Feb. 19, 1998
BASEBALL: BEARS (2-6-1, 0-2) HOST NO. 8 ARIZONA STATE (10-3, 0-0) IN THREE-GAME SERIES
THE SCHEDULE: The Bears (2-6-1, 0-2) host Arizona State (10-3, ranked eighth in Baseball America and 11th in Collegiate Baseball) in a three-game conference series at Evans Diamond...
Day Date Opponent Site Time
Fri. Feb. 20 vs. Arizona State Evans Diamond, Berkeley, CA 2:00 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 21 vs. Arizona State Evans Diamond, Berkeley, CA 1:00 p.m.
Sun. Feb. 22 vs. Arizona State Evans Diamond, Berkeley, CA 1:00 p.m.
RADIO: KALX Radio (90.7 FM) will broadcast the Feb. 22, and if neccesary, the Feb. 23 Arizona State games...the Bob Milano Show will air 10 minutes before the first pitch...SERIES RECORD: The Bears have a 43-70 overall series record against the Arizona State Sun Devils...the Bears won one-of-six games versus the Sun Devils last season; losing 13-9, winning 6-4 and losing 7-5 Mar. 14-17 at Evans Diamond; and losing 26-9, 3-1 and 8-4 Apr. 18-20 in Tempe, AZ...
HEAD COACH BOB MILANO: The Bears skipper, who is in his 21st season at Cal, has a career record of 641-587-5 (.522)...Milano is the all-time winningest coach at Cal in terms of total victories, having passed Clint Evans (547-256 from 1930-54) Mar. 19, 1994 vs. Arizona (15-6)...he earned his 600th career win Feb. 24 with the Bears 5-3 victory over Fresno State...Milano has led Cal to six NCAA Regional berths ('80, '85, '88, '91, '92, '95) and three College World Series appearances ('80, '88, '92)...he was named Pac-10 South Co-Coach of the Year in 1980 and 1992...Milano served as the head coach of 1997 USA Baseball Team that placed fourth at the Intercontinental Cup, August 1-10 in Barcelona, Spain...
BEAR NOTES: The California baseball team (2-6-1, 0-2) went 0-2 last Sunday versus UCLA, losing 13-8 in the first game of the series that had actually started on Friday (the game was suspended due to darkness after seven full innings and an 11-8 UCLA lead), and 11-10 in 10 innings...the third game of the series is slated for Tuesday, Mar. 31 at Evans Diamond...on Tuesday, Cal lost another close game, falling 8-7 at Santa Clara...already this season in only nine games, the Bears have been involved in three extra-inning contests (1-2), a tie and four one-run games (1-3)...despite going 0-3 in the last three games, Cal has had some impressive performances at the plate...junior catcher Jason Hill (Alamo, CA)--who currently leads the Bears in batting average (.394), hits (13), walks (seven), home runs (three) and RBI (10)--was 4-for-8 with a home run and two RBI against UCLA...freshman second baseman Xavier Nady (Salinas, CA) was 3-for-11 with a home run and a triple against the Bruins, and then went 1-for-2 with a two-run homer at Santa Clara...Nady is now second on the team with a .343 average, is tied with Hill with three home runs and leads the Bears in slugging percentage (.743) and runs scored (10)...Nady and Hill had back-to-back home runs in the first game of the UCLA series...another freshman who has swung the bat well in the last three games is designated hitter/first baseman David Sark (Chatsworth, CA)...Sark was 4-for-10 with five RBI against the Bruins, including a four-RBI game in the Bears 11-10 extra-inning loss...he was 2-for-4 with a two-run double at Santa Clara...sophomore center fielder Curtis Johnson (Oakland, CA) had one of his best games of his college career in the second contest against UCLA, going a career-high 3-for-6 with a double and two RBI...senior left fielder Aaron Gordnier (Rocklin, CA) went 4-for-8 with an RBI and stole three bases against the Bruins to raise his average from .182 to .235...junior shortstop Brian Oliver (Antioch, CA) is currently on a seven-game hitting streak and is batting .324 with three doubles, a home run and six RBI...on the mound, sophomore reliever Jon Cuccias (Woodland Hills, CA) has been the workhorse of the Cal staff, making an appearance in both UCLA games and pitching 4.3 innings with seven hits, one earned run and two walks...on the season, Cuccias is 1-0 with a team-leading 2.45 ERA and six appearances (11.0 innings)...
ARIZONA STATE: The No. 8 ranked Arizona State Sun Devils, coached by Pat Murphy (fourth year as head coach at Arizona State, 118-67, .638), are 10-3 this season, winning two-of-three versus Washington State last weekend (won 9-1, 6-5, lost 17-12)...top hitters for the Sun Devils include sophomore left fielder Willie Bloomquist (.478, 0 HR, 13 RBI), junior second baseman Chip Gosewisch (.395, 0 HR, 11 RBI) and senior right fielder Mikel Moreno (.368, 3 HR, 15 RBI)...Arizona State's tentative starting pitching rotation is junior left-hander Ryan Mills (3-1, 0.92 ERA), junior left-hander Phill Lowery (2-1, 2.08 ERA) and senior right-hander Richy Leon (0-0, 0.00 ERA)...in 1997, the Sun Devils were 39-22 overall, 16-14 (fourth) in the Pac-10 South and 3-2 in the NCAA Atlantic Regional in Miami, FL (defeated Florida International, 10-2; Florida, 3-2; Miami, 10-3; lost to Miami, 7-6; and lost to Miami, 6-5 in title game)...
TENTATIVE LINEUP AND STATS: Here is a look at Cal's tentative lineup and pitching rotation...
No. Pos. Player 1998 stats
10 RF Juan Hernandez, So. .212, 2 RBI, 0 HR
5 SS Brian Oliver, Jr. .324, 6 RBI, 1 HR
11 2B Xavier Nady, Fr. .343, 6 RBI, 3 HR
45 C Jason Hill, Jr. .394, 10 RBI, 3 HR
33 LF Aaron Gordnier, Sr. .235, 3 RBI, 0 HR
14 DH David Sark, Fr. .242, 8 RBI, 1 2B
9 1B Jason Dennis, Fr. .130, 4 RBI, 2 2B
8 3B Dan Garfin, Jr. .188, 0 RBI, 0 HR
16 CF Curtis Johnson, So. .192, 3 RBI, 2 2B
9 LHP Jason Dennis, Fr. (Fri.) 0-1, 7.07 ERA
34 RHP Jon Shirley, So. (Sat.) 0-1, 4.41 ERA
25 RHP Ryan Drese, Jr. (Sun.) 0-1, 8.31 ERA
SIX-PAC RACE (as of Feb. 19)
Conference Overall
W L PCT GB W L T .PCT
UCLA 2 0 1.000 -- 7 4 .636
Arizona 0 0 .000 -- 16 0 1.000
Stanford 0 0 .000 -- 10 0 1 .950
USC 0 0 .000 -- 8 2 .800
Arizona State 0 0 .000 -- 10 3 .769
CALIFORNIA 0 2 .000 2 2 6 1 .278
CAL INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES
JON CUCCIAS: Is 1-0 with a team-leading 2.45 ERA and six appearances as a reliever...picked up the win in the 12-inning victory over Pepperdine Feb. 8 by pitching the final 3.3 innings with no hits, no runs and no walks...made two appearances last weekend vs. UCLA, pitching 4.3 innings with seven hits, one earned run and two walks...in last outing at Arizona State Apr. 19, pitched one inning with no runs or hits...has a 0-0 record vs. Arizona State with two hits and a walk in 3.0 innings...has a career record of 3-0 with a 3.21 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 61.7 innings...
JASON DENNIS: Is 0-1 with two no decisions and a 7.07 ERA on the mound...suffered the loss in the opening game of the UCLA series, pitching 2.7 innings with nine hits, six runs (two, three-run homers), two walks and a strikeout...started game three at Pepperdine Feb. 8, pitching an impressive 5.0 innings with one hit, no runs, no walks and two strikeouts...started game three of the CS Fullerton series Feb. 1, pitching 5.3 innings with seven hits, five runs, two walks and two strikeouts...is batting only .130 (3-for-23), but did knock in the game-winning RBI with a two-out double in the 12th inning in the Bears 6-5 victory at CS Fullerton Jan. 30 and had a two-run double Tuesday at Santa Clara...is batting .250 (2-for-8, four RBI) with runners in scoring position...is slated to start Friday on the mound...
RYAN DRESE: Is 0-1 with a 8.31 ERA in 8.7 innings...got a no decision Tuesday at Santa Clara, pitching 3.0 innings with five hits, three runs, two walks and three strikeouts...got a no decision Feb. 7 at Pepperdine (2.0 innings, three hits, two earned runs, one walk, two strikeouts)...suffered the loss in game two at CS Fullerton Jan. 31, (3.7 innings, three earned runs, five walks)...when he took the mound Jan. 31 against the Titans, it was the first time he had pitched since Feb. 8, 1997 vs. Pepperdine when he strained ligaments in his right elbow after throwing 30 pitches (1.0 innings with three hits, two runs, one walk)...the only time he has faced the Sun Devils was April 14, 1995 at Arizona State, getting a no decision pitching 5.7 innings with six hits, six earned runs, six walks and four strikeouts in a 10-9 Cal win...is slated to start Sunday for the Bears...
