National Collegiate Athletic Association |
The NCAA News - News and FeaturesJune 15, 1998
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SLUGFEST
Trojans' world after series win is home sweet homer
In what has become known as "Gorilla Ball," Southern California outslugged Pacific-10 Conference rival Arizona State, 21-14, to win its 12th national crown before a championship-game record crowd of 24,456 June 6 at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. The victory was the Trojans' first title since 1978. Southern California (49-17) also became the first team since Arizona in 1980 to win the College World Series after losing its first game. The Trojans won five in a row after falling, 12-10, to LSU in their opener. A total of 42 College World Series records were broken and another 26 were tied. And that's the tentative list. Other records might fall after statisticians comb through the mind-numbing offensive stats generated at this year's championship. Among the most notable records that were shattered during the championship tournament include most home runs by all teams in a series (62), team batting average (.318) and highest team batting average (Southern California, .378). In fact, nearly every important offensive record for a College World Series championship game was broken. "I can't express how proud we are of this team," said Southern California coach Mike Gillespie, who joined former Arizona coach Jerry Kindall as the only coaches who have won national championships as a player and coach. "It goes beyond my ability to describe how we feel." The Trojans jumped on Arizona State ace Ryan Mills early and often. First baseman Rob Gorr started the scoring barrage with a three-run homer in the first. Second baseman Wes Rachels, who was named the tournament's most outstanding player, hit a three-run home run in the second, followed by another Gorr home run with the bases empty. The Trojans had a seemingly insurmountable 8-0 lead. Devilish rally But Arizona State bounced back with five runs in the bottom of the second and three more in the fourth to cut the Trojans' lead to 9-8 after four. Shortstop Michael Collins gave the Sun Devils a jumpstart as his grand slam in the second breathed life into the Arizona State attack. "People counted this team out many times but they battled back," said Arizona State coach Pat Murphy. "Southern California was awesome today. We couldn't hold them, and they deserve a tremendous amount of credit. It tells you something about this team, down 8-0. But we couldn't hold them." Southern California scored five more runs in the sixth and seventh innings to take a 14-8 lead. Rachels added an RBI double in the sixth and a two-run single in the seventh. Rachels finished with five hits and seven runs batted in, a record for the CWS championship game. A two-run single by Rudy Arguelles, an RBI double by Mikel Moreno and a two-run home run to right field by Andrew Beinbrink in the seventh cut the Trojans' lead to one. But Southern California scored seven more runs in the last two frames -- the big blow a grand slam by Jason Lane to center field in the ninth -- to wrap up the title. Southern California catcher Eric Munson said he tried to stay positive with his pitchers. "It was a tough day for both pitchers (Mills and Southern California starter Rik Currier). I knew we needed a lot of runs to win. We had some clutch outs in key situations a couple of innings where they didn't score and that was a key for us because we did score." Southern California relief pitcher Jack Krawczyk pitched the last 1 2/3 innings and earned his single-season record 23rd save. He also established an NCAA career record with 49 saves. "There was no wind," he said. "I knew I had to get the job done. I threw the pitch I've been throwing all series, all year and all of my career, the change-up -- or as some people call it--the gravity ball. I'm just thankful I got into the game and got the save. The record means a lot." All-tournament team Joining Rachels on the all-tournament team from Southern California were catcher Munson, first