May 7, 1997
Bears (19-37) Travel to Clemson (35-17) to Conclude Season
THE SCHEDULE:
The Bears (19-37, 4-26 in Pac-10 Southern Division) travel to Clemson (35-17, 13-10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) for their final three-game series of the 1997 season...
Day Date Opponent Site Time
Fri. May 9 at Clemson Tiger Field, Clemson, SC 7:15 p.m. EDT
Sat. May 10 at Clemson Tiger Field, Clemson, SC 7:00 p.m. EDT
Sun. May 11 at Clemson Tiger Field, Clemson, SC 2:00 p.m. EDT
SERIES RECORD:
The Bears have a 1-0 overall series record against the Clemson Tigers, having defeated the Tigers, 6-4, June 1, 1980, in Cal's second game of that year's College World Series in Omaha, NE...
HEAD COACH BOB MILANO:
The Bears skipper, who is in his 20th season at Cal, has a career record of 637-580-4 (.523)...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 (19-37, 4-26) broke a 10-game losing streak (believed to be the longest losing streak in Cal baseball history) and won its first league game since Apr. 13 with a 9-8 victory over No. 4 ranked UCLA May 4...Cal then defeated Sacramento State, 15-8, Tuesday in Sacramento...the Bears played well against the Bruins as they had lost two, one-run games--6-5 on Friday and 7-6 Saturday...several Cal hitters had good weekends at the plate...junior outfielder Aaron Gordnier (Rocklin, CA), who leads the team in home runs (seven) and RBI (36) and is on a nine-game hitting streak, went 7-for-11 with a double and an RBI against UCLA...Gordnier now has 18 hits in his last 34 at bats with a double, three home runs and 11 RBI...senior second baseman Ivan Lewis (Berkeley, CA, 4-for-12, home run, three RBI), senior first baseman John Furstenthal (Oakland, CA, 6-for-13, home run, five RBI) and sophomore shortstop Brian Oliver (Antioch, CA, 7-for-15, double, three RBI) also swung the bat well for the Bears...on Tuesday at Sac. State, sophomore catcher Jason Hill (Alamo, CA) had a big day, going 2-for-2 with two home runs in a single inning--a solo home run to lead off the eighth and then later a three-run shot...it was the second time this season, and the third time in his career Hill has hit two home runs in a game...even with the Bears losing season, they have still been led by Oliver, who continues to prove why he is a strong candidate for postseason honors...he has started all 56 games at shortstop and leads Cal in average (.368, eighth in the Pac-10), runs (39), hits (84), doubles (13), triples (three) and stolen bases (24-for-26, second in the Pac-10)...last year, Oliver became the first Freshman All-American (selected in both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball) in Cal baseball history...Sunday's contest against Clemson will mark the last collegiate game for four Bear seniors--right-handed pitcher Drew Fischer (Orinda, CA), Furstenthal, Lewis and second baseman/third baseman Jim Schmidt (Oak Forest, IL)...Fischer is slated to start Sunday and currently has an 8-15 career record, 15 saves (third on the all-time Cal save list), 164 strikeouts in 199.0 innings and a 5.61 ERA in 81 games (sixth on the Cal all-time list)...Furstenthal has a career batting average of .296 (134-for-453) with 18 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 43 RBI in 160 games...Lewis has a career average of .287 (204-for-711) with 31 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 90 RBI and 108 stolen bases (third on the Cal all-time stolen base list) in 189 games...he led the Pac-10 in stolen bases in 1995 (43) and 1996 (44)...Schmidt, who is able to play despite a broken bone in his right foot, is having a fine senior year, batting .314 with eight doubles and 18 RBI...he also leads the team in walks with 24 and has a .420 on base percentage...freshman submarine reliever Jon Cuccias (1-0, two saves, 3.12 ERA, Woodland Hills, CA) was impressive against conference competition this year, giving up only five earned runs with 14 strikeouts in 29.3 innings for a 1.53 league ERA...sophomore closer Tyler Walker (Ross, CA) is 4-3 with a team-high four saves and a 3.12 ERA, and has an impressive 48 strikeouts in 45.0 innings pitched...Walker, who began his Cal career as a catcher, was selected the Top Professional Prospect at the National Baseball Congress World Series last summer...
