stadium that starts on Friday.
(Corvallis, OR) – Jorge Reyes pitched a gem, going eight full innings, as the Oregon State baseball team took the series finale against No. 23 Arizona, 3-2, Sunday afternoon in front of 2,367 fans at Goss Stadium.
The win gave Oregon State the series victory after winning Saturday. The Beavers improved to 20-14 overall and 8-7 in Pacific-10 Conference play this season, while Arizona dropped to 28-13 overall and 7-8 in Pac-10 games.
“Jorge did an outstanding job today and we played great defense behind him,” head coach Pat Casey said. “This was one of his better outings of the season. This is a very key win.”
Reyes’ eight innings marked his longest outing of the season and the right-hander gave up one earned run. He struck out six batters and gave up no walks.
Reyes was the third OSU pitcher in as many games to work into the eighth inning. He threw 108 pitches Sunday and improved to 3-2 this season.
Reyes got into trouble in the seventh inning with runners at first and second with no outs. After an Arizona sac bunt moved runners to second and third, he induced leadoff hitter T.J. Steele into the second out of the inning on a strikeout. Reyes got out of the jam when Bobby Coyle grounded back to him for the third out of the inning.
Oregon State (20-14 overall, 8-7 Pacific-10 Conference) closer Kevin Roderick came in to close the game in the ninth but worked himself into trouble, loading the bases back-to-back walks with two outs but was able to get Coyle swinging to end the game. He posted his ninth save of the season.
Chris Hopkins went 1-for-4 with one RBI and was 6-for-11 in the series, scoring three runs.
Daniel Robertson was 2-for-3 with one run scored Sunday and Lonnie Lechelt was 2-for4 with an RBI.
Arizona starting pitcher Eric Berger pitched 4 2/3 innings and gave up three runs while striking out five. He recorded his third loss of the season with his record at 4-3.
Arizona (28-13, 7-8) took the early lead in the top of the first inning off back-to-back doubles by C.J. Ziegler and Brad Glenn, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
The Beavers took the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning with three runs making the score 3-1. Daniel Robertson hit a leadoff single for the Beavers in the fifth and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Erik Ammon. Wells drove in Robertson from second with a single to center field.
Wells later advanced to second with a stolen base. That was key as two batters later, Chris Hopkins doubled to right, bringing in Wells from second.
Lonnie Lechelt capped off the inning with a triple off the left field wall, scoring Hopkins and giving OSU a two-run lead.
Arizona pulled to within one in the sixth Coyle reached on an error and moved to second on the overthrow. He later scored when Glenn singled two batters later.
Oregon State next takes the field Tuesday at Gonzaga with a first pitch time of 6 p.m. The game can be heard on the Beaver Sports Network, Beaver Nation Online (www.osubeavers.com) and Yahoo! Sports.
(Seattle, WA) – Left-hander Gavin Brooks (5-2) limited Washington to three runs (two earned) and seven hits in seven innings, and southpaw Brendan Lafferty pitched two scoreless innings of relief to notch his second save as the UCLA baseball team edged the host Huskies, 4-3, Sunday afternoon at Husky Ballpark.
Brooks recorded eight strikeouts and issued five walks against Washington (25-16, 5-7 Pac-10), earning his fifth victory of the season – his fourth consecutive win, all in Sunday afternoon starts. Lafferty recorded four strikeouts without allowing any hits or walks.
The victory allowed UCLA to rebound from Friday evening’s 5-2 loss and take the series against Washington, two games to one. The Bruins downed the Huskies, 8-1, on Saturday afternoon at Husky Ballpark.
Washington left-hander Nick Haughian (4-4) absorbed the loss, despite limiting UCLA (22-17, 6-6 Pac-10) to four runs (two earned) and seven hits in nine innings. Haughian registered eight strikeouts and issued two walks.
First baseman Casey Haerther continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-4 at the plate with a game-high two RBI. Third baseman Jermaine Curtis went 2-for-3 with a team-best two runs. UCLA also received one hit from left fielder Alden Carrithers, right fielder Mickey Weisser and second baseman Niko Gallego.
The Huskies were led offensively by left fielder Aaron Russell, who was 2-for-5. Catcher Joey Dunn and center fielder Sean Meehan each recorded one RBI for Washington.
Trailing 3-1 after seven innings, the Bruins scored three runs in the eighth to lead, 4-3. Carrithers led off the frame with a single and moved to second on a pass ball before Curtis reached on an infield single. Shortstop Brandon Crawford lined a grounder up the middle and was safe at first on a fielding error by shortstop Doug Cherry, allowing Carrithers to score. A single through the left side by Haerther plated Curtis, tying the ballgame, 3-3. After stealing third base, Crawford scored on a sacrifice bunt up the first-base line by Weisser to hand the Bruins a 4-3 lead.
UCLA took the game’s first lead, scoring one run in the top of the first. Curtis drew a one-out walk and stole second base, before Haerther drove home the baserunner with a single up the middle.
Washington claimed a 2-1 lead with two outs in the fourth. With runners aboard first and second, catcher Joey Dunn singled through the left side, allowing designated hitter Ty Rasmussen to score from second. The throw home bounced past home plate, rebounding off a sliding Rasmussen and allowing first baseman Troy Scott to score.
The Huskies scored another run in the bottom of the fifth. Meehan lined a ball off Brooks’ foot and the ball deflected behind the mound, sending home second baseman Bradley Boyer from third with two outs.
The Bruins return to action at Pepperdine on Tuesday, April 29. Game time at Eddy D. Field Stadium in Malibu, Calif., is slated for 3 p.m. In a non-conference contest recently added to the schedule, UCLA will host Loyola Marymount on Wednesday, April 30, at 6 p.m.
