By DENIS GRIFFIN

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Alex Oppenheimer

Sophomore outfielder Toby Gerhart blasted a two-run homer against the Wildcats on Monday, but it wasn’t enough for the Cardinal to leave Tucson with a series victory over Arizona.

DESK EDITOR

In a game that finished after eight innings due to time restrictions on the Cardinal’s traveling schedule, Stanford baseball dropped the rubber match in its three-game series against Arizona in Tucson, 15-11, thanks to a pair of huge innings in the third and seventh by the Wildcats.

The Cardinal (31-20, 12-9 Pac-10) jumped out to an early lead, scoring five in the second and three in the third before Arizona (36-16, 10-11) rallied for its first big inning in the bottom of the third with a nine-run outburst.

Arizona did most of its damage with a flurry of singles, a pair of walks and a hit batter to score three runs before the Cardinal could record an out. The only real power Arizona displayed all inning was a one-out, two-run home run by designated hitter Dillon Baird, the only extra-base hit of the inning. Still, the damage was done as the Wildcats battered the Cardinal with seven hits, three walks and a Stanford throwing error.

The Cardinal scratched and clawed its way back, however, scoring a single run in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to take a two run lead at 11-9. But Arizona responded once again with a six-run seventh. The Wildcats’ second big rally followed a formula similar to their first — they had plated a pair of runs on four singles, a stolen base and a wild pitch while recording just one out before first baseman C. J. Ziegler broke the game wide open with a grand slam. The shot to center field put the ‘Cats on top for good, 15-11.

Aside from its pair of outstanding offensive half-innings, the Arizona offense was incredibly anemic, recording just three hits over its other five innings of work. Still, virtually every pitcher that Stanford coach Mark Marquess sent to the mound for the Cardinal wound up with a disappointing day. Junior Max Fearnow was good for 3.2 solid innings, allowing just a pair of runs, one of which was on first base when he left the game.

Jeremy Bleich also collected a pair of outs in the Stanford ace’s first appearance since March 28; the junior missed over a month and a half of action due to injury, perhaps sparking some hope that he could be ready to contribute to a postseason run.

Stanford’s offense collected five runs in the second in similar fashion to the Wildcats’ modus operandi of the day, as seven runners reached base on a fielding error, a pair of walks and four singles before Arizona recorded an out. The Cardinal’s effort was good for five runs in the inning before Matt Chaffee came on in relief of the Wildcats’ starter and struck out junior Brent Milleville, senior Randy Molina and junior Sean Ratliff, who had led off the inning, in quick succession.

The third inning put the Cardinal’s power on further display as sophomore Toby Gerhart hit a two-run homer as part of a three run inning for Stanford. Junior second baseman Cord Phelps also hit a homerun in the fifth, a solo shot to left, rounding out Stanford’s power display for the day.

With the victory, Arizona has now defeated Stanford in six consecutive series dating back to 2003. The Cardinal will take to the road again this weekend for its final regular-season action of 2008 as it travels to Seattle to face Washington in a three-game series beginning on Friday at 6:30 p.m.