AARON GORDNIER: Is batting .235 with three RBI and a team-leading four stolen bases...went 4-for-8 with an RBI and three stolen bases in two games vs. UCLA...started the season slow, going 2-for-12 Feb. 7-8 at Pepperdine and 2-for-10 with two RBI Jan. 3-Feb. 1 at CS Fullerton...is still 3-for-6 with three RBI with runners in scoring position...in the last series vs. Arizona State was 0-for-9 Apr. 18-20 in Tempe...has a career batting average of .238 (5-for-21) with a home run and three RBI vs. Arizona State...
JASON HILL: Is batting a team-high .394 with a double, and a team-leading seven walks, three home runs and 10 RBI...also has a .697 slugging percentage...was 4-for-8 with a home run vs. UCLA and was 4-for-12 with home run Feb. 7-8 at Pepperdine...had a career-high 12-game hitting streak (18-for-46, .391, 2-2B, 4-HR, 18 RBI from May 2, 1997-Feb. 8) snapped when he went 0-2 in the five inning game against the Waves Feb. 8...had an outstanding season-opening series at CS Fullerton, going 4-for-11 with a double, a home run and six RBI...in the third game of the series vs. the Titans, went 2-for-4 with a career-high four RBI (fourth, four-RBI game), including a three-run homer in the seventh inning...is batting .500 (6-for-12 , HR, eight RBI) with runners in scoring position...was 2-for-10 in the last Arizona State series Apr. 18-20 in Tempe...has a career average of .323 (10-for-31) with two home runs and seven RBI vs. Arizona State...
XAVIER NADY: Is second on the team in batting average, hitting .343 with three doubles, a triple and a team-leading three home runs (tied with Hill), a .743 slugging percentage and 10 runs scored...was 3-for-11 with a home run and a triple against against UCLA, and went 1-for-2 with a two-run homrer at Santa Clara...was 5-for-11 with two doubles, a home run and three RBI Feb. 7-8 at Pepperdine...knocked in the game-winning RBI Feb. 8 against the Waves, hitting a two-run homer in the 12th inning in Cal's 9-7 come-from-behind victory...went 4-for-13 with a double Jan. 30-Feb. 1 at CS Fullerton...went 3-for-5 with a double and scored the winning run in the 6-5, 12-inning victory over the Titans Jan. 30...was 2-for-3 with a three-run homer in the Alumni Game Jan. 24 and 3-for-3 in the suspended game vs. USF Jan. 26...
BRIAN OLIVER: Has a .324 average with three doubles, a home run and six RBI...was 3-for-11 with an RBI vs. UCLA and 1-for-3 with a double at Santa Clara...went 4-for-10 with two doubles and two RBI Feb. 7-8 at Pepperdine and 4-for-13 with a home run and three RBI Jan. 30-Feb. 1 at CS Fullerton...hit a key two-run homer in the eighth inning to help lead the Bears to the 6-5, 12-inning victory over the Titans Jan. 30...is currently on a seven-game hitting streak (10-for-27, .370, 2-2B, four RBI) from Feb. 1...is 2-for-5 with four RBI with runners in scoring position...was 4-for-14 with a home run and three RBI in the last Arizona State series Apr. 18-20 in Tempe...has a career average of .190 (8-for-42) with two doubles, a home run and five RBI vs. Arizona State...has an overall career average of .349 (168-for-482) with 32 doubles, five triples, 10 home runs, 74 RBI and 47 stolen bases in 119 games...
JON SHIRLEY: Is 0-1 with a 4.41 ERA and a team-high 13 strikeouts in 16.3 innings...got a no decision Feb. 15 vs. UCLA, pitching 5.3 innings with seven hits, five runs, three walks and four strikeouts...it was his seventh no decision of his career...suffered the loss Feb. 7 at Pepperdine (4.7 innings, five hits, two earned runs, one walk, three strikeouts)...had a no decision Jan. 30 at CS Fullerton (6.3 innings, one earned run, one walk, six strikeouts...suffered the loss in his last outing vs. Arizona State in the Bears 3-1 loss Apr. 19, pitching 7.0 innings with six hits, three runs, two walks and two strikeouts...has a career record of 0-2 with a 5.24 ERA and four strikeouts in 10.3 innings vs. Arizona State...only a sophomore, he has already made 20 appearances, pitching 98.7 innings with 67 strikeouts, 39 walks and a 5.29 ERA...is slated to start Saturday for the Bears...
