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Uploaded: Saturday, February 23, 2013, 4:11 PM Updated: Saturday, February 23, 2013, 11:03 PM
Doran hits walk-off pinch hit home run for Stanford
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| Pinch hitter Brett Michael Doran was asked to bunt. After failing that he did the next best thing.
Doran hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to lead Stanford past visiting Fresno State, 7-4, in a nonconference base all game Saturday.
Fresno State pushed across a run in the top of the ninth to force extra innings.
Palo Alto resident Alex Blandino opened the 10th with a single and Lonnie Kauppila was hit by a pitch before Doran, a junior, was sent to pinch hit for freshman Jonny Locher.
"I couldn't get the bunt down so I just wanted to have a good at bat," Doran said. "Fortunately I got good wood on it and hit it."
It was especially nice for Doran to make his one at bat count. His family made the trip. Now they have something to celebrate.
The 11th-ranked Cardinal (4-2) looks to complete the sweep Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
While Doran was the hero with one swing of the bat, Garrett Hughes earned the victory with 1 1-3 innings of scoreless relief.
Josh Hochstatter was in line for the win after throwing 6 1-3 effective innings. He allowed two runs on six hits, walking one and recording seven strikeouts.
"Our pitching has been great and the bullpen has been great," Doran said. "It was nice to finally get a series win."
Brian Ragira had three hits, including a home run, and drove in two runs. Austin Slater had two hits and an RBI.
Men's gymnastics
In its fourth meeting on the season, the Stanford men's gymnastics team needed a strong team performance in its final event to remain undefeated against California.
The Cardinal high bar team delivered, as No. 4 Stanford pulled out a gutsy 428.800-424.550 victory over No. 9 Cal, Saturday night in Burnham Pavilion.
Stanford trailed Cal after each of the first five events and entered its final rotation down 357.500-355.650.
Brain Knott got the Cardinal started with a career-best performance of 14.850 and finished second overall. Knott's performance was followed by a career-high from Jonathan Deaton (14.350) and season-best routines from Chris Turner (14.550) and John Martin(14.800). Martin finished third in the event.
Turner had a terrific night, competing in the all-round for the first time this season and claiming the title with an 86.650. He earned the rings title and tied his career-best on the event for the second week in a row, earning a 15.000.
With Stanford in the middle of a grueling stretch of competition that includes four meets in four weeks, head coach Thom Glielmiused Saturday's competition to rest some gymnasts and give others who had been on the cusp of lineup spots, an opportunity to compete.
Turner garnered his first spot in the floor lineup this season and took advantage of the opportunity, delivering a career-high 14.400.
Glielmi was happy with Turner's overall performance and was encouraged by his floor and high bar routines in particular, as Turner has been on the cusp of those lineups throughout the season.
Stanford struggled overall on floor, however, with multiple missed routines that left the Cardinal in an early hole.
Stanford responded with a team season-best performance on pommel horse, delivering a 71.900. Senior John Martinled the team with a season-high 14.950 and tied with Cal's Takahiro Kawada for first place.
Sean Senters finished third with a career-best 14.700, while Knott earned a career-best of his own with a 14.250.
Turner led Stanford on rings and was followed by freshman Dennis Zaremski who tied his career-high of 14.850 to finish second. Kevin Bakeralso notched a career-high score, contributing a 14.600.
Baker and Paul Hichwa tied for first on vault, both scoring career-highs of 14.800. Deaton notched a third-place finish with a 14.650.
Senior Cameron Foremancontinued to be a staple for the Cardinal on parallel bars, delivering a 14.750 to claim the event title. Foreman has scored a 14.700 or higher on parallel bars in four of five meets on the season. Zaremski claimed his second second-place finish on the night with a career-high 14.500.
Despite picking up the victory, Glielmi says the team's performance left something to be desired and that he hopes the team will learn from the meet to prevent falling in early deficits.
Stanford will see Cal for the third consecutive meet when it plays host to the Golden Bears at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 2 in Burnham Pavilion as part of the Collegiate Challenge. The meet will also include the Japanese Collegiate National Team, Washington and Arizona State.