CLEMSON:
The Clemson Tigers, coached by Jack Leggett (fourth year as head coach at Clemson, 197-66, .749), are 35-17, 13-10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference after winning three games versus North Carolina (17-2, 11-10, 5-4) this week (the Tigers face Charleston Southern Thursday )...top hitters for the Tigers include junior catcher Matthew LeCroy (.382, 18 HR, 65 RBI), sophomore shortstop Kurt Bultmann (.373, 13 HR, 51 RBI) and senior left fielder Gary Burnham (.364, 9 HR, 60 RBI)...Clemson's tentative starting pitching rotation is freshman right-hander Ryan Mottl (9-3, 4.34 ERA), TBA and TBA...in 1996, the Tigers were 51-17 overall, won the NCAA Atlantic Regional (hosted by Clemson) and went 0-2 in the College World Series...
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. .252, 28 RBI, 4 HR
2 1B John Furstenthal, Sr. .340, 20 RBI, 2 HR
5 SS Brian Oliver, So. .368, 32 RBI, 3 HR
33 LF Aaron Gordnier, Jr. .301, 36 RBI, 7 HR
9 DH Jim Schmidt, Sr. .314, 18 RBI, 8 2B
10 RF Juan Hernandez, Fr. .280, 16 RBI, 3 HR
6 CF Preston Sharp, So. .228, 17 RBI, 1 HR
45 C Jason Hill, So. .203, 32 RBI, 5 HR
8 3B Dan Garfin, So. .238, 12 RBI, 1 HR
34 RHP Jon Shirley, Fr. (Fri.) 2-7, 4.88 ERA
TBA (Sat.)
30 RHP Drew Fischer, Sr. (Sun.) 3-6, 6.38 ERA
SIX-PAC RACE (as of May 7)
Conference Overall
W L PCT GB W L T .PCT
Stanford 20 7 .741 -- 37 14 .725
UCLA 17 10 .630 3.0 38 16 1 .700
USC 17 13 .567 4.5 37 18 .673
Arizona State 16 14 .533 5.5 35 20 .636
Arizona 13 17 .433 8.5 32 26 .582
CALIFORNIA 4 26 .133 17.5 19 37 .339
Cal Individual Player Notes
DREW FISCHER: Is 3-6 with a 6.38 ERA...in last outing got a no decision vs. UCLA May 4 (5.7 innings, eight hits, five runs, one walk, two strikeouts)...picked up the win vs. 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)...threw first collegiate complete game Feb. 14 at Long Beach State (8.0 innings, five hits, three earned runs, two walks, six strikeouts)...is eighth in the Pac-10 in walks/nine innings (2.82)...is slated to start Sunday...
JOHN FURSTENTHAL: Is second on the team in hitting, batting .340 with five doubles, two home runs and 20 RBI...went 6-for-13 with a home run and five RBI last weekend vs. UCLA and was 2-for-5 Tuesday at Sac. State...is on a six-game hitting streak from Apr. 27 (13-for-27, .481, HR, six RBI)...was 3-for-4 with his first collegiate home run Apr. 8 vs. Saint Mary's...went 6-for-11 with two RBI at Hawaii, 4-for-9 with a double and an RBI vs. Arizona and 4-for-10 with a double and an RBI at USC...is 13-for-52 (.250) with 17 RBI with runners in scoring position...
AARON GORDNIER: Is batting .301 with seven doubles, and a team-leading 36 RBI and seven home runs...went 7-for-11 with a double and an RBI last weekend vs. UCLA and was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI Tuesday at Sac. State...was 6-for-11 with two home runs in the last Stanford series...is on a nine-game hitting streak from Apr. 22 (18-for-34, .529, 2B, 3-HR, 11 RBI)...went 5-for-12 with two doubles, a home run and two RBI at USC and 5-for-11 with a home run and two RBI vs. Arizona State...hit his first collegiate home run Feb. 4 vs. Santa Clara...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 23-for-62 (.371) with two home runs and 31 RBI with runners in scoring position...has a career batting average of .280 (59-for-211) with 10 doubles, seven home runs and 39 RBI in 73 games...
