April 17, 1997
Bears Travel to No. 12 Sun Devils
THE SCHEDULE: The Bears (17-27, 3-18) travel to Arizona State (27-17, 12-12, ranked 12th in Baseball America and 13th in Collegiate Baseball ) for a three-game series at Packard Stadium...
Day Date Opponent Site Time
Fri. Apr. 18 at Arizona State Packard Stadium, Tempe, AZ 7:00 p.m.
Sat. Apr. 19 at Arizona State Packard Stadium, Tempe, AZ 7:00 p.m.
Sun. Apr. 20 at Arizona State Packard Stadium, Tempe, AZ 1:00 p.m.
RADIO: KALX Radio (90.7 FM) will broadcast all three games at Arizona State...the Bob Milano Show will air 10 minutes before the first pitch...SERIES RECORD: The Bears have a 43-67 overall series record against the Arizona State Sun Devils...earlier this season, Cal won one of three games versus Arizona State (lost 13-9, won 6-4, lost 7-5) Mar. 14-17 in Berkeley...last season, the Bears won two of six games versus the Sun Devils...
HEAD COACH BOB MILANO: The Bears skipper, who is in his 20th season at Cal, has a career record of 635-570-4 (.527)...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 (17-27, 3-17) have won four of their last five games, including winning two-of-three over No. 12 ranked USC last weekend at Evans Diamond, and defeating Sacramento State, 7-3, Tuesday at Evans Diamond...on April 11, Cal broke a 10-game conference losing streak by defeating the Trojans, 3-2...it was the Bears first league win since defeating Arizona State, 6-4, March 15...senior starter Drew Fischer (Orinda, CA) pitched 6.3 innings with seven hits, two runs, only one walk and had five strikeouts to improve his record to 3-4...freshman reliever Jon Cuccias (Woodland Hills, CA) got out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning, and sophomore closer Tyler Walker (Ross, CA) picked up his fourth save of the season getting out of a bases-loaded situation with one out in the ninth inning...after falling to USC, 5-2, Apr. 12, the Bears, bolstered by the strong hitting of senior third baseman Ivan Lewis (Berkeley, CA), sophomore shortstop Brian Oliver (Antioch, CA) and freshman right fielder Juan Hernandez (Tracy, CA) -- and the outstanding fielding of freshman center fielder Curtis Johnson (Oakland, CA), were able hold on for a 7-5 win in the series finale...junior reliever Jim Vorhis (3-3, Mill Valley, CA) got the win, and Cuccias earned his second save of the season...Lewis finished the day 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and a career-high five RBI, Oliver was 2-for-4 and Hernandez was 3-for-3...Johnson had several long-running catches in center field...in Tuesday's win over Sac. State, Oliver proved why he is a strong candidate for postseason honors, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and a home run...despite the team struggling in '97, he is still having an outstanding sophomore season, starting all 44 games at shortstop (the only Cal player to start every game this season) and leading the Bears in average (.379), hits (66), doubles (12), triples (three), total bases (90), stolen bases (18-for-19, third in the Pac-10), walks (19), slugging percentage (.517) and on base percentage (.449)...Oliver is a third team preseason All-American in Collegiate Baseball and last year he became the first Freshman All-American (selected in both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball) in Cal baseball history...Cal closer Walker 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 2.87 ERA, and has an impressive 40 strikeouts in 37.7 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...freshman submarine pitcher Cuccias (0-0, two saves, 3.58 ERA) has been impressive in league play so far this season...against Six-Pac competition, Cuccias has only given up three earned runs and has 13 strikeouts in 21.7 innings for a 1.25 league ERA...
ARIZONA STATE: The Arizona State Sun Devils, coached by Pat Murphy (3rd year as head coach at Arizona State, 96-59, .619), are 27-17, 12-12 (tied for fourth in the Pac-10 Southern Division) after sweeping Stanford (4-3, 16-5, 5-3) last weekend and losing at Oklahoma, 13-4, Tuesday...top hitters for the Sun Devils include junior left fielder Dan McKinley (.421, 12 HR, 46 RBI), sophomore third baseman Andrew Beinbrink (.373, 7 HR, 54 RBI) and junior second baseman Richy Leon (.359, 2 HR, 15 RBI)...Arizona State's tentative starting pitching rotation is sophomore left-hander Phill Lowery (2-2, 3.86 ERA), sophomore left-hander Ryan Mills (4-2, 3.18 ERA) and senior right-hander Jeff Cermak (4-2, 6.23 ERA)...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 3B Ivan Lewis, Sr. .213, 18 RBI, 1 HR
2 1B John Furstenthal, Sr. .327, 14 RBI, 1 HR
5 SS Brian Oliver, So. .379, 25 RBI, 2 HR
33 DH Aaron Gordnier, Jr. .264, 25 RBI, 4 HR
45 C Jason Hill, So. .200, 24 RBI, 3 HR
10 RF Juan Hernandez, Fr. .291, 12 RBI, 2 HR
6 LF Preston Sharp, So. .233, 14 RBI, 1 HR
9 2B Jim Schmidt, Sr. .323, 12 RBI, 7 2B
16 CF Curtis Johnson, Fr. .216, 7 RBI, 1 HR
30 RHP Drew Fischer, Sr. (Fri.) 3-4, 4.25 ERA
34 RHP Jon Shirley, Fr. (Sat.) 2-5, 5.10 ERA
28 RHP Brad Steele, Fr. (Sun.) 2-3, 5.83 ERA
SIX-PAC RACE (as of April 17)
Conference Overall
W L PCT GB W L T .PCT
Stanford 13 5 .722 -- 28 11 .718
UCLA 12 6 .667 1.0 32 10 1 .753
Arizona 11 10 .524 3.5 29 19 .604
USC 12 12 .500 4.0 31 16 .660
Arizona State 12 12 .500 4.0 27 17 .614
CALIFORNIA 3 18 .143 11.5 17 27 .386
CAL INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES
DREW FISCHER: Is 3-4 with a 4.25 ERA...in last start 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 sixth in the conference in complete games, sixth in walks/nine innings (2.59) and ninth in hits/nine innings (8.54)...has an 0-1 career record with two saves and a 4.20 ERA vs. Arizona State...is slated to start Friday for the Bears...
