Mar. 12, 1997
Bears Host No. 14 Arizona State
THE SCHEDULE: The Bears (11-15, 0-6) host Arizona State (17-10, 3-6 ranked 14th in Baseball America and 24th in Collegiate Baseball) for a three-game series at Evans Diamond...
Day Date Opponent Site Time
Fri. Mar. 14 vs. Arizona State Evans Diamond, Berkeley, CA 2:00 p.m.
Sat. Mar. 15 vs. Arizona State Evans Diamond, Berkeley, CA 1:00 p.m.
Sun. Mar. 16 vs. Arizona State Evans Diamond, Berkeley, CA 1:00 p.m.
Mon. Mar. 17 vs. Washington State Evans Diamond, Berkeley, CA 2:00 p.m.
RADIO: KALX Radio (90.7 FM) will broadcast all three games versus Arizona State and the Washington State game...the Bob Milano Show will air 10 minutes before the first pitch...SERIES RECORD: The Bears have a 42-65 overall series record against the Arizona State Sun Devils...last season, Cal lost four-of-six games to Arizona State; losing 11-6, 4-2 and winning 7-5, Mar. 8-11 in Berkeley, and losing 9-6, 23-3 and winning 6-3, Apr. 12-14 in Tempe...
HEAD COACH BOB MILANO: The Bears skipper, who is in his 20th season at Cal, has a career record of 629-558-4 (.530)...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 will serve as the head coach of 1997 USA Baseball Team that will compete in the Intercontinental Cup, August 1-10 in Barcelona, Spain...
BEAR NOTES: The '97 Bears (11-15, 0-6) were swept by USC (7-5, 8-6, 5-3) last weekend in Los Angeles and defeated Santa Clara, 1-0, Tuesday in Berkeley...Cal's 0-6 conference mark includes two, one-run extra inning losses and four, two-run losses...in the first game at USC, the Bears were struck out 10 times by Trojan starter Randy Flores, but rallied in the ninth inning to get within two runs on a pinch hit, two-run single by freshman Barry Schell (Poway, CA)...other top hitters for Cal included freshman Curtis Johnson (Oakland, CA 2-for-3) and senior third baseman Jim Schmidt (Oak Forest, IL 2-for-3 with an RBI)...in game two, the Bears received another strong performance from freshman starter Jon Shirley (Bakersfield, CA 2-1, one save, 2.97 ERA), who had his fourth good outing in a row, but got a no decision, pitching 6.3 innings with nine hits, three runs, two walks and tield a career-high seven strikeouts...Cal had squandered a 5-1 lead, but still had strong hitting performances from junior left fielder Aaron Gordnier (Rocklin, CA) and senior second baseman Ivan Lewis (Berkeley, CA)...Gordnier was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer in the seventh inning, and Lewis was 3-for-4 with two RBI...in game three, junior right-hander Doug Nickle (Sonoma, CA) suffered the loss for the Bears, pitching 4.0 innings with six hits, three runs, two walks and five strikeouts...top hitters for Cal included freshman right fielder Juan Hernandez (Tracy, CA 3-for-3) and sophomore shortstop Brian Oliver (Antioch, CA 2-for-3 with an RBI)...Gordnier and Furstenthal finished as the Bears top hitters at USC, with Gordnier going 5-for-12 with two doubles, a home run and two RBI; and Furstenthal going 4-for-10 with a double and an RBI...Gordnier had been in an 0-18 slump prior to the USC series...Furstenthal currently leads Cal with a .381 average (.421 in conference) and a .485 on base percentage...on Tuesday, Cal had its first shutout of the season, defeating visiting Santa Clara, 1-0, at Evans Diamond...it broke a three-game losing streak and it was the first time the Bears had shutout an opponent since shutting out Pepperdine, 2-0, Feb. 2, 1996 in Malibu...Santa Clara catcher Paul Chiaffredo's throwing error in the seventh inning proved to be the difference as five Bear pitchers combine to shutout the Broncos on five hits...the winning pitcher for Cal was junior right-hander Jim Vorhis (Mill Valley), who improved his record to 2-2 by coming in in the seventh inning and getting the last two outs of the inning with runners on first and second base...sophomore right-hander Tyler Walker (Ross, CA) earned his third save of the season, pitching the final two innings with two hits, no walks and three strikeouts...top hitter for Cal was Furstenthal, who was 2-for-3...
ARIZONA STATE: The Arizona State Sun Devils, coached by Pat Murphy (3rd year as head coach at Arizona State, 71-42, .628), are 17-10, 3-6 after winning one-of-three versus Stanford (lost 11-9, 10-4 in 10 innings, won 12-8) Mar. 7-9 and defeating UNLV, 6-5 and 7-2 Mar. 11-12...top hitters for the Sun Devils include junior left fielder Dan McKinley (.391, 8 HR, 30 RBI), sophomore catcher Chip Gosewisch (.381, 0 HR, 7 RBI) and sophomore third baseman Andrew Beinbrink (.371, 5 HR, 34 RBI)...Arizona State's tentative starting pitching rotation is sophomore left-hander Phill Lowery (2-1, 3.41 ERA), sophomore left-hander Ryan Mills (2-0, 1.91 ERA) and either junior right-hander Ben Byrd (3-1, 5.96 ERA) or sophomore left-hander Ron Marietta (2-2, 11.49)...in 1996, the Sun Devils were 35-21 overall (14-16, fourth in Pac-10 Southern Division play)...