Women's tennis
No. 13 Stanford opened its challenging road trip with a 5-2 neutral-site victory over No. 18 Clemson on Saturday afternoon.
With Sunday's highly-anticipated matchup against No. 4 Florida on tap, it would have been easy for Stanford to look ahead. Coming off only its third home loss in 14 years, the Cardinal entered Saturday's contest searching for a momentum shift.
The Cardinal (4-1) quickly locked up the doubles point, built a 3-0 advantage and ultimately clinched the match on the back courts.
Stanford dominated doubles, surrendering only six games combined while receiving an impressive 8-0 victory from its No. 3 team of Natalie Dillon and Krista Hardebeck.
Kristie Ahn and Nicole Gibbs, who missed the loss to the Gaels, followed with identical 6-2, 6-2 victories at the Nos. 2 and 1 spots, respectively.
Trailing 3-0, Clemson (3-4) picked up its first point when Beatrice Gumulya upended Krista Hardebeck 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 3 position.
Ellen Tsay then provided the clincher, cruising past Ani Miao 6-0, 6-2 on court five.
The stage is set for Sunday's clash against No. 4 Florida (5-1). It's the first time Stanford and Florida, which owns a 111-match home winning streak, have squared off in a regular-season match in Gainesville in 20 years. The Cardinal leads the all-time series 17-12.
Three years ago, Stanford edged Florida in Athens, Ga., to claim its 16th NCAA championship. The powerhouses squared off again in the 2011 NCAA title match, with the Gators claiming the hardware and snapping the Cardinal's NCAA-record 184-match home winning streak.
During last year's first regular-season matchup of the home-and-home series, Stanford knocked off Florida 5-2 at Taube Family Tennis Stadium. However, the Gators blanked UCLA 4-0 to claim its second straight NCAA championship and earn final bragging rights.
Women's water polo
Melissa Seidemann scored three goals to help top-ranked Stanford down Hawaii, 13-5, in the second round of the UC Irvine Invitational on Saturday.
Kaley Dodson, Kiley Neushul and Maggie Steffens each added two goals for the Cardinal (11-0), which took a 7-0 lead by halftime.
Stanford opened the Invitational with a 12-4 victory over Cal State Bakersfield. Steffens, Kaitlyn Lo, Seidemann, Jillian Garton and Annika Dries each scored twice.
The Cardinal face either Arizona State or California in Sunday morning's semifinal.
Men's swimming
The last time Stanford lost a swimming meet to California was seven years ago. That's also the last time the Bears finished the season unbeaten in dual meet action.
California nabbed another one from the Cardinal on Saturday afternoon, nudging the Cardinal, 139-104, in the final Pac-12 Conference meet of the season.
Next up is the Pac-12 Conference swimming and diving championships in Federal Way, WA.
Diving competition begins Feb. 28, followed by swimming on March 3.
Stanford's 31-year streak of Pac-12 titles will be on the line. The Cardinal lost dual meets to both Cal and USC this season.
Kristian Ibsen won both diving events while David Nolan won both the 100 back and 100 breast competitions.
Men's volleyball
Brian Cook and Steven Irvin each recorded 23 kills but it was BYU which eked out a five-set Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match as the Cougars downed visiting Stanford, 23-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 15-13, Saturday night.
James Shaw added 60 assists as the Cardinal (6-6, 9-6) had a seven-match winning streak over BYU come to an end.
Stanford travels to Cal Baptist for a conference match on Monday.
Women's gymnastics
Ashley Morgan recorded the best all-around score at 39.450 but host No. 7 Utah held off No. 10 Stanford, 197.300-197.025, in a Pac-12 Conference meet Saturday night.
Morgan placed second on the parallel bars while Amanda Spinner led a 1-2-2 finish on the beam with her 9.950. Ivana Hong and Kristina Vaculik each recorded a 9.900 for the Cardinal (3-2 in the Pac-12, 8-3 overall).
Shona Morgan turned in a third-place effort on the floor and Nicole Dayton was second on vault.
The Cardinal hosts California and Oregon State in a 7 p.m. meet Friday in Burnham Pavilion.
— Palo Alto Online Sports Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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