Stanford Is Again Blown Away in Final

Stanford hoped it would be different this time.

A year after suffering a crushing one-run loss to Louisiana State in the College World Series championship game, the Cardinal was back in the final, against Miami.

The only difference in the outcome, however, was the lack of drama.

Miami won its second title in three years Saturday, defeating Stanford, 12-1, before 24,070 at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Miami first baseman Kevin Brown had a three-run home run and a two-run double to lead the Hurricanes, who won their fourth title and concluded the season with a 17-game winning streak.

Miami finished with a 53-12 record, the fewest losses by a national champion since Cal State Fullerton went 57-9 in 1995.

Stanford, which lost to LSU, 6-5, in last year’s final, is the first team to lose consecutive championship games since Texas in 1984 and 1985. The 11-run margin of victory ties the record for the largest in a championship game. Minnesota defeated Arizona, 12-1, in the 1956 final.

“We didn’t give them much of a game,” Stanford Coach Mark Marquess said. “They hammered us pretty good.”

Miami, making its seventh World Series appearance in eight years, limited Stanford (51-17) to five hits and handed the Cardinal its worst loss of the season. The only other occasions in which Stanford gave up 12 or more runs were in an 18-13 victory over Nevada on April 10 and a 12-3 loss to Sacramento State on May 2.

The usually unflappable Cardinal entered the game with a nation’s-best .978 fielding percentage, but committed two errors. Right fielder Carlos Quentin also lost a fly ball in the sun in the third inning that resulted in a run-scoring double by Danny Matienzo and set the stage for Kevin Mannix’s three-run double later in the inning.

Miami starter Tom Farmer (15-2) gave up one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out three and faced only one batter over the minimum through the first five innings. Luke Debold pitched 2 1/3 innings and Alex Prendes finished, giving Miami a 48-0 record in games it led after six innings.

Stanford left-hander Mike Gosling (7-3), who had pitched impressively against Cal State Fullerton in the Cardinal’s second game of the tournament, gave up seven runs and seven hits in four-plus innings.

“I never really got into a rhythm and didn’t have good stuff,” Gosling said. “I made it through the first two innings and was hoping to kind of get it going.”

Miami built on its 4-0 third-inning lead with a five-run fifth. Third baseman Kevin Howard had a run-scoring single against Gosling, Brown hit his three-run homer into the left-field bleachers against Jeff Bruksch and left fielder Mike Rodriguez drove in a run with a fly ball to center field to make the score 9-0.

Stanford had overcome an 8-0 deficit to defeat Tulane in its World Series opener, but the Cardinal did not come close to launching a rally against the Hurricanes.

“Once we jumped on them like that I thought it was pretty much over,” said Miami center fielder Charlton Jimerson, who was voted the most outstanding player of the series. “They did a good job coming back against Tulane, but that’s tough to do twice.”

Stanford scored its run in the sixth when Sam Fuld pushed a bunt to the right side with two out, bringing in Arik Van Zandt from third base.

Miami answered in the home half of the inning with a two-run double by Brown, and scored its final run in the eighth when Quentin committed a fielding error on Jim Burt’s single to right.

“They just didn’t let us get anything going,” said Stanford catcher Ryan Garko, who had two hits and finished the series seven for 12 with two homers. “We couldn’t string any hits together.”

Miami Coach Jim Morris, who won his second title, credited Fullerton for helping Miami become national champion.

Fullerton swept Miami in a three-game series at Coral Gables, Fla., March 30-April 1.

“After that series, I told my team, ‘That club will be in Omaha, and if you want to be there too, you have to play like those guys,’ ” Morris said. “That’s when our season turned around.”

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Sweeping Statement

College World Series champions that went unbeaten in the tournament:

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Year School Record CWS 1947 California 27-10 2-0 1949 Texas 18-7 3-0 1951 Oklahoma 15-9 4-0 1957 California 28-9 5-0 1961 USC 34-8 5-0 1968 USC 38-13 5-0 1973 USC 42-11 5-0 1978 USC 46-9 5-0 1982 Miami 49-18 5-0 1983 Texas 56-13 5-0 1991 LSU 47-18 4-0 1992 Pepperdine 44-11-1 4-0 1994 Oklahoma 57-14 4-0 1995 Cal State Fullerton 57-9 4-0 1996 LSU 52-15 4-0 1997 LSU 57-13 4-0 2000 LSU 52-17 4-0 2001 Miami 53-12 4-0

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Associated Press