Tyger Talley tossed a complete game shutout in win. Photo courtesy Arizona Athletics
Talley Tallies First Sweep Of Stanford For Wildcats
PALO ALTO, Calif. – Scottsdale native Tyger Talley (3-0, 3.13, .190) tallied the first ever series sweep of the Stanford Cardinal (9-11, 0-3) with a hard-nosed, complete-game, three-hitter on Sunday as the Arizona Wildcats (19-6, 4-2) won 6-0 on Sunday at Sunken Diamond. The 6’2” 230-pound junior struck out six against two walks in a dominant performance as he cruised without really facing a Cardinal scoring threat.
Talley threw 124 pitches, 86 for strikes, and got the benefit of a double-play ball in the sixth that erased a one-out single by Stanford shortstop Beau Branton (Fr.). The right-hander allowed one baserunner to reach scoring position on a two-out double in the third inning by Tommy Edman (So., 2B) but ended the inning on a Branton lineout right into the glove of Wildcats junior shortstop Kevin Newman.
Arizona’s offense would provide Talley all the run support he would need in the third inning. Stanford starter Chris Viall (1-2, 4.95, .250) loaded the bases and then uncorked a pair of wild pitches that scored Scott Kingery (Jr., 2B) and Newman for the early 2-0 lead.
The Wildcats added two more runs in the sixth on a sac fly by freshman pinch hitter Elijah Skipps and an RBI single by Kingery to extend the lead to 4-0. Kingery would tack on another run with a sac fly in the eighth and Bobby Dalbec homered in the ninth, his team-leading fifth on the year, to push the lead to 6-0.
Talley would close out the ninth by getting Mikey Diekroger (Fr., 3B) to groundout after sophomore Alex Dunlap reached on a dropped pop fly ball by Newman that would have ended the game.
The sweep will sweeten the pot for the Wildcats as they clamor for credibility for the post-season race. Arizona out-played Stanford, in Sunken Diamond no less, and may be ready to show the college baseball world who they really are.
Home series losses to Rice and Utah and going 0-2 at Mississippi State aren’t helping matters, but earning the series sweep on the road against a very talented Stanford team will at least be notable, if the Cardinal can turn things around.
Stanford sat just outside of the Top 25 as the season opened but has sputtered inconsistently to this point in the season. The Cardinal is solid enough to earn series splits with No. 6 Rice and No. 9 Texas while taking 2-of-3 from Cal State Fullerton but is struggling with a series loss at home to Indiana and the sweep this weekend to start 0-for-the-Pac 12.
Most of us are just hoping to make sense of the hodge-podge that is becoming the middle of the Pac 12 conference.
Erceg Pounds Cal To Sweep Of Huskies
SEATTLE, Wash. – The No. 21 California Bears (18-5, 5-1) turned 20 hits into 12 runs and finished off a road sweep of the Washington Huskies (13-10, 1-5) with a 12-2 blowout on Sunday at Husky Ballpark. Sophomore third baseman Lucas Erceg went 3-for-6 and slapped a two-run homer, his sixth on the year and third of the series (more on that in a moment), in the first inning to open the floodgates and later added a pair of doubles in the game.
The offense just clicked on Sunday, after managing three runs in each of the first two wins in the series, the Bears plated 12 runs. Junior Mitchell Kranson (DH) went 4-for-5 with a double and had two each, runs scored and RBI while freshman backstop Brett Cumberland went yard, his fourth, with a double on a 2-for-5 day at the dish.
Bears hurler Matt Ladrech (4-2, 1.60, .255) was solid, spreading out eight hits and a walk over seven innings only allowing two runs (one earned). The freshman lefty struck out three in the win.
The Huskies are excited to see Erceg leave town as he hit .462 (6-for-13) in the series with two doubles, three homers and six ribbies. In case you haven’t paid attention, Erceg hit game-winning, eighth-inning homers in each of the first two games of this series.
Erceg’s slash line is .398/.670/.450 with six homer, 23 runs and 22 RBI and the slugger has only struck out nine times this year. That’s a 10% clip for a power-hitter!
Everything seems to be working right for Cal as they’ve climbed into national attention and the Top 25 and will make a trip to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Utes next weekend.
Morrison’s Bat Clinches Sweep In Extras
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State Beavers (18-5, 4-2) complete what has been a dramatic and memorable sweep of the Washington State Cougars (12-11, 1-5) as sophomore shortstop Trever Morrison’s one-out, walk-off double in the 11th seals a 2-1 win at Goss Stadium on Sunday.
The Beavers are playing like adrenaline junkies after squeaking out a 3-0 win in game two as freshman thrower Drew Rasmussen (3-0, 1.36, .204) tossed the first perfect game in Oregon State history. The game was so close because Cougars’ senior southpaw Joe Pistorese (3-2, 2.62, .260) was straight dealing in a complete game effort as three Washington State errors led to two unearned runs for OSU.
Junior righty Travis Eckert (2-0, 2.77, .234) started Sunday’s matchup and worked around eight hits and a walk to allow only a run in 5.2 innings of work. Beavers head coach Pat Casey handed the game to reliever Luke Heimlich (Fr., LHP) who dominated the next 5.1 innings allowing only two hits while striking out six for the win.
Oregon State is playing a lot better ball right now, if only translating home success into road and neutral site success were easier with so many freshmen and sophomores playing key roles on the squad. Losses to New Mexico and Oklahoma as well as blowing the lead in game two against the No. 13 Arizona State Sun Devils still hang over what the Beavers are accomplishing.
The Beavers have to wait, with five straight home games before an important road trip to Jackie Robinson Stadium to face the No. 7 UCLA Bruins, to prove themselves outside of the friendly northwest.
No. 7 UCLA 11, Utah 2
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Juniors Christoph Bono and Ty Moore led another offensive onslaught as the No. 7 UCLA Bruins (17-5, 5-1) blasted the Utah Utes (7-15, 2-4)11-2 on Sunday at Jackie Robinson Stadium to earn the series sweep. Bono went 3-for-4 with a pair of triples and four RBI while Moore belted his first homer of the year, a two-run shot to pace the Bruins offense that found little resistance this weekend out of the Utes pitching staff.
Juniors Kevin Kramer (SS) and Trent Chatterton (2B) contributed to the outpouring as Kramer went 2-for-5 with an RBI double and Chatterton launched his first long ball was well, a two-run shot, on a 2-for-3 day at the plate with three runs driven in.
No. 24 Oregon 5, No. 13 Arizona State 1
EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 24 Oregon Ducks (15-8, 2-4) finally answered the call of the No. 13 Arizona Wildcats (15-7, 4-2) and avoided being swept out of PK Park as Cole Irvin (So., LHP) allowed an earned run over 5.2 innings as the Ducks won 5-1 on Sunday. Junior third baseman Matt Eureste smoked a two-run triple to the gap in right to lead the way for Oregon’s offense as it chased Sun Devil starter Brett Lilek (Jr., LHP) from the game after 1.1 innings pitched.
No. 10 USC 9, Cal Poly 2
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Freshman righty Mitch Hart (5-0, 2.15, .187) remained unbeaten with seven dominant innings on Sunday, allowing an earned run on four hits and a walk as the No. 10 USC Trojans (19-5, 2-1) blasted the Cal Poly Mustangs (7-13) with a 9-2 final at Baggett Stadium. The Trojans piled up seven runs in the first two innings led by Garrett Stubs (Sr., C) 3-for-5 day at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI. Bobby Stahel (Jr., LF) drove in two while Blake Lacey (Jr., 3B) and Reggie Southall (So., SS) each scored twice in the rout.