JUAN HERNANDEZ: Has started 54 games in right field as a true freshman, batting .280 (.308 in conference) with 11 doubles, three home runs and 16 RBI...is fifth in the Pac-10 in stolen bases (20-for-22)...went 2-for-8 with a home run and two RBI last weekend vs. UCLA and was 1-for-5 with a double and an RBI Tuesday at Sac. State...was 4-for-5 and hit his first collegiate home run Feb. 11 at Saint Mary's...went 4-for-11 with a double and two RBI vs. Arizona State, 7-for-12 with two doubles vs. Stanford and 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 11-for-47 (.234) with an HR and 14 RBI with runners in scoring position...
JASON HILL: Is hitting .203 with seven doubles, five home runs and 32 RBI...went 3-for-10 with a double and three RBI last weekend vs. UCLA and was 2-for-2 with two home runs and four RBI Tuesday at Sac. State (third time in his career he has hit two home runs in a game)...broke an 0-for-39 season hitting slump (from Mar. 22-Apr. 8) Apr. 11 vs. USC...knocked in the game-winning RBI in 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 18-for-67 (.269) with two home runs and 27 RBI with runners in scoring position...has thrown out 24 baserunners (24-for-77, 31.2 %) this season...has a career average of .217 (57-for-263) with nine doubles, seven home runs and 41 RBI in 80 games...
IVAN LEWIS: Is batting .252 with 10 doubles, four home runs and 28 RBI...was 4-for-12 with a home run and three RBI last weekend vs. UCLA...went an impressive 8-for-13 with two doubles, two home runs and five RBI at Arizona State...had a seven-game hitting streak (15-for-30, .500, 2-2B, 3-HR, 11 RBI) from Apr. 13-25...has hit four home runs in the last four weeks...was 2-for-4 with a home run and a career-high five RBI Apr. 13 vs. USC...is 15-for-51 (.294) with a home run and 24 RBI with runners in scoring position...is eighth in the Pac-10 in toughest to strikeout (.097)...
BRIAN OLIVER: Leads the team in batting average (.368, .325 in league), runs (39), hits (84), doubles (14), triples (three), total bases (113), slugging percentage (.496), on-base percentage (.429) and stolen bases (24-for-26)...went 7-for-15 with a double and three RBI last weekend vs. UCLA...has had four, four hit games this season...had a career-high 12-game hitting streak (24-for-53, .453, 4-2B, 2-HR, nine RBI) from Apr. 6-26...was 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 ninth...was 7-for-14 with a double, a triple and three RBI at Hawaii 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 ninth...is 21-for-62 (.339) with a home run and 28 RBI with runners in scoring position...is second in the Pac-10 in stolen bases, fifth in hits and eighth in batting average...has a career average of .353 (152-for-431) with 28 doubles, five triples, eight home runs, 64 RBI and 45 stolen bases in 107 games...
JON SHIRLEY: Is 2-7 with a 4.88 ERA, a save and a team-leading 49 strikeouts in 79.3 innings...in last outing, got his fifth no decision of the year May 2 vs. UCLA (7.0 innings, 12 hits, three earned runs, one walk, three 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 Friday for the Bears...
TYLER WALKER: Is 4-3 with a team-high four saves and a 3.20 ERA...has 48 strikeouts in 45.0 innings pitched...in last outing Tuesday at Sac. State, picked up the win in relief (2.0 innings, three hits, no earned runs, one walk, 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 win Feb. 9 vs. Pepperdine (career-high 5.0 innings, one hit, no runs, no walks, three strikeouts)...earned 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 6-5 career record, five saves, 76 strikeouts in 82.7 innings and a 3.37 ERA in 45 games...
