Titans' Memorable Season Ended by Stanford
June 19, 2003 – Omaha, Neb.

Box Score

AP - An unlikely power display helped Stanford beat Cal State Fullerton and move into the College World Series championship round.

Three innings after Jonny Ash's first career home run tied it, Danny Putnam hit a two-run homer in the top of the 10th to give the Cardinal a 7-5 victory Thursday night.

"Jonny's could have been the gamer, and mine fortunately was," Putnam said. "Watching the ball go out there was a lot of adrenaline flowing. It was unbelievable. It's what you dream about."

Putnam, 2-for-5 with three RBIs, hit a 2-2 pitch from Darric Merrell into the right-center field stands after Ryan Garko led off the inning by getting hit by Merrell's first pitch.

The win set up a best-of-three championship matchup, starting Saturday night, between Stanford (50-16) and Rice (55-11), which advanced Wednesday with a victory over defending champion Texas.

The Cardinal, playing for the championship for the third time in four years, are looking for their first CWS title since winning back-to-back titles in 1987-88. The Owls are trying for their first NCAA title in any sport.

It was the first extra-inning CWS game since the Cardinal beat the Titans 5-2 in 10 innings in 2001.

Ash said associate head coach Dean Stotz predicted he would hit his first homer in the College World Series.

"I was making some good swings in batting practice back at school and he told me 'Jonny, you're going to have a big hit when we get to Omaha,'" Ash said.

"That's the kind of things that make for champions," Fullerton coach George Horton said.

Cordero said he let a fastball get into the hitting zone on that one.

"I wasn't pitching him any different than anybody else," he said. "It was a fastball. It was supposed to be in but I left it out over the plate too much, and he put a good swing on it."

Chris Carter also homered for the Cardinal, and David O'Hagan (7-1) scattered three hits over 4 1-3 relief innings for the win. The Titans left 15 runners on base.

"We got some clutch hits and clutch performances when we were a little short-handed," Stanford coach Mark Marquess said. "We walked seven, we hit five and there's 12 free base runners, and somehow we found a way to win."

The game-winning homer was Putnam's second of the tournament and 16th of the season. He also drove in five runs with a homer, double and two singles in a 13-6 elimination-game victory over South Carolina on Tuesday.

The Titans (50-16) took advantage of a record five hit batsmen by Stanford starter Matt Manship to build a 4-1 lead.

There was a scary moment in the third when Fullerton shortstop Justin Turner was hit in the face by a pitch while attempting to bunt. He turned to avoid the pitch, but the ball hit him in the face. With his face bloodied and swollen, Turner left the game assisted by trainers. X-rays taken at a hospital revealed contusions but no fractures and only a chipped tooth. He also sprained his ankle trying to avoid the pitch.

Turner returned to the dugout in the 10th inning, limping and the left side of his face badly swollen.

"It kind of gave us an emotional boost," starting pitcher Jason Windsor said. "We had something to work off and gave us something else to win the game for. Unfortunately, we just didn't get the job done."

Stanford made it 4-3 on Carter's two-run homer in the sixth, but Cal State Fullerton added a run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Justin Smyres -- Turner's replacement.

Ash tied it in the next inning off Titans star closer Chad Cordero after Sam Fuld hit a one-out double.

Manship hit two batters in the third and both led to runs. Ronnie Prettyman singled in another run in the fourth for the Titans after Danny Dorn became the fifth Titans player hit by a pitch. P.J. Pilittere tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the fifth for the three-run cushion.

Fullerton loaded the bases with two down in the bottom of the eighth but O'Hagan got Kyle Boyer to fly out to center to end the threat.

"I always seem to go out and get other people out of jams, then I go and seem to fall apart," O'Hagan said with a smile. "I feel fortunate the coaching staff has stuck with me even though I've been a little erratic."

The Titans stranded 13 runners through eight innings, including nine in scoring position.

