Bruksch Strong at End for Stanford

Jeff Bruksch expected to be on the mound at Rosenblatt Stadium once, maybe twice, during the College World Series.

As Stanford’s No. 2 pitcher, Bruksch was a strong candidate to start the Cardinal’s second game and, possibly, the national championship game if Stanford went unbeaten through its bracket.

Instead, Bruksch was shifted to his relief role of last season and tied a World Series record with three saves. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound right-hander is likely to pitch in relief again today when Stanford plays Miami for the national title.

“I would like to start, but it would be fun to be on the mound for the last out,” said Bruksch, who graduated from Beverly Hills High and transferred to Stanford from USC. “As long as we win the championship, I don’t care what my role is.”

Fourth-seeded Stanford (51-16) is making its second consecutive appearance in the championship game and its fourth overall. The Cardinal, the national champion in 1987 and ‘88, lost to Louisiana State last year when Tiger catcher Brad Cresse singled against Justin Wayne, driving in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Second-seeded Miami (52-12), the 1999 national champion, is in the final for the sixth time and is trying to win its fourth title.

Each team went through its four-team bracket unbeaten. Stanford defeated sixth-seeded Tulane, then beat Cal State Fullerton twice.

Miami defeated Tennessee and USC before beating Tennessee again to extend its winning streak to 16.

Junior left-hander Mike Gosling (7-2, 3.33 earned-run average) will start today for Stanford, senior right-hander Tom Farmer (14-2, 3.64) for Miami.

The Hurricanes lead the nation with 227 stolen bases and feature a deep and talented bullpen. Miami is 47-0 when leading after six innings and 50-0 when leading after eight.

Stanford also has a deep bullpen and Bruksch, a fifth-round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics, has provided the Cardinal with the stopper it has been missing since last season, when he tied a school record with 13 saves.

“He’s been throwing harder in the series because he doesn’t have to pace himself like he does when he starts,” Stanford catcher Ryan Garko said. “His fastball has more pop and he threw a couple of sliders the other night that had all of us saying, ‘Where did that come from?’ ”

Bruksch was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 42nd round of the 1998 draft after going 6-4 with a 2.31 ERA his senior season at Beverly Hills, but said he was not highly recruited.

“I got a little interest from Tulane but I recruited myself to USC,” he said.

He missed seven weeks of the 1999 season at USC because of a shoulder injury and finished with no decisions and 4.26 ERA in six innings.

The following summer, however, he went 5-1 with a 2.27 ERA as a starter for the Anchorage Bucs in the Alaska League while throwing to Stanford catcher Damien Alvarado.

With Rik Currier returning for his junior season at USC, Mark Prior transferring in from Vanderbilt, and Anthony Reyes and Chad Clark arriving as freshmen, Bruksch decided to seek opportunity elsewhere.

“I transferred because of the numbers,” he said. “I just thought I would get to pitch more at another school.”

Bruksch transferred to Stanford in January 2000 and emerged as the Cardinal’s closer.

He finally got his chance to start this season and was 9-3 with a 2.93 ERA during the regular season. He did not figure in decisions in a regional start against Texas and a super-regional start against South Carolina.

If Cardinal reliever J.D. Willcox had been able to hold off Tulane in Stanford’s 13-11 series-opening victory, Coach Mark Marquess would not have turned to Bruksch, who retired all three batters he faced after entering the game in the ninth with no outs and the tying run at second.

Bruksch got the final out to preserve a 5-2, 10-inning victory against Fullerton and helped eliminate the Titans on Wednesday by combining with Jeremy Guthrie for a four-hitter in a 4-1 victory.

World Series Championship Game

* Stanford (51-16) vs. Miami (52-12), 10 a.m. PDT, Ch. 2