Feb. 14, 1997
No. 25 Bears (5-4) Travel to Long Beach State (2-4) for Four-Game Series
THE SCHEDULE:
The Bears (5-4, ranked 25th in Baseball America and 30th in Collegiate Baseball preseason poll) travel to Long Beach State (2-4, ranked 11th in Collegiate Baseball and 23rd in Baseball America's preseason poll) for a four-game series at Blair Field...
Day Date Opponent Site Time
Fri. Feb. 14 at Long Beach State Blair Field, Long Beach, CA 7:05 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 15 at Long Beach State Blair Field, Long Beach, CA 7:05 p.m.
Sun. Feb. 16 at Long Beach State Blair Field, Long Beach, CA 1:00 p.m.
Mon. Feb. 17 at Long Beach State Blair Field, Long Beach, CA 1:00 p.m.
SERIES RECORD:
The Bears have a 14-10 overall series record against the Long Beach State 49ers...last season, Cal won two-of-three games (won 6-5 in 13 innings, won 6-4, lost 3-1) Feb. 9-11 in Berkeley...
HEAD COACH BOB MILANO:
The Bears skipper, who is in his 20th season at Cal, has a career record of 623-547-4 (.532)...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 (5-4) won one of three games versus Pepperdine last weekend at Evans Diamond, losing 5-1, 3-0 and winning 4-1...in Friday's loss, Cal starter Drew Fischer (Orinda, CA) was involved in a pitching dual with Pepperdine's Randy Wolf...Fischer gave up two runs in the top of the third inning, but went on to pitch 7.0 innings with five hits, two runs, two walks and four strikeouts, yet still got the loss...unfortunately Cal gave up three runs in the eighth...top hitters for the Bears in game one included sophomore shortstop Brian Oliver (Antioch, CA), who was 3-for-4 with an RBI, and freshman center fielder Curtis Johnson (Oakland, CA), who was 2-for-3 with a double...in game two, the Bears outhit the Waves, 10-8, but could not take advantage of scoring opportunities...a down note for Cal was an injury to sophomore right-hander Ryan Drese (Oakland, CA), a first team preseason All-American in Baseball America...Drese hurt his arm in his 30th pitch of the game...the extent of his injury is unknown, but it is believed to be a strained ligament in his right elbow, the same injury that he suffered Feb. 23, 1996 versus Fresno State that knocked him out of the rest of the '96 season...despite the loss, the Bears still had an outstanding pitching performance from junior right-hander Jim Vorhis (Mill Valley, CA)...Vorhis, who replaced Drese in the third inning, pitched 7.0 innings with four hits, no runs, no walks and had four strikeouts...top hitters included senior first baseman John Furstenthal (Oakland, CA), who was 3-for-4; sophomore outfielder Preston Sharp (Chico, CA), who was 2-for-2 and freshman designated hitter Barry Schell (Poway, CA), who was 2-for-4...Cal was able to rebound Sunday, led by the pitching of sophomore right-hander Tyler Walker (Ross, CA), who came in in the fifth inning and went 5.0 innings with only one hit, no runs, no walks and had three strikeouts...it was Walker's longest outing of his career and his first victory of the '97 season...top hitters included Oliver, who was 2-for-3 with a double, and freshman right fielder Juan Hernandez (Tracy, CA), who was 2-for-4 with a double...junior left fielder Aaron Gordnier (Rocklin, CA) also had a key bases loaded, two-run single in the fifth inning...on Tuesday, the Bears won 17-4 at Saint Mary's, pounding out 21 hits...Hernandez had an outstanding game, going 4-for-5 and hitting his first collegiate home run with a three-run shot in the eighth inning...senior second baseman Ivan Lewis (Berkeley, CA, 3-for-6, double), Sharp (3-for-4, four RBI) and Furstenthal (3-for-6, two RBI) also played well...sophomore third baseman Dan Garfin (Kensington, CA) came off the bench to go 2-for-3 with three RBI...the winning pitcher for Cal was junior Ryland Sumner (Salt Lake City, UT), who earned his first win as a Bear, throwing 5.0 innings with five hits, two runs, one walk and two strikeouts...
