Courtesy: San Jose State Athletics Marcus McKimmy produced his first career four-hit game and extended his hit streak to 11. (Photo by Damon Tarver)
Stanford, Calif. - San Jose State University struck for 10 straight runs in the middle innings to overturn a 5-1 deficit and break an eight-game losing skid to area rival Stanford University, 11-8, in non-conference baseball action at Sunken Diamond on Tuesday, April 24.
San Jose State improves to 25-17 overall with a victory in the opener of a four-game road stretch this week. Stanford drops to 16-21 following the first of six straight home games over eight days. It was the Spartans’ first win at Sunken Diamond since February 29, 2000, having suffered six consecutive losses there, and first win over the Cardinal since a 12-0 shutout at San Jose Municipal Stadium on May 1, 2002. Stanford had won eight straight meetings, including an 8-3 decision in 10 innings at Muni earlier this season on March 27.
The come-from-behind triumph also gives the Spartans their third win over a Pacific-10 Conference opponent this year, after a 9-8 defeat of California on February 20 and a 6-3 win over Washington State on March 8, both at home. San Jose State is now an even 3-3 against Pac-10 foes in 2007, with one game remaining, at California on May 8.
Stanford trotted out to an early 5-1 lead with two runs in the opening frame and three more in the second off of freshman right-handed Spartan starter Spencer Snodgrass. Run-scoring hits came in the first from DH Joey August and catcher Brian Juhl. An RBI fielder’s choice by leftfielder Toby Gerhart, the first passed ball of the season by senior Spartan catcher Justin Santich-Hughes, and an RBI groundout by rightfielder Michael Taylor led to the second-inning scores.
San Jose State countered with a single run in the top of the second, with Santich-Hughes driving in senior leftfielder Chris Balatico with a bouncing single through the left side. Balatico had hit his sixth double of 2007 with two outs.
Senior DH Ryan Angel launched his fourth home run of the season on an 0-1 count over the left field wall to open the fourth and make it a 5-2 game. It was his first since hitting two long balls at LMU on February 25.
The Spartans then surged ahead with a six-run rally in the fifth, getting four straight hits to begin the inning and bringing 10 batters to the plate in all. Juniors Brian Yocke and Marcus McKimmy opened with back-to-back singles ahead of a two-run triple to left center on a full count by senior rightfielder Donato Giovanatto. His team-leading fourth triple extended his current hit streak to a career-long 10 games. Freshman shortstop Kyle Bellows then followed with a single up the middle to bring in Giovanatto for the 5-5 deadlock.
Freshman second baseman Karson Klauer singled in between a pair of outs to put runners at first and second, ahead of a two-run double deep to left center by sophomore third baseman John Shaffer, his third of 2007. Santich-Hughes brought in the sixth run with another two-out single, this time to score Shaffer.
San Jose State added three more runs in the sixth, again getting the first four batters of the frame to reach base safely before an out was recorded. McKimmy and Giovanatto greeted new pitcher Nolan Gallagher with back-to-back singles. Bellows walked to load the bases. A wild pitch scored McKimmy and an Angel single plated Giovanatto. Klauer’s RBI groundout brought in Bellows for the final Spartan run of the night.
Stanford got two runs right back in the sixth on a two-out, two-run single by second baseman Adam Sorgi, and another in the seventh on a two-out triple by centerfielder Sean Ratliff, but was unable to get any closer.
Snodgrass finished with 3.0 innings, giving up seven hits, five runs, four of them earned, and two walks. He struck out a career-high four before giving way to junior right-hander Brandon Hennessey to begin the bottom half of the fourth. Hennessey (4-0) would go on to throw 5.0 innings of relief to earn the win. He allowed just four hits and three runs, with only one of them earned. He walked one and struck out one. Hennessey had picked up his first win of the year in the February 20 defeat of California.
“Stanford had my number. They got me my freshman year,” said Hennessey. “They are definitely one of the most disciplined and scrappy teams we have faced, but all teams in Division I baseball can hit, so you have to be on your game every time out.”
Senior right-hander Steven Vidal, fresh off tossing a seven-hit complete-game with a career-high nine strikeouts over Sacramento State last Saturday, April 21, took the hill for the ninth inning and struck out the last two Cardinal batters after a one-out double in notching his first major college save. Balatico made three straight putouts in left field in the eighth and ninth.
McKimmy finished with his first major college four-hit game, going 4-for-6 with a pair of runs scored. Santich-Hughes produced a career-high three hits in four at-bats, with two runs batted in. He added the 32nd sacrifice hit of his Spartan career.
Said McKimmy, who was making his first start at first base of 2007 after having started 39 games previously at second base, “When you play the game hard, good things happen.” McKimmy matched the Spartan season long of an 11-game hit streak with his first-inning single.
Added Santich-Hughes, who committed just the second error of his senior campaign and first since February 16 on a sixth-inning catcher’s interference call, “I was not as sharp catching as I would like to be, but I tried to pick (the team) up with my bat. (Brandon) Hennessey, Corey (Cabral), Ryan (Angel) and I were all talking about beating (Stanford) this year because we had never beaten them before, and this was our last shot.”
Yocke, Giovanatto, Angel and Shaffer provided two hits apiece for San Jose State. It was a second straight multi-hit game for Yocke in his fifth consecutive start. McKimmy, Giovanatto and Bellows each scored twice. Giovanatto, Angel, Shaffer and Santich-Hughes had two RBI each.
Every single batter in the starting lineup had at least one of the Spartans’ season-high 18 hits in all for a game which took 3:39 to complete.
Stanford starter Austin Yount allowed five hits, two runs and one walk over the first 3.2 innings. He struck out a pair. David Stringer (0-2) allowed five Spartan runs in the fifth on five hits and took the loss. The Cardinal used five pitchers in the contest.
Ratliff, Stanford’s leadoff hitter, had his first collegiate four-hit game, going 4-for-5 with a double, triple, three runs scored and one driven in. Sorgi and Cord Phelps had two hits apiece. Sorgi drove in two. Both of Phelps’ hits were doubles. Gerhart scored a pair.
“It was a good win for San Jose State,” said Spartan head coach Sam Piraro. “We swung the bats well and had some really good at-bats, especially in the six-run inning. (Brandon) Hennessey did a nice job and gave us an opportunity to stay in the game and take the lead. Then (Steven) Vidal, off his complete game, volunteered to pitch the ninth, and that showed a lot of character.
This win gives us some confidence going into a weekend series against a very good team (in Louisiana Tech).”
San Jose State travels to Ruston, La., all day Wednesday, April 25, for a three-game Western Athletic Conference series at Louisiana Tech University this Friday through Sunday, April 27-29.
San Jose State (25-17) 010 163 000 - 11 18 2 Stanford (16-21) 230 002 100 - 8 12 0
Courtesy: San Jose State Athletics