baseman Gorr, outfielder Brad Ticehurst, designated hitter Lane and pitcher Krawczyk. Arizona State placed third baseman Beinbrink, shortstop Collins and outfielder Arguelles on the all-tournament team. LSU outfielder Cedrick Harris and Miami (Florida) pitcher Alex Santos also were named to the squad. In addition to the championship-game record crowd of 24,456, the overall attendance for the championship reached a record 204,361, the second time in as many years that attendance has surpassed 200,000 for the series. The average attendance per session (20,436) also set a College World Series record. Game 1 Arizona St. -- 001 -- 160 -- 300--11 -- 12 -- 1 Florida St. -- 000 -- 235 -- 000--10 -- 8 -- 6 Phill Lowery, Aaron Kramer (5), Chad Pennington (6) and Greg Halvorson; Wes Crawford, Jon McDonald (5), Scott Proctor (7), Mike DiBlasi (9) and Jeremy Salazar. W -- Pennington. L--McDonald. HR--Halvorson (Arizona St.), Salazar (Florida St.) 2. Game 2 Long Beach St. -- 000 -- 100 -- 000--1 -- 4 -- 2 Miami (Fla.) -- 020 -- 010 -- 00x--3 -- 9 -- 1 Mike Gallo, Darren Merrill (7) and Bryan Kennedy; Alex Santos, Robbie Morrison (9) and Russ Jacobson. W--Santos. L--Gallo. S--Morrison. HR--Pat Burrell [Miami (Fla.)]. Game 3 LSU -- 000 -- 113 -- 520--12 -- 14 -- 2 Southern Cal -- 102 -- 205 -- 000--10 -- 12 -- 2 Jake Esteves, Chris Demouy (5), Doug Thompson (7) and Brad Cresse; Seth Etherton, Mike Penney (7), Jason Lane (7), Jack Krawczyk (8) and Eric Munson. W--Thompson. L--Lane. HR--Danny Higgins (LSU), Trey McClure (LSU), Eddy Furniss (LSU), Cresse (LSU) 2, Clint Earnhart (LSU), Wes Davis (LSU), Cedrick Harris (LSU), Robb Gorr (Southern Cal), Jeremy Freitas (Southern Cal). Game 4 Mississippi St. -- 050 -- 500 -- 004--14 -- 14 -- 3 Florida -- 030 -- 103 -- 015--13 -- 13 -- 0 Matt Ginter, Hank Thoms (6), Kevin Donovan (8), Scott Polk (8), Chris Reinike (9), Van Johnson (9) and Barry Patton, Ryan McGrath; Brad Wilkerson, Josh Fogg (4), Matt McClendon (8) and David Ross. W--Ginter. L--Wilkerson. S--Johnson. HR--Rusty Thoms (Mississippi St.), Brooks Bryan (Mississippi St.), Patton (Mississippi St.), David Ross (Florida), Jason Dill (Florida). Game 5 Miami (Fla.) -- 002 -- 000 -- 000--2 -- 6 -- 1 Arizona St. -- 240 -- 100 -- 02x--9 -- 13 -- 1 Darin Spassoff, Todd Ozias (2), Greg Howell (8) and Russ Jacobson; Ryan Mills, Aaron Kramer (7) and Greg Halvorson. W--Mills. L--Spassoff. S--Kramer. HR--Andrew Beinbrink (Arizona St.). Game 6 Florida St. -- 001 -- 300 -- 000--4 -- 5 -- 0 Long Beach St. -- 000 -- 130 -- 30x--7 -- 13 -- 1 Nick Stocks, John Bentley (5), Mike DiBlasi (7) and Jeremy Salazar; Caleb Balbuena, Darren Merrill (7), Jason Marr (9) and Bryan Kennedy. W--Merrill. L--Bentley. S--Marr. HR--Matt Diaz (Florida St.), Jason Yount (Long Beach St.), Scott Redfox (Long Beach St.). Game 7 Mississippi St. -- 002 -- 031 -- 101-- 8 -- 14 -- 0 LSU -- 040 -- 220 -- 02x--10 -- 11 -- 1 Jeremy Jackson, Brian Compton (5), Van Johnson (8) and Barry Patton; Randy Keisler, Brandon Bowe (6), Doug Thompson (6) and Brad Cresse. W--Keisler. L--Jackson. S--Thompson. HR--Richard Lee (Mississippi St.), Danny Higgins (LSU), Cresse (LSU), Clint Earnhart (LSU), Wes Davis (LSU), Blair Barbier (LSU), Cedrick Harris (LSU). Game 8 Southern Cal -- 022 -- 201 -- 100 -- 04--12 -- 19 -- 1 Florida -- 301 -- 000 -- 130 -- 02--10 -- 17 -- 1 Jason Lane, Mike Penney (3), Jack Krawczyk (8) and Eric Munson; Tommy Bond, Josh Fogg (4), Matt McClendon (10) and David Ross. W--Krawczyk. L--McClendon. HR--Munson (Southern Cal), Brad Ticehurst (Southern Cal), Lane (Southern Cal), Mark Ellis (Florida), Casey Smith (Florida), Greg Catalanotte (Florida). Game 9 Long Beach St. -- 020 -- 001 -- 003--6 -- 14 -- 2 Miami (Fla.) -- 020 -- 010 -- 000--3 -- 7 -- 1 Mike Gallo, Darren Merrill (7), Dennis Kordich (7), Jason Marr (9) and Bryan Kennedy; Darryl Roque, Greg Howell (6), Robbie Morrison (8), Laz Gutierrez (9), Matt Kamalsky (9) and Russ Jacobson. W--Kordich. L--Morrison. S--Marr. HR--Justin Hall (Long Beach St.), Aubrey Huff [Miami (Fla.)]