LONG BEACH STATE:
The Long Beach State 49ers, coached by Dave Snow (ninth year at Long Beach State, 330-172-3, .656), are 2-4 after winning 1-of-3 games at Fresno State (lost 7-2, won 6-3, lost 7-6 Jan. 31-Feb. 2) and versus USC (lost 6-1 at home, lost 4-3 at USC, won 7-3 at home Feb. 7-9)...top hitters for the 49ers include junior shortstop Lateef Vaughn (.381, 0 HR, 0 RBI), senior third baseman Izzy Gonzalez (.364, 1 HR, 5 RBI) and junior second baseman Steve Doherty (.278, 0 HR, 1 RBI)...Long Beach State's tentative starting pitching rotation is junior right-hander Marcus Jones (0-2, 7.50 ERA), junior right-hander Rocky Biddle (1-1, 6.52 ERA) and junior right-hander Denny Gilich Jr. (1-0, 5.40 ERA)...in 1996, the 49ers were 34-26 overall (15-1, first in Big West Conference play) and were 0-2 in the NCAA Central I Regional...
TENTATIVE LINEUP AND STATS:
Here is a look at Cal's tentative lineup and pitching rotation...Monday pitcher TBA...
No. Pos. Player '97 stats
26 CF Ivan Lewis, Sr. .256, 2 RBI, 3 2B
9 2B Jim Schmidt, Sr. .364, 2 RBI, 2 2B
5 SS Brian Oliver, So. .455, 4 RBI, 1 3B
33 LF Aaron Gordnier, Jr. .313, 11 RBI, 1 HR
17 DH Barry Schell, Fr. .308, 3 RBI, 1 HR
45 C Jason Hill, So. .212, 3 RBI, 4 2B
2 1B John Furstenthal, Sr. .438, 5 RBI, 1 2B
8 3B Dan Garfin, So. .300, 6 RBI, 1 2B
10 RF Juan Hernandez, Fr. .333, 3 RBI, 1 HR
30 RHP Drew Fischer, Sr. (Fri.) 1-1, 3.75 ERA
42 RHP Jim Vorhis, Jr. (Sat.) 0-0, 3.00 ERA
34 RHP Jon Shirley, Fr. (Sun.) 0-1, 5.87 ERA
Cal Individual Player Notes
DREW FISCHER: Is 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA...suffered the loss Feb. 7 versus Pepperdine, pitching 7.0 innings with five hits, two runs, two walks and four strikeouts...picked up the win Jan. 30 at Hawaii, going 5.0 innings with four hits, three runs, one walk and two strikeouts...has become a starter this season after establishing himself as one of the school's top relief pitchers, recording 15 career saves, third-best mark in school history...in last year's Long Beach State series earned the win in the Bears 6-5, 13-inning win, pitching 3.0 innings with no hits, no runs, no walks and four strikeouts...is slated to start Friday for the Bears...
JOHN FURSTENTHAL: Is second on the team in hitting, batting .438 with a double and five RBI...also leads team in hit by pitch (six), on base percentage (.571) and putouts (79)...at Hawaii series went 6-for-11 with two RBI...was 3-for-9 in the Pepperdine series and 3-for-6 with two RBI Tuesday at Saint Mary's...is 3-for-11 (.273) with five RBI with runners in scoring position...was 4-for-9 with an RBI in last year's Long Beach State series...
DAN GARFIN: Is batting .300 with a double and six RBI...leads the team with seven walks...was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI double at Hawaii...was 0-for-7 versus Pepperdine, but went 2-for-3 with three RBI Tuesday at St. Mary's...is 3-for-5 (.600) with five RBI with runners in scoring position...did not play in last year's Long Beach State series...
AARON GORDNIER: Is batting .313 with two doubles, a home run and a team-leading 11 RBI...hit his first collegiate home run Feb. 4 versus Santa Clara (1-for-3, HR, two RBI)...was 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 an impressive 8-for-14 (.571) with a home run and 11 RBI with runners in scoring position...did not play in last year's Long Beach State series...
JUAN HERNANDEZ: Has started the eight games in the right field for the Bears...is batting .333 (10-for-30) with two doubles, home run and three RBI...was 2-for-7 with a double in the Pepperdine series and was 4-for-5 and hit his first collegiate home run (three-run homer) Tuesday at Saint Mary's...is only 1-for-10 (.100) with three RBI with runners in scoring position...
JASON HILL: Is only hitting .212, but has a team-leading four doubles and has three RBI...was 3-for-12 with two doubles and an RBI in the Hawaii series, was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI Feb. 4 versus Santa Clara and was 2-for-11 with a double and an RBI in the Pepperdine series...so far this season is 1-for-12 with an RBI with runners in scoring position...did not play in last year's Long Beach State series...
