April 24, 1997
Bears Take on No. 5 Stanford in Three-Game Series
THE SCHEDULE: The Bears (17-31, 3-21) face Bay Area rival Stanford (30-13, 14-7, ranked fifth in Baseball America and seventh in Collegiate Baseball ) for a three-game series...
Day Date Opponent Site Time
Fri. Apr. 25 vs. Stanford Evans Diamond, Berkeley, CA 2:30 p.m.
Sat. Apr. 26 at Stanford Sunken Diamond, Stanford, CA 1:00 p.m.
Sun. Apr. 27 vs. Stanford Evans Diamond, Berkeley, CA 1:00 p.m.
RADIO: KALX Radio (90.7 FM) will broadcast all three games versus Stanford...the Bob Milano Show will air 10 minutes before the first pitch...SERIES RECORD: The Bears have a 198-193 overall series record against the Stanford Cardinal...earlier this season, Cal was swept by Stanford (lost 6-5 at Stanford, lost 20-5 at Cal, lost 16-4 at Stanford) Mar. 22-24...last season, the Bears won one of six games versus the Cardinal...
HEAD COACH BOB MILANO: The Bears skipper, who is in his 20th season at Cal, has a career record of 635-574-4 (.525)...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 (17-31, 3-21) were swept at No. 12 Arizona State last weekend (26-9, 3-1, 8-4) and lost 18-8 Tuesday at San Jose State...Cal has now been swept six times by conference opponents this season...even with the Bears four-game losing streak, they have been led at the plate by senior third baseman Ivan Lewis (Berkeley, CA) and sophomore shortstop Brian Oliver (Antioch, CA)...Lewis is on an extremely hot streak, raising his average from .213 to .250 last week by going 8-for-13 (.615) with two doubles, two home runs and five RBI...he is currently on a six-game hitting streak from Apr. 13 (14-for-26, .538, 2-2B, 3-HR, 11 RBI)...Lewis has hit three home runs in the last two weeks after entering this season with only one career home run...all of his home runs have come against conference opponents...Oliver continues to prove why he is a strong candidate for postseason honors, going 4-for-14 with a home run and three RBI at Arizona State and 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI Tuesday at San Jose State...he is currently on a 10-game hitting streak from Apr. 6 (22-for-45, .489, 4-2B, 2-HR, nine RBI)...despite the team struggling in '97, Oliver is still having an outstanding sophomore season, starting all 48 games at shortstop (the only Cal player to start every game this season) and leading the Bears in average (.383, seventh in the Pac-10), hits (74), RBI (29), doubles (13), triples (three), total bases (102), stolen bases (19-for-21, third in the Pac-10), slugging percentage (.528) and on base percentage (.447)...he is a third team preseason All-American in Collegiate Baseball and last year became the first Freshman All-American (selected in both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball) in Cal baseball history...so far, Oliver has eight career home runs at Cal, three of which have come against Stanford...despite his loss Apr. 19 at Arizona State, freshman starter Jon Shirley (Bakersfield, CA) pitched a solid game, going 7.0 innings with six hits, three runs, two walks and two strikeouts...this season, Shirley has victories over Long Beach State and Oregon State and has had four no decisions in 11 starts...freshman reliever Jon Cuccias (0-0, two saves, 3.38 ERA, Woodland Hills, CA) continues to be impressive in league play...against Six-Pac competition, Cuccias has only given up three earned runs and has 13 strikeouts in 22.7 innings for a 1.19 league ERA...sophomore closer Tyler Walker (Ross, CA) is another one of the Bears top players and is the top rated amauter baseball player in the nation according to the Major League Scouting Bureau...he is 3-3 with a team-high four saves and a 3.29 ERA, and has an impressive 43 strikeouts in 41.0 innings...Walker, who began his Cal career as a catcher, was selected the Top Professional Prospect at the National Baseball Congress World Series last summer...
STANFORD: The Stanford Cardinal, coached by Mark Marquess (21st year as head coach at Stanford, 838-446-4, .652), are 30-13, 14-7 (tied for first in the Pac-10 Southern Division) after winning one of three last weekend versus UCLA (won 7-4, lost 8-5, 5-3) and defeating Sacramento State, 9-3, Tuesday...top hitters for the Cardinal include freshman right fielder Edmund Muth (.398, 5 HR, 31 RBI), freshman designated hitter John Gall (.377, 4 HR, 40 RBI) and sophomore center fielder Jody Gerut (.366, 6 HR, 53 RBI)...Stanford's tentative starting pitching rotation is junior right-hander Kyle Peterson (7-2, 3.76 ERA), sophomore left-hander Brent Hoard (7-3, 4.98 ERA) and sophomore right-hander Chad Hutchinson (3-3, 6.42 ERA)...in 1996, the Cardinal were 41-19 overall (19-11, second in Pac-10 Southern Division play) and 2-2 (third) in the NCAA West Regional hosted by Stanford...