. Game 10 Southern Cal -- 031 -- 000 -- 201--7 -- 12 -- 0 Mississippi St. -- 000 -- 000 -- 010--1 -- 5 -- 2 Rik Currier, Mike Weibling (9) and Eric Munson; Mark Freed, Chris Reinike (2), Hank Thoms (6), Scott Polk (8), Kevin Donovan (9) and Barry Patton. W--Currier. L--Freed. HR--Brad Ticehurst (Southern Cal) 2. Game 11 Arizona St. -- 142 -- 101 -- 122--14 -- 18 -- 0 Long Beach St. -- 000 -- 102 -- 001-- 4 -- 11 -- 4 Ricky Leon, Aaron Kramer (7) and Greg Halvorson, Jeremy Jones; Leff Leuenberger, Dan Thomas (3), Dennis Kordich (7), Jason Berni (9) and Bryan Kennedy. W--Leon. L--Leuenberger. S--Kramer. HR--Willie Bloomquist (Arizona St.), Mikel Moreno (Arizona St.), Andrew Beinbrink (Arizona St.), Terrmel Sledge (Long Beach St.), Kennedy (Long Beach St.). Game 12 LSU -- 101 -- 000 -- 101--4 -- 7 -- 1 Southern Cal -- 010 -- 001 -- 21x--5 -- 11 -- 1 Jake Esteves, Chris Demouy (7) and Brad Cresse; Seth Etherton, Jack Krawczyk (9) and Eric Munson. W--Etherton. L--Esteves. S--Krawczyk. HR--Josh Dalton (LSU), Cedrick Harris (LSU), Munson (Southern Cal), Morgan Ensberg (Southern Cal). Game 13 Southern Cal -- 000 -- 031 -- 210--7 -- 11 -- 0 LSU -- 000 -- 000 -- 030--3 -- 8 -- 1 Mike Penney, Jason Lane (8) and Eric Munson; Doug Thompson, Chris Demouy (7), Dan Guillory (8) and Brad Cresse. W--Penney. L--Thompson. HR--Morgan Ensberg (Southern Cal), Jason Lane (Southern Cal) 2, Jeff Leaumont (LSU). Championship game Southern Cal -- AB -- R -- H -- RBI Wes Rachels, 2b -- 7 -- 3 -- 5 -- 7 Greg Hanoian, lf -- 2 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 Rob Perry Jr., pr-cf -- 1 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0 Robb Gorr, 1b -- 5 -- 3 -- 2 -- 5 Eric Munson, c -- 6 -- 1 -- 2 -- 0 Morgan Ensberg, 3b -- 4 -- 3 -- 2 -- 1 Brad Ticehurst, rf -- 5 -- 2 -- 1 -- 2 Jason Lane, dh-p -- 6 -- 2 -- 3 -- 4 Jeremy Freitas, cf-lf -- 6 -- 3 -- 5 -- 1 Jeff DePippo, pr-lf -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 Seth Davidson, ss -- 4 -- 3 -- 2 -- 0 -- Rik Currier, p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 Steve Immel, p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 Mike Weibling, p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 Jack Krawczyk, p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 Totals -- 46 -- 21 -- 23 -- 20 Arizona St. -- AB -- R -- H -- RBI Willie Bloomquist, 2b -- 6 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0 Rudy Arguelles, cf -- 5 -- 2 -- 1 -- 2 Mikel Moreno, rf -- 6 -- 2 -- 2 -- 1 Andrew Beinbrink, 3b -- 2 -- 2 -- 1 -- 3 Jeff Phelps, 1b -- 4 -- 1 -- 2 -- 2 Dustin Delucchi, lf -- 5 -- 1 -- 1 -- 1 Casey Myers, dh -- 5 -- 3 -- 4 -- 1 Greg Halvorson, c -- 5 -- 2 -- 3 -- 0 Michael Collins, ss -- 3 -- 1 -- 1 -- 4 Ryan Mills, p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 Aaron Kramer, p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 Chad Pennington, p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 Phill Lowery, p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 Chuck Crumpton, p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 Totals -- 41 -- 14 -- 16 -- 14 Southern Cal -- 351 -- 002 -- 325--21 -- 23 -- 1 Arizona St. -- 050 -- 300 -- 510--14 -- 16 -- 0 E -- Davidson. DP -- Arizona St. 2. LOB -- Southern Cal 7, Arizona St. 8. 2B -- Rachels, Ensberg, Lane, Freitas, Moreno. HR -- Rachels, Gorr 2, Ticehurst, Lane, Beinbrink, Phelps, Myers, Collins. SB -- Ensberg, Freitas, Davidson, Moreno. SH -- Hanoian, Collins 2. SF -- Gorr, Beinbrink. -- IP -- H -- R -- ER -- BB -- SO Currier -- 1.1 -- 5 -- 5 -- 5 -- 1 -- 3 Lane (Winner) -- 2.1 -- 4 -- 3 -- 0 -- 2 -- 1 Immel -- 3.0 -- 4 -- 4 -- 4 -- 2 -- 1 Weibling -- 0.2 -- 3 -- 2 -- 2 -- 0 -- 1 Krawczyk (Save) -- 1.2 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 1 Mills (Loser) -- 1.0 -- 6 -- 6 -- 6 -- 1 -- 1 Kramer -- 5.0 -- 6 -- 5 -- 5 -- 0 -- 1 Pennington -- 1.1 -- 5 -- 5 -- 5 -- 3 -- 1 Lowery -- 1.0 -- 4 -- 4 -- 4 -- 2 -- 0 Crumpton -- 0.2 -- 2 -- 1 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0 PB -- Halvorson 2. HBP -- Ensberg (by Kramer). Umpires -- Dick Runchey, Wade Ford, Ken Eldridge, Tony Walsh, Nick Zibelli, Tony Gisondi. T -- 3:59. A -- 24,456.
