Stanford: Finally, some baseball
By Alex Gyr - February 11, 2007
Finally, some sun here in Palo Alto. I've felt more like a weatherman than a baseball fan for the last two days, but rain shouldn't be an issue. Stanford and Fresno State are planning to play a game and a half today, first wrapping up yesterday's suspended game before playing game two right after.
Stanford leads game one, 6-1, after four innings. Nolan Gallagher bounced back from his terrible season-opener in Fullerton and gave up one run in four innings. Unfortunately for the Stanford junior, because of the suspension, there is no way he gets his first win as a Friday night starter.
Freshman Jeff Inman will get the call as a "starter" for the first game this afternoon. Inman was one of the top recruits in Stanford's freshman class and proved himself in fall and preseason practices. He has three pitches he can get over for strikes, a fastball in the low-90s, and judging from his performance in Southern California, is not easily rattled by the pressure of big-time college baseball.
Unlike the Cardinal, Fresno State is going to go with a bullpen man to start the completion of game one. The Bulldogs are still searching for a Sunday pitcher, and with just two games this weekend, head coach Mike Batesole is going with the Saturday starter, Clayton Allison, in game two.
The Cardinal are still looking for its first win of the season, and with the 6-1 lead things are looking pretty good. But if the Cardinal can't pick up a "W" or two today, the story next weekend in Round Rock could be two struggling powers desperate for wins. If there is one team Stanford baseball fans keep an eye on, it is Texas, and the Longhorns lost again last night to Long Beach State, dropping their record to 2-4 with a pair of series losses to the Dirtbags and San Diego (at Dell Diamond in Round Rock). The Stanford-Texas series will also be played in Round Rock, home of the Triple-A Round Rock Express. It may be a bit of relief for the Card, who typically struggle on the astroturf of Disch-Falk Field in Austin, but it also means Stanford doesn't get to return to the field where they swept through the Austin Regional last season.
I'll be back after the conclusion af game one for a little of postgame analysis and a quick look at game two. Tune in on kzsu.org to catch the play-by-play action.
Posted by Alex Gyr at 02:51 PM on February 11, 2007
Comment