TENTATIVE LINEUP AND STATS: Here is a look at Cal's tentative lineup and pitching rotation...
No. Pos. Player '97 stats
26 3B Ivan Lewis, Sr. .250, 23 RBI, 3 HR
2 1B John Furstenthal, Sr. .321, 14 RBI, 1 HR
5 SS Brian Oliver, So. .383, 29 RBI, 3 HR
33 DH Aaron Gordnier, Jr. .253, 28 RBI, 4 HR
9 2B Jim Schmidt, Sr. .321, 15 RBI, 8 2B
10 RF Juan Hernandez, Fr. .291, 13 RBI, 2 HR
45 C Jason Hill, So. .202, 24 RBI, 3 HR
6 LF Preston Sharp, So. .226, 15 RBI, 1 HR
16 CF Curtis Johnson, Fr. .217, 8 RBI, 1 HR
30 RHP Drew Fischer, Sr. (Fri.) 3-5, 5.46 ERA
34 RHP Jon Shirley, Fr. (Sat.) 2-6, 4.97 ERA
28 RHP Brad Steele, Fr. (Sun.) 2-4, 6.55 ERA
SIX-PAC RACE (as of April 24)
Conference Overall
W L PCT GB W L T .PCT
UCLA 14 7 .667 -- 35 11 1 .755
Stanford 14 7 .667 -- 30 13 .698
USC 15 12 .556 2.0 34 17 .667
Arizona State 15 12 .556 2.0 30 17 .638
Arizona 11 13 .458 4.5 30 22 .577
CALIFORNIA 3 21 .125 12.5 17 31 .354
CAL INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES
DREW FISCHER: Is 3-5 with a 5.46 ERA...in last start suffered the loss at Arizona State Apr. 18 (did not get an out, seven hits, eight earned runs, one walk)...picked up the win versus USC Apr. 11 (6.3 innings, seven hits, two runs, one walk, five strikeouts)...got a no decision but pitch well Mar. 15 vs. Arizona State (6.0 innings, five hits, only one earned run, no walks, five strikeouts)...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)...is 10th in the conference in walks/nine innings (2.75)...did not pitch in first Stanford series...has an 1-1 career record with a 12.60 ERA vs. Stanford...is slated to start Friday for the Bears...
JOHN FURSTENTHAL: Is tied for second on the team in hitting, batting .321 with five doubles, a home run and 14 RBI...also leads team in hit by pitch (eight) and putouts (406)...went 2-for-10 last weekend at Arizona State and was 2-for-5 Tuesday at San Jose State...was 3-for-4 with his first collegiate home run Apr. 8 vs. Saint Mary's...at Hawaii went 6-for-11 with two RBI...was 4-for-9 with a double and an RBI in the first Arizona series, 4-for-10 with a double and an RBI at USC, 3-for-8 with two RBI vs. Stanford and 3-for-9 at UCLA...is 7-for-41 (.171) with 12 RBI with runners in scoring position...has a career batting average of .209 (9-for-43) with a double and two RBI vs. Stanford...
AARON GORDNIER: Is batting .253 with six doubles, 28 RBI and a team-leading four home runs...was 0-for-9 last weekend at Arizona State and was 2-for-5 with three RBI Tuesday at San Jose State...went 5-for-12 with two doubles, a home run and two RBI at USC, 5-for-11 with a home run and two RBI vs. Arizona State and 3-for-12 with a home run and two RBI vs. Stanford...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 11-game hitting streak (16-for-43, .372, 2-2B, 3-HR, seven RBI) from Mar. 7-24...is 18-for-54 (.333) with two home runs and 26 RBI with runners in scoring position...
JUAN HERNANDEZ: Has started 46 games in right field as a true freshman, batting .291 with nine doubles, two home runs and 13 RBI...is fourth in the conference in stolen bases (18-for-20)...was 4-for-5 and hit his first collegiate home run (three-run homer) Feb. 11 at Saint Mary's...went 3-for-7 at USC, 4-for-11 with a double and two RBI vs. Arizona State, was an impressive 7-for-12 with two doubles vs. Stanford, 2-for-11 with a home run at UCLA, 4-for-8 with an RBI vs. USC and last weekend was 4-for-11 with an RBI at Arizona State...had a career-high seven-game hitting streak (13-for-27, .481, 3-2B, three RBI) from Mar. 15-27...is 10-for-41 (.244) with an HR and 12 RBI with runners in scoring position...