Broken recordsDoes the offensive outburst in college baseball make the game more appealing, or is it too much of a good thing? Here are the competitive records set at the 1998 College World Series: Most Home Runs, All Teams, Series -- 62 Batting Average, All Teams, Series -- .318 Consecutive College World Series Without a Shutout -- 3 (1996, 1997, 1998) Most Home Runs, Team, Game -- 8, LSU vs. Southern California, May 30 Most Wild Pitches, Team, Game -- 6, Long Beach State vs. Arizona State, June 3 Most Home Runs, Both Teams, Game -- 10, LSU vs. Southern California, May 30 Most Wild Pitches, Both Teams, Game -- Long Beach State vs Arizona State, June 3 Most Home Runs Allowed, Individual, Game -- 6, Seth Etherton, Southern California vs. LSU, May 30. Most Total Bases, Individual, Series -- 31, Jason Lane, Southern California Batting Average, Team, Series -- .378, Southern California Most Runs, Team, Championship Game -- 35, Southern California vs. Arizona State, June 6 Most Hits, Team, Championship Game -- 23, Southern California vs. Arizona St, June 6 Most Hits, Both Teams, Championship Game -- 39, Southern California vs. Arizona State, June 6 Most RBIs, Individual, Championship Game -- 7, Wes Rachels, Southern California vs. Arizona State, June 6 Most Home Runs, Team, Series -- 17 LSU and Southern California Most Total Bases, Team, Series -- 152, Southern California Slugging Percentage, Team, Series -- .683, LSU Most Runs Batted In, Team, Series -- 61, Southern California Most Runs, Losing Team, Game -- 14, Arizona State vs. Southern California, June 6 Most Runs, Team, Series -- 62, Southern California Most Hits, Team, Series -- 88, Southern California Most Total Bases, Team, Game -- 42, Southern California vs. Arizona State, June 6 Most RBIs, Team, Championship Game -- 20, Southern California vs. Arizona State, June 6 Most Earned Runs Allowed, Team, Championship Game -- 21, Arizona State vs. Southern California, June 6 Most At-Bats, Both Teams, Championship Game (nine innings) -- 87, Southern California vs. Arizona State, June 6 Most Home Runs, Team, Championship Game -- 5, Southern California vs. Arizona State, June 6 Most Pitchers Used, Both Teams, Championship Game -- 10, Southern California vs. Arizona State, June 6 Most RBIs, Both Teams, Game -- 34, Southern California vs. Arizona State, June 6 Most Earned Runs Allowed, Both Teams, Game -- 32, Southern California vs. Arizona State, June 6 Longest Championship Game -- 3:59, June 6. Most Total Bases, Both Teams, Game -- 85, Southern California vs. Arizona State, June 6 Most Home Runs, Both Teams, Championship Game -- 9, Southern California vs. Arizona State, June 6 Most Hits, Individual, Series -- 15, Jason Lane, Southern California Most At-Bats, Individual, Championship Game (nine innings) -- 7, Wes Rachels, Southern California vs. Arizona State, June 6 Most At-Bats, Team, Championship Game (nine innings) -- 46, Southern California vs. Arizona State, June 6 |
This College World Series was one for the records book, in more ways than one.