CURTIS JOHNSON: Is hitting .313 with a double, a home run and four RBI...has started five games in center field for the Bears...was 3-for-11 at Hawaii and his first collegiate home run was a grand slam Jan. 31 versus the Rainbows...was 2-for-3 with a double in the Pepperdine series...is 1-for-7 with four RBI with runners in scoring position...
IVAN LEWIS: Is batting .256 with three doubles and two RBI...was 3-for-13 with two doubles and two RBI at Hawaii, was 3-for-12 in the Pepperdine series and Tuesday at Saint Mary's was 3-for-6 with a double...is 1-for-9 (.111) with two RBI with runners in scoring position...was 1-for-14 with an RBI in last year's Long Beach State series...
DOUG NICKLE: Leads the Bears with two saves in 7.0 innings of relief...earned the save Jan. 31 at Hawaii, coming in in the sixth inning and throwing a career-high 4.0 innings with one hit, no runs and two strikeouts...also picked up the save Feb. 4 versus 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...
BRIAN OLIVER: Is leading the team with a .455 batting average with two doubles, a triple and four RBI...leads the team with 15 hits and five stolen bases...was 7-for-14 with a double, a triple and three RBI at Hawaii and was 6-for-11 with a double and an RBI in the Pepperdine series...was 4-for-5 with a double, a triple and an RBI in the Jan. 31 Hawaii game...is 3-for-10 (.300) with four RBI with runners in scoring position...was 2-for-13 with two RBI in last year's Long Beach State series...
BARRY SCHELL: Is hitting .308 with a double, a home run and three RBI...leads the team with a .615 slugging percentage and hit a two-run home run in his first collegiate at-bat Jan. 28 at San Francisco...was 1-for-5 with a double and an RBI at Hawaii and was 2-for-5 in the Pepperdine series...is 3-for-8 (.375) with a home run and three RBI with runners in scoring position...
JIM SCHMIDT: Has started six games this season--three times at second, twice at third and once as a designated hitter...is batting .364 with two doubles and two RBI...was 5-for-10 with a double and two RBI at Hawaii, was 2-for-4 with a double Feb. 4 versus Santa Clara and was 1-for-5 in the Pepperdine series...is 2-for-4 (.500) with two RBI with runners in scoring position...was 2-for-10 in last year's Long Beach State series...
PRESTON SHARP: Has started the last three games in the outfield for the Bears and is batting .375 (6-for-16) with four RBI...was 3-for-7 in the Pepperdine series and was 3-for-4 with four RBI Tuesday at Saint Mary's...is 3-for-7 (.429) with four RBI with runners in scoring position...
JON SHIRLEY: Is 0-1 with a 5.87 ERA, but has a save and is second on the team in strikeouts with nine...picked up the save Jan. 30 at Hawaii, shutting down the Rainbows with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the ninth...suffered the loss to Hawaii Feb. 1, pitching 1.7 innings with three hits, three runs, two walks and four strikeouts...is slated to start Sunday for the Bears...
BRAD STEELE: Has a 2-0 record with a 4.05 ERA in 6.7 innings of relief...picked up the win Jan. 31 at Hawaii, coming in in the fourth inning and throwing 2.0 innings with one hit, no runs and one walk...also earned the win Feb. 4 versus Santa Clara, coming into the game in the fifth inning and pitching 2.7 innings with one hit, one run, one walk and one strikeout...
JIM VORHIS: Is 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA...leads the team in innings pitched (15.0) and strikeouts (10), and only has two walks...in last outing pitched well against Pepperdine Feb. 8, throwing 7.0 innings with four hits, no runs, no walks and four strikeouts...started Jan. 31 at Hawaii, throwing 3.0 innings with five hits, two earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts...in last year's Long Beach State series suffered the loss Feb. 11, pitching 7.0 innings with seven hits, one earned run, one walk and two strikeouts...is slated to start Saturday for the Bears...
TYLER WALKER: Is 1-0 with a 4.00 ERA as a reliever...has an impressive seven strikeouts and only two walks in 9.0 innings pitched...picked up the win Feb. 9 versus Pepperdine, throwing a career-high 5.0 innings with one hit, no runs, no walks and three strikeouts...in last year's Long Beach State series, picked up his first collegiate save, throwing the ninth inning with no hits and a strikeout...