TENTATIVE LINEUP AND STATS: Here is a look at Cal's tentative lineup and pitching rotation...
No. Pos. Player '97 stats
26 2B Ivan Lewis, Sr. .229, 7 RBI, 5 2B
9 3B Jim Schmidt, Sr. .357, 10 RBI, 5 2B
5 SS Brian Oliver, So. .356, 13 RBI, 3 3B
33 LF Aaron Gordnier, Jr. .241, 19 RBI, 2 HR
2 1B John Furstenthal, Sr. .381, 10 RBI, 4 2B
17 DH Barry Schell, Fr. .286, 11 RBI, 3 HR
45 C Jason Hill, So. .228, 15 RBI, 1 HR
16 CF Curtis Johnson, Fr. .241, 4 RBI, 1 HR
10 RF Juan Hernandez, Fr. .267, 7 RBI, 1 HR
30 RHP Drew Fischer, Sr. (Fri.) 2-3, 5.72 ERA
34 RHP Jon Shirley, Fr. (Sat.) 2-1, 2.97 ERA
35 RHP Doug Nickle, Jr. (Sun.) 1-2, 3.49 ERA
21 RHP Jason Ball, Fr. (Mon.) 0-0, 0.00 ERA
SIX-PAC RACE (as of March 13)
Conference Overall
W L PCT GB W L T PCT
Stanford 5 1 .833 -- 18 7 0 .720
Arizona 5 1 .833 -- 21 10 0 .677
USC 5 4 .556 1.5 20 7 0 .741
UCLA 3 3 .500 2.0 22 5 1 .786
Arizona State 3 6 .333 3.5 17 10 0 .630
CALIFORNIA 0 6 .000 5.0 11 15 0 .423
CAL INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES
DREW FISCHER: Is 2-3 with a 5.72 ERA and leads the team in innings pitched (39.3, 10th in the Pac-10)...last outing Mar. 7 suffered loss at USC (4.3 innings, six hits, six runs, four walks)...picked up win Feb. 21 vs. Oregon State (7.0 innings, nine hits, six runs, only one walk, tied a career-high seven strikeouts)...suffered loss Feb. 14 at Long Beach State, throwing his first collegiate complete game (8.0 innings, five hits, three earned runs, two walks, six strikeouts)...only gave up one hit after the first inning against the 49ers...picked up win Jan. 30 at Hawaii (5.0 innings, four hits, three runs, one walk, two strikeouts)...is sixth in the conference in walks/nine innings (2.43)...has an 0-1 career record with two saves and a 5.03 ERA vs. Arizona State...has 20 strikeouts in 19.7 innings vs. the Sun Devils...is slated to start Friday for the Bears...
JOHN FURSTENTHAL: Leads the team in hitting, batting .381 with four doubles and 10 RBI...also leads team in hit by pitch (six), on base percentage (.485) and putouts (219)...at Hawaii went 6-for-11 with two RBI...went 4-for-9 with a double and an RBI in the Arizona series, and was 4-for-10 with a double and an RBI at USC...is 5-for-23 (.217) with nine RBI with runners in scoring position...has a career batting average of .038 (1-for-26) with a double vs. Arizona State...
AARON GORDNIER: Is batting .241 with five doubles, two home runs and a team-leading 19 RBI...was 5-for-12 with two doubles, a home run and two RBI last weekend at USC...hit his first collegiate home run Feb. 4 vs. Santa Clara (1-for-3, HR, two RBI)...went 5-for-11 with two doubles and five RBI in the Hawaii series...had a career-high five-game hitting streak (8-for-18, 2-2B, HR, nine RBI) from Jan. 31-Feb. 4...is 12-for-32 (.375) with two home runs and 19 RBI with runners in scoring position...
JUAN HERNANDEZ: Has started 24 games in right field, batting .267 with five doubles, a home run and seven RBI...is tied for fourth in the conference in stolen bases (12-for-12)...was 4-for-5 and hit his first collegiate home run (three-run homer) Feb. 11 at Saint Mary's...went 4-for-12 with an RBI vs. Oregon State, but only 1-for-15 vs. Arizona...was 3-for-7 last weekend at USC...is 4-for-26 (.154) with an HR and seven RBI with runners in scoring position...
JASON HILL: Is hitting .228 with five doubles, a home run and 15 RBI...was 2-for-14 in the Arizona series and 2-for-12 at USC...was 2-for-9 with an HR and five RBI in the Oregon State series...hit well at Long Beach State, going 7-for-17 with seven RBI...is 8-for-34 (.235) with 12 RBI with runners in scoring position...has thrown out 16 baserunners (16-for-47)...has a career average of .300 (3-for-10) with an RBI vs. Arizona State...
