April 12, 2011

Box Score

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PALO ALTO, Calif. - Sophomore 2B Tyger Pederson (Palo Alto, Calif.) drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh as Pacific sought their second win over a ranked team in eight days, but the No. 17 Stanford Cardinal answered back with three in the bottom of the eighth to hand the Tigers a heartbreaking loss Tuesday at Sunken Diamond.

Senior RHPs Marcus Pointer (Pacifica, Calif.), Matt Carvutto (Poway, Calif.) and junior RHP Jared Wagner (Danville, Calif.) combined for seven shutout innings as the Tigers took a 1-0 lead into the eighth.

But Stanford opened the eighth with a leadoff triple into the left-centerfield gap off Wagner. Daniel Johnston (Portola Valley, Calif.) made a diving effort for the drive off the bat of Stanford CF Jake Stewart, but it hopped off the wall for a standup triple. Catcher Zack Jones followed with a liner off the first base bag, which skipped into right field to tie the game at one. After a walk and a wild pitch, SS Kenny Diekroeger chopped a bouncing ball to second, but it was too soft for the Tigers to come to the plate, and on Jones scored the go-ahead run on the fielders choice. The Cardinal added a sacrifice fly off senior RHP Robbie Richardson (Lodi, Calif.) to hand the Tigers their first loss when leading after seven innings this season.

The game was scoreless until the seventh inning, when junior CF Brett Christopher (Livermore, Calif.) walked with one out and junior SS Josh Simms (La Mesa, Calif.) singled to center off of Stanford LHP Scott Snodgress. Pederson followed with a line drive through the hole on the left side, into left field to plate Christopher and give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Junior RF Allen Riley (Fresno, Calif.) walked to lead the bases, but Snodgress coaxed a groundout to end the threat and strand the bases loaded.

The game was dominated early by pitching and defense, as the Tigers turned four double plays in the first seven innings. Stanford loaded the bases with no one out in the third inning, but Pointer struck out Jones swinging, and then Simms, Pederson and senior 1B Brian Martin (Livermore, Calif.) turned a 6-4-3 double-play to end the inning and escaped the jam,

Stanford put a leadoff man in the fourth, but Carvutto got the groundball he needed for another 6-4-3 double-play.

In the bottom of the seventh, Wagner hit a batter with one out, but started a double-play himself, snaring a comebacker and delivering a strike to first to Simms, who finished the 1-6-3 double-play to end the frame.

But in the eighth, the Cardinal avoided double-play situations by posting three extra base hits to improve to 16-9 overall. The Tigers fall to 10-19 on the year.

Stanford LHP Chris Reed (1-1) earned the win striking out three in two flawless innings of work. Cardinal starter RHP A.J. Venegas allowed one hit - a double by Johnston in the second - in three innings of work. RHP Elliot Byers retired all nine he faced in the fourth, fifth and sixth.

Wagner absorbed the loss, on two earned runs in two innings pitched. Pointer allowed just two hits in his three innings, while Carvutto allowed three hits in his three shutout frames.

Pacific fell to 7-1 when leading after seven, while Stanford completed its first comeback victory when trailing after seven. The loss drops Pacific to 3-2 against teams out of the Pac-10 this season, with all five contests on the road. Last Tuesday, the Tigers knocked off then-No. 13 Cal in Berkeley, Calif. The Cardinal will visit Klein Family Field on Monday, May 9.

The Tigers return to Klein Family Field to play host to UC Irvine in a three-game series beginning Friday at 6 p.m.. Game two of the Big West set is Saturday at 6 p.m., with the finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday.