Publication Date: Friday, March 18, 2005
Stanford baseball hosts ex-Cardinal star
Stanford baseball hosts ex-Cardinal star
(March 18, 2005) Sprague brings his Pacific team to Sunken Diamond on Saturday; Wiggins wins honor
by Rick Eymer
Another Stanford mini-reunion is on tap this weekend with the 12th-ranked Cardinal baseball team meets Pacific in a two-game home-and-away series.
The Tigers visit Sunken Diamond on Saturday at 1 p.m. for the first tine in nearly six years. Pacific coach Ed Sprague, a former major league player, helped Stanford coach Mark Marquess win several of his 1,201 career games while on The Farm during Stanford's reign as national champions.
Sprague was a teammate of California coach David Esquer, who lost two-of-three when the Bears came to Stanford two weeks ago in a nonconference series.
Mark Romanczuk, who has thrown complete games his last two outings, takes the mound for the Cardinal, while Jeff Gilmore gets the starting nod when Stanford travels to Pacific for a 1 p.m. game on Sunday. Stanford has not visited Stockton since beating the Tigers, 10-2, on Feb. 28, 1995.
Stanford has won 13 straight at home from the Tigers since the teams played to a 3-3 tie on Feb. 10, 1979. The last time Pacific, currently on a six-game losing streak, won at Sunken Diamond was a 7-4 decision on Feb. 8, 1977.
Stanford returns to action after a 12-day break for finals. The Cardinal are 10-2 at home this year.
Stanford second baseman Jed Lowrie, a preseason All-American, is off to another fast start with seven home runs, 25 RBI and a .706 slugging percentage. He did not commit an error in the first 17 games of the season.
John Mayberry, Jr., another preseason All-American, has recorded four straight two-hit games. He was 6-for-10 against Cal. Mayberry leads the team with a .352 batting average, and ranks second in RBI (18) and homers (4).
Stanford's current four-series regular season road losing streak is its longest since Stanford dropped seven straight road series between April 29, 1988 and April 10, 1989.
Women's basketball
Stanford guard Candice Wiggins was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Co-Freshman of the Year with Georgia's Tasha Humphrey.
Wiggins has also been named Pac-10 Player of the Year, Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, and Most Outstanding Player at the Pac-10 Tournament. She was also recognized as a Midseason addition to the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy lists.
Wiggins leads the top-ranked Cardinal with 17.3 points per game and is second with 5.4 rebounds a game.
Stanford meets Santa Clara in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at approximately 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Softball
For third-ranked Stanford, scoring first has led to success. It also helps to have a top-notch pitching staff too.
The Cardinal, who host the Stanford Round Robin beginning Saturday, has won all 14 games in which they have scored first.
Stanford (18-2) hopes that continues this weekend when Utah visits at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Utah reached postseason play last year, losing to Stanford, 1-0, at the Palo Alto Regional. The Cardinal are 4-0 against Utah.
Stanford will also play Princeton.
Freshman Michelle Smith has a team-leading nine home runs while junior Catalina Morris has seven. The Cardinal have 29 as a team, already fifth best in school history.
Lauren Lappin and Leah Nelson share the team lead with 24 hits. Lappin is hitting .414 clip, while Nelson is at .436.
Women's soccer
Stanford senior Nicole Barnhart helped the U.S. Women's national team to the title of the 12th Annual Algarve Cup in Portugal on Tuesday.
The Americans beat Germany, 1-0, to clinch the championship.
Barnhart became the first Stanford goalie to start for the U.S. National Team, posting the first shutout of her post-collegiate career in a 1-0 victory over France in the Algarve Cup opener.
The U.S. also beat Finland, 3-0, for its third straight Algarve Cup championship and fourth overall.
Women's gymnastics
Stanford finishes the regular season with a tri-meet with California and host San Jose State on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Pac-10 championships will be held next Saturday at California.
Junior Natalie Foley has seen a steady climb in her all-around scores since rebounding from an early season injury. She finished second in the all-around against Alabama with a 39.225.
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