"We just didn't seem to be in the cards today," Horton said. "We had 15 runners left on base. Every time we hit the ball on the nose, it seemed like there was a guy in a Cardinal uniform there waiting for it."

Merrell (4-1) allowed two runs and one hit without retiring a batter.

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POSTGAME QUOTES

STANFORD

Head Coach Mark Marquess
(Opening statement): "It was some kind of game, especially in an elimination game to play in the national championship. Obviously we were a little short handed. (David) O'Hagan pitched great. He scared me a bit. I don't think we had a one-two-three inning all night. We had seven walks and five hit batsmen, so that's 12 runners we put on base. We found a way to win. We played with a lot of heart. It was not pretty, but we found a way to win. I'm very proud of my team and the way we battled back. It was a clutch performance when we were shorthanded."

(on Rice): "I've heard about them from a lot of other coaches. I hadn't had a chance to see them until we got to Omaha. Obviously they have a strong pitching staff. They've been able to rest and have some depth. They play well. We'll enjoy this one and then try to get some type of game plan to face them."

Third Baseman Jonny Ash
(on his first career home run): "It feels great to win. It's funny. Coach (Dean) Stotz, the third base coach, called this a couple weeks again in the batting cage back at Stanford. It was a dream come true. I was getting great swings in the batting cage back in school. Coach Stotz said in a couple weeks in Omaha, you're going to get one in a big game. Sure enough it was."

Relief Pitcher David O'Hagan
(on his performance): "All year it seems I come in to get other guys out of jams and then everything falls apart for me. I'm pleased Coach (Mark) Marquess keeps putting me out there. As most of you know, my numbers aren't that great. I try to do what I can to help the team. I try to put my best foot forward."

(on facing Cal State Fullerton with the bases loaded in the eighth inning): "With the bases loaded, there's not too much margin of error. I tried to keep focused, keep my eyes on the target and throw the best I could."

Leftfielder Danny Putnam
(on Rice): "We haven't played these guys, but obviously we faced great guys all year. We'll need to get a good game plan to face these guys."

CAL STATE FULLERTON

Head Coach George Horton
(opening statement): "We're a little devastated. The team can take a look at (injured shortstop) Justin Turner's face and see that a picture is worth a thousand words. That's what we did the entire year -- invest a lot emotionally and physically. We left 15 runners on base and 10 in scoring position. We hit a lot of line drives but it always seemed that a Cardinal was waiting for it. We have nothing to be ashamed of. We lost to a great program. It was a classic Titan-Cardinal battle and unfortunately we came up short tonight."

(on evaluation the 2003 season): "Unfortunately for us, in our industry winning championships is how your season is gauged. Our goal was to win the national championship and we came up short. I will always remember this team, the way we did things together, the work ethic and the passion for each other and the coaching staff. I am hoping that we will all remember the positive things they brought to themselves and the institution. They're not champions but they are still winners."

Starting Pitcher Jason Windsor
(on the injury to his thumb): "It didn't really hinder my pitching. It occurred on the first warm-up pitch in that inning so anything that happened prior to that had nothing to do with the injury."

Relief pitcher Chad Cordero
(on the game-tying home run by Stanford's Jonny Ash): "I went after him like I go after everyone else, even though he's not really a home run hitter. I left a fastball out over the plate, and he hit it well."

Rightfielder Shane Costa
(on his team's reaction to the injury to Justin Turner): "It didn't have a negative affect on us. If anything, it gave us a lift in the sense that it gave us another reason to try to win. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get it done."

Trainer Chris Mumaw
(on the injury status of Justin Turner): "Justin was taken to a local hospital (Bergan Mercy) for X-rays after being hit by a pitch between the cheekbone and the jaw. He was evaluated and although he has contusions and abrasions, he has no broken bones. There is a small laceration to his lip, and there is a small chip to one of his teeth. To add insult to injury, he also has a sprained ankle."

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