Game Notes: Casey Haerther extended his career-long hitting streak to 12 games, the longest such streak by a Bruin since Gabe Cohen hit safely in 12 contests during the 2007 season…Gavin Brooks struck out the side in a scoreless second inning, as the Huskies stranded the bases loaded.
(Pullman, WA) – Kyle Bellows came through with a bases-loaded, three-run double during a four-run third inning, and that was all that San Jose State University needed in a 6-2 win over Washington State University in the finale of a three-game non-conference baseball series at Bailey-Brayton Field on Sunday, April 27.
With the victory, San Jose State improves to 24-18, while Washington State drops to 22-19. The host Cougars of the Pacific-10 Conference had taken the first two games of the set, 8-3 on Friday night and 7-5 through five eighth-inning runs on Saturday afternoon.
Bellows, the Spartan shortstop and a 2007 Freshman All-American, entered the game tied for the team lead in RBI with fellow sophomore Corey Valine at 29 apiece, but had not produced a three-RBI game since a March 18 home date with Saint Mary’s, and put together just a pair of two-RBI efforts during this stretch.
In a scoreless game with one out in the third, back-to-back singles by junior second baseman John Shaffer and freshman leftfielder Craig Hertler, followed by a walk from freshman Cougar right-hander Chad Arnold to freshman rightfielder Jason Martin, loaded the bases for Bellows. The San Jose native out of Santa Teresa High School then smacked his team-leading 13th double of the season and second in as many games in the series, into the gap in left center on a 1-2 count to clear the bases for a 3-0 San Jose State advantage.
Freshman first baseman Danny Stienstra became a fifth straight Spartan to reach base in the inning on a single to right to put runners at the corners, before junior DH Jacob Bruns lifted a sacrifice fly on a third straight 1-2 count by Arnold for a 4-0 scoreline.
Washington State picked up single runs in the fifth and sixth frames before San Jose State got both of them back in the top of the eighth. Bruns, one of two natives of Washington state on the 2008 Spartan roster, out of Lakewood, Wash., provided his first major college extra-base hit, a double to right center on the second pitch of the inning to extend his current team-best hit streak to six games. Senior Sonny Garza, the other native out of Othello, Wash., making his first start of the season at third base after 21 at first base and one as the DH, then reached on an infield Cougar error that allowed Bruns to score. Freshman catcher Bryson Rahier doubled for the third time as a collegiate player to put runners at second and third with nobody out.
After a pitching change and a groundout, Rahier moved to third and Garza scored on a balk. Shaffer was hit by a pitch and Washington State made the second of three pitching changes in the frame, but a pair of fielder’s choice groundouts kept it a 6-2 game
The Spartans put two runners on base around a strikeout in the first inning through a walk to Hertler and a single by Bellows, but a double play put an end to the threat. In the bottom half, junior right-hander Scott Sobczak allowed a leadoff single to Travis Coulter to extend the second baseman’s hit streak to 12 games, but then retired the next three Cougars.
Sobczak (4-1) allowed one run on seven hits and no walks over 5.2 innings, striking out four. Three successive two-out singles in the sixth led to the lone run against him and a new pitcher. He set down six straight before the first of those singles, including a 1-2-3 fifth.
Ryan Shopshire, himself a junior right-hander, registered the final 10 outs for his team-leading third save. He gave up one run on four hits and one walk, striking out one to end the sixth with the first Cougar run of the game in already and runners at first and second in a 4-1 game. The Orange Coast College transfer cleaned up a leadoff double by Shea Vucinich and en ensuing RBI single by Coulter at the top of the order to make it 4-2 in the seventh, by getting the two hottest batters in the Cougar lineup, Scott Suttmeier and Paul Gran, to flyout and lineout into a 4-3 double play, respectively, to keep the margin intact. Shopshire also got out of trouble in the eighth, getting back-to-back flyouts after two straight one-out singles.
Bellows finished 2-for-5 with a double, run scored and three RBI. Shaffer was 2-for-3 with his 11th hit-by-pitch and team-leading 41st run scored. Bruns wound up 1-for-4 with the double, sacrifice fly, run and RBI in his sixth start of the year. The Spartans had five trueu freshmen in the starting lineup in Hertler, Martin, Stienstra, Rahier and centerfielder Tommy Gale.
Arnold (2-3) gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out three, retiring five straight in between Bellows’ first-inning single and the four-run Spartan outburst. Five other Washington State hurlers saw action in relief. Jared Prince was 3-for-4 with a run, with Coulter, Alex Burg and Greg Lagreid adding two hits apiece. Coulter and Lagreid drove in the Cougar runs.
“This was a very, very good win for us,” said San Jose State head coach Sam Piraro. “I thought we dominated the game, actually from the very first pitch to the last pitch. Washington State is a very good team. I thought we played very well over the course of the entire weekend. We should have won two out of the three games. They beat us soundly on Friday. We dominated the game on Saturday, but they had a good rally late in the game and beat us, 7-5.
“Today, Scott Sobczak had a very good start, and Ryan Shopshire came in and finished the game. We had a couple of key hits. Kyle Bellows cleared the bases with a double. That was a big hit. Jacob Bruns had a sacrifice fly and we were able to squeeze a couple more runs across.
“Defensively, we played well the entire weekend, especially the infield, and our catching was real good. We got three quality starts. All three pitchers put on good displays against an excellent team. Washington State is a very, very good team. They have a lot of experience on that club. We started five freshmen today, and they held their own very well.”
The Spartans return to San Jose late Sunday night, and will continue non-conference action with three more contests in the week ahead, beginning with a date with San Francisco State University on Wednesday night, April 30. First pitch at San Jose Municipal Stadium is set for 6:00 p.m. The Spartans will then await a two-game home-and-home set with No. 5 Stanford.