JASON HILL: Is hitting .202 with six doubles, three home runs and 24 RBI...was 2-for-10 last weekend at Arizona State...broke an 0-for-39 season hitting slump (from Mar. 22-Apr. 8) vs. USC Apr. 11-13, going 3-for-10 with a double and an RBI...knocked in the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the 10th vs. Washington State Mar. 18...went 5-for-11 with two home runs and six RBI vs. Arizona State...was 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI Mar. 14 vs. ASU...went 7-for-17 with seven RBI Feb. 14-17 at Long Beach State...had a career-high five-game hitting streak (7-for-15, double, 2-HR, seven RBI) from Mar. 11-18...is 15-for-58 (.259) with a home run and 20 RBI with runners in scoring position...has thrown out 22 baserunners (22-for-71) this season...has a career average of .037 (1-for-27) with an RBI vs. Stanford...
IVAN LEWIS: Is batting .250 with nine doubles, three home runs and 23 RBI...went an impressive 8-for-13 with two doubles, two home runs and five RBI last weekend at Arizona State...is currently on a six-game hitting streak (14-for-26, .538, 2-2B, 3-HR, 11 RBI) from Apr. 13...has hit three home runs in the last two weeks...was 2-for-4 with a home run and a career-high five RBI Apr. 13 vs. USC...went 4-for-13 with four RBI at USC, 3-for-12 with a double and two RBI vs. Arizona State and 3-for-16 with a double vs. Stanford...is 13-for-42 (.310) with a home run and 21 RBI with runners in scoring position...has a career average of .250 (19-for-76) with six doubles and six RBI vs. Stanford...
BRIAN OLIVER: Leads the team in batting average (.383), at bats (193), hits (74), doubles (13), triples (three), RBI (29), total bases (102), slugging percentage (.528), on-base percentage (.447) and stolen bases (19-for-21)...went 4-for-14 with a home run and three RBI last weekend at Arizona State and was 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI Tuesday at San Jose State...is currently on a 10-game hitting streak (22-for-45, .489, four doubles, two home runs, nine RBI) from Apr. 6...was 6-for-12 vs. USC and 4-for-5 with two doubles and a home run Apr. 15 vs. Sac. State...on Apr. 8 vs. Saint Mary's went 3-for-5 with four RBI and knocked in the game-winning RBI with a double in the bottom of the ninth...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 and 7-for-18 with a double, a triple and three RBI at Long Beach State...went 5-for-12 with a home run and five RBI vs. Stanford...knocked in the game-winning RBI Mar. 5 vs. CS Hayward with a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth...is 17-for-50 (.340) with a home run and 25 RBI with runners in scoring position...is second in the conference in triples, third in stolen bases, fifth in hits and seventh in batting average...has a career average of .306 (11-for-36) with a double, three home runs and 11 RBI vs. Stanford...
JON SHIRLEY: Is 2-6 with a 4.97 ERA, a save and a team-leading 44 strikeouts in 67.0 innings...in last outing, suffered the loss at Arizona State Apr. 19 (7.0 innings, six hits, three runs, two walks, two strikeouts)...got a 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 ninth...first collegiate victory was Feb. 16 at Long Beach State (6.0 innings, two runs, three walks, one strikeout)...in first outing vs. Stanford got a no decision (6.0 innings, eight hits, three runs, one walk, three strikeouts)...is slated to start Saturday for the Bears...
TYLER WALKER: Is 3-3 with a team-high four saves and a 3.29 ERA...has 43 strikeouts in 41.0 innings pitched...in last outing Apr. 20 at Arizona State, threw 3.3 innings with four hits, three runs, no walks and three strikeouts...earned save Apr. 12 vs. USC (1.0 inning, one hit, two walks)...picked up two wins in relief in one week, defeating Arizona State Mar. 15 (3.0 innings, no hits, no runs, three walks) and Washington State Mar. 18 (2.3 innings, one hit, no runs, one walk, four strikeouts)...picked up the win Feb. 9 vs. Pepperdine (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)...earned the save Mar. 11 vs. Santa Clara (2.0 innings, two hits, no runs, no walks, three strikeouts)...is fifth in the conference in saves...has a 0-1 career record vs. Stanford with a 6.32 ERA...