IVAN LEWIS: Is batting .229 with five doubles and seven RBI...was 4-for-13 with four RBI last weekend at USC...went 3-for-6 with a double Feb. 11 at Saint Mary's...is 6-for-25 (.240) with seven RBI with runners in scoring position...has a career average of .300 (18-for-60) with two doubles and six RBI vs. Arizona State...
DOUG NICKLE: Is 1-3 and leads the Bears in strikeouts (27)...in last outing loss Mar. 9 at USC (4.0 innings, six hits, three runs, two walks, five strikeouts)...suffered the loss Mar. 2 vs. Arizona, pitching a career-high 7.0 innings (four hits, three earned runs, one walk, three strikeouts)...had a phenominal game in his first collegiate start Feb. 19 vs. San Francisco State (two hits, no runs, only one walk, career-high nine strikeouts)...earned save Jan. 31 at Hawaii (4.0 innings, one hit, no runs, two strikeouts)...also picked up the save Feb. 4 vs. Santa Clara, coming into the game in the ninth inning and giving up two hits, but not allowing the Broncos to score with the bases loaded and no outs...suffered loss Feb. 23 vs. Oregon State (2.0 innings, three hits, three runs, two walks, two strikeouts)...is fifth in the conference in saves, sixth in hits/nine innings (7.03) and 10th in appearances (11)...is slated to start Sunday for the Bears...
BRIAN OLIVER: Is third on the team in batting average (.356) and leads the team in at bats (101), runs (21), hits (36), doubles (seven), triples (three), total bases (49), walks (14) and stolen bases (13-for-14)...was 7-for-14 with a double, a triple and three RBI at Hawaii, 6-for-11 with a double and an RBI vs. Pepperdine; 7-for-18 with a double, a triple and three RBI at Long Beach State, 3-for-10 with a double, triple and two RBI vs. Oregon State and 5-for-13 with a double vs. Arizona...went 2-for-10 with an RBI last weekend at USC...knocked in the game-winning RBI Mar. 5 vs. CS Hayward with a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth...was 4-for-5 with a double, a triple and an RBI Jan. 31 at Hawaii...is 9-for-30 (.300) with 12 RBI with runners in scoring position...leads the conference in stolen bases and is second in triples...has a career average of .063 (1-for-16) with a double and an RBI vs. Arizona State...
JIM SCHMIDT: Is Cal's second leading hitter, batting .357 with five doubles and 10 RBI...has started 22 games this season (11 at third, eight at second and three as a designated hitter)...was 5-for-10 with a double and two RBI at Hawaii, 10-for-17 with a double and three RBI at Long Beach State and 5-for-12 with three RBI vs. Oregon State...went 0-for-8 vs. Arizona and 3-for-11 with a double and an RBI at USC...had a career-high 10-game hitting streak (19-for-39, .487, two doubles, seven RBI) from Feb. 8-28...is 11-for-28 (.393) with 10 RBI with runners in scoring position...is seventh in the conference in stolen bases (nine)...has a career average of .308 (4-for-13) with a double and an RBI vs. Arizona State...
JON SHIRLEY: Is 2-1 with a 2.97 ERA, has a save and a team-leading 27 strikeouts in 33.3 innings...in last outing, got no decision Mar. 8 at USC (6.3 innings, nine hits, three runs, two walks, career-high seven strikeouts)...got no decision Mar. 1 vs. Arizona, pitching a career-high 7.3 innings (three hits, one run, four walks, three strikeouts)...earned win Feb. 22 vs. Oregon State (6.0 innings, two hits, no runs, no walks, career-high seven strikeouts)...picked up a save Jan. 30 at Hawaii, shutting down the Rainbows with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the ninth...picked up first collegiate victory Feb. 16 at Long Beach State (6.0 innings, two runs, three walks, one strikeout)...is eighth in the conference in ERA and ninth in hits/nine innings (7.91)...is slated to start Saturday for the Bears...
TYLER WALKER: Is 1-1 with a team-high three saves and a 2.91 ERA as a reliever...has 23 strikeouts and nine walks in 21.7 innings pitched...picked up the win Feb. 9 vs. Pepperdine, throwing a career-high 5.0 innings (one hit, no runs, no walks, three strikeouts)...picked up save Feb. 16 at Long Beach State (3.0 innings, four hits, two runs, two walks, three strikeouts)...earned save Feb. 21 vs. Oregon State (1.0 inning, no hits, no runs, no walks, two strikeouts)...suffered the loss Mar. 8 at USC (0.7 innings, two hits, three runs, two walks, one strikeout)...in last outing Tuesday vs. Santa Clara, earned the save (2.0 innings, two hits, no runs, no walks, three strikeouts)...is tied for fourth in the conference in saves...has a 0-0 career record vs. Arizona State with four strikeouts, four walks and a 4.86 ERA...
