April 7, 2000

Box Score

PULLMAN, Wash. -- Starting Pitcher Justin Wayne improved his season record to 8-1 with a solid eight-inning outing to lead the No. 7 Stanford Cardinal to a 14-3 defeat of the Washington State Cougars in Pac-10 baseball action Friday afternoon at Bailey-Brayton Field.

The win improved the preseason No.1 Cardinal to 23-9 and 4-3 in the Pac-10. WSU dropped its third consecutive game to fall to 14-20 on the year and have now lost four straight conference games to fall to 2-5.

Wayne, a consensus second-team preseason All-American, scattered eight hits and allowed only three runs in eight innings. The junior is now 8-1 in 2000 and a remarkable 24-2 in his Stanford career. Relief pitcher J.D. Wilcox pitched the ninth for Stanford and did not allow a run to cross the plate.

WSU starter Todd Meldahl was roughed up in his outing to fall to 1-4 on the year. The senior lefty gave up eight hits and eight earned runs in 4.1 innings. Les McTavish made his 67th career appearance and is now only seven off the school record of 75. Freshman Nick Kenyon pitched two perfect innings down the stretch in the eighth and ninth innings.

The Cardinal took the early 1-0 lead in the second when preseason All-American Joe Borchard belted his seventh home run of the season. They tacked onto their lead in the third with three more runs. After consecutive walks and a sacrifice bunt to leadoff the inning, shortstop Eric Bruntlett plated two runs with a double down the left field line. Edmund Muth knocked in the third run of the inning with a single to right field.

Down 4-0, the Cougs jumped on the comeback trail against Wayne in the fourth. A leadoff double from redshirt freshman Stefan Bailie started the rally and a single from Jason Grove put the Cougars on the board. With two outs, senior catcher Ryan Smith hit his sixth double of the year to pull WSU to within one run, 4-3. The Cougars would add only two more hits after the fourth inning.

The Cardinal then poured on seven runs on only four hits in the top of the fifth to pull away from the Cougs. John Gall doubled down the left field line to start the rally, then Chris O'Riordan doubled to left field to push home one more run, and Andy Topham singled in two more to cap the seven-run inning.

Wayne then went in cruise control, retiring seven consecutive batters at one point. The Cardinal added three more insurance runs in the top of the eighth when Moses Lake product Jason Cooper doubled with the bases loaded to clear the bases. Gall led Stanford at the plate with a 3-for-5 game and O'Riordan was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.

The Cougars and Cardinal will continue their three-game series Saturday with a 1 p.m. game at Bailey-Brayton Field. 1999 All-American Jason Young (3-0, 4.54) will start on the mound for the Cardinal tomorrow against a to be determined WSU pitcher.

STAN   013  070  030 -  14 11  1
WSU    000  300  000 -   3  8  2
Justin Wayne, J.D. Wilcox (9), and Damien Alvarado, Mario Garza (8).
Todd Meldahl, Les McTavish (5), Nick Kenyon (8), and Ryan Smith, Jon Baeder (8).
W - Wayne (8-1),L - Meldahl (1-4), S - None, HR - Borchard (7).
T - 2:59,  A - 831.
STAN Hits - Bruntlett, Muth, Gall 3, Borchard, O'Riordan 2, Topham, Cooper, Alvarado.
WSU Hits - Stevenson, Hattenburg, Bailie, Grove, Curran, Smith, Baeder, Hecker.
E - O'Riordan (3), Hattenburg (13), Bailie (4).
2B - Bruntlett (13), Gall (7), O'Riordan (6), Cooper (3), Alvarado (5), Bailie (8), Smith (6).