JOHN FURSTENTHAL: Is second on the team in hitting, batting .327 with five doubles, home run and 14 RBI...also leads team in hit by pitch (eight) and putouts (377)...went 3-for-11 with a double last weekend vs. USC and was 1-for-4 Tuesday vs. Sac. 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...went 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...was 2-for-11 with an RBI in the first Arizona State series...is 7-for-37 (.189) with 12 RBI with runners in scoring position...has a career batting average of .081 (3-for-37) with a double and two RBI vs. Arizona State...
AARON GORDNIER: Is batting .264 with six doubles, and a team-leading four home runs and 25 RBI...was 1-for-9 with a double last weekend vs. USC...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 16-for-47 (.340) with two home runs and 23 RBI with runners in scoring position...
JUAN HERNANDEZ: Has started 42 games in right field as a true freshman, batting .291 with nine doubles, two home runs and 12 RBI...leads the team in runs scored (30) and is fifth in the conference in stolen bases (16-for-18)...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, was 2-for-11 with a home run at UCLA and last weekend was 4-for-8 with an RBI vs. USC...had a career-high seven game hitting streak (13-for-27, .481, 3-2B, three RBI) from Mar. 15-27...is 9-for-38 (.237) with an HR and 11 RBI with runners in scoring position...
JASON HILL: Is hitting .200 with six doubles, three home runs and 24 RBI...broke an 0-for-39 season hitting slump vs. USC last weekend, going 3-for-10 with a double and an RBI vs. the Trojans...knocked in the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the 10th vs. Washington State Mar. 18...went an impressive 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...hit well at Long Beach State, Feb. 14-17, going 7-for-17 with seven RBI...had a career-high five-game hitting streak (7-for-15, double, 2-HR, seven RBI) from Mar. 11-18...is 15-for-55 (.273) with a home run and 20 RBI with runners in scoring position...has thrown out 22 baserunners (22-for-69) this season...has a career average of .381 (8-for-21) with two home runs and seven RBI vs. Arizona State...
IVAN LEWIS: Is batting .213 with seven doubles, a home run and 18 RBI...went 3-for-11 with a home run and six RBI last weekend vs. USC and Tuesday vs. Sac. State went 2-for-4 with an RBI...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 was 3-for-16 with a double vs. Stanford...went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI Mar. 14 vs. Arizona State...is 12-for-39 (.308) with a home run and 18 RBI with runners in scoring position...has a career average of .292 (21-for-72) with three doubles and eight RBI vs. Arizona State...
BRIAN OLIVER: Leads the team in batting average (.379), at bats (174), hits (66), doubles (12), triples (three), RBI (25), total bases (90), slugging percentage (.517), on-base percentage (.449), walks (19) and stolen bases (18-for-19)...went 6-for-12 last weekend vs. USC and Tuesday was 4-for-5 with two doubles and a home run 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...had an eight-game hitting streak (15-for-31, .484, double, home run, six RBI) from Mar. 17-29...knocked in the game-winning RBI Mar. 5 vs. CS Hayward with a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth...was 3-for-12 with a double and an RBI in the first Arizona State series...is 14-for-43 (.326) with a home run and 22 RBI with runners in scoring position...is second in the conference in triples, third in stolen bases, sixth in hits and 10th in batting average...has a career average of .143 (4-for-28) with two doubles and two RBI vs. Arizona State...
JON SHIRLEY: Is 2-5 with a 5.10 ERA, a save and a team-leading 42 strikeouts in 60.0 innings...in last outing, suffered the loss vs. USC Apr. 12 (5.7 innings, eight hits, three runs, three walks, three strikeouts)...got the loss vs. Arizona State Mar. 14 (3.7 innings, seven hits, three earned 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)...is slated to start Saturday for the Bears...
TYLER WALKER: Is 3-3 with a team-high four saves and a 2.87 ERA...has 40 strikeouts in 37.7 innings pitched...in last outing Tuesday vs. Sac. State, threw 1.0 innings with one hit and two strikeouts...earned the 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, 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)...earned the save Mar. 11 vs. Santa Clara (2.0 innings, two hits, no runs, no walks, three strikeouts)...is fourth in the conference in saves...has a 1-0 career record vs. Arizona State with a 2.69 ERA...
