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By John Manuel
June 15, 2002

Jeremy Guthire Photo: David Gonzales

OMAHA--The pitching-and-defense cliché gets plenty of use during the College World Series, but at Stanford, the emphasis always gets placed on the pitching.

That's the reputation of the program--one it has earned during coach Mark Marquess' 26-year tenure. But the defense half of the phrase has been the program's trademark the last two years, a trait that was on display again Saturday at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Marquess was an above-average defender at first base during his Cardinal career (which ended in 1969), and has an all-senior infield contributing to what has to be considered the top infield defense in the 2002 CWS field. Stanford set a school record with a .977 fielding percentage last season, and the same group--seniors Arik VanZandt at first, Chris O'Riordan at second, Scott Dragicevich at third and Andy Topham at short--has helped the Cardinal post a .972 mark this season.

"It's hard to pinpoint one factor," center fielder Sam Fuld said. "We do take great pride in our defense, and we do work hard at it. Obviously it's a tribute to that, and we're fortunate to have the athletic ability we have. We have a lot of veterans who are very comfortable and know what they have to do."

The only difference from last season is on the left side of the infield. Dragicevich was the starting shortstop last year, with Topham at third. This season the two have switched positions down the stretch, as Dragicevich lost his shortstop job prior to Stanford's regular-season series with Texas at the end of March. He had started 91 games consecutively at the position before losing the job to Topham.

"Dragicevich really struggled, had a real slump for him," Marquess said. "He sat out (nine) games, and at that time Topham moved to short and was just phenomenal for us at short. Dragicevich worked really hard and got back into the lineup at third base, and he's really been one of our best offensive players down the stretch."

That's the truncated version. Dragicevich relied on his senior savvy and knowledge of Marquess to ask his way back into the lineup when no one else claimed the spot with any authority, and hit safely in 18 of the last 19 games since taking over April 28 against Oregon State. While his hitting streak ended at nine games Saturday, he continued his solid defensive play, fielding his only chance. He also shined with the glove in a regional win against Long Beach State, preserving a one-run victory with a difficult catch.

"I basically said, 'Coach, I'm frustrated. I know I can contribute,'" Dragicevich told BA correspondent Chris Cocoles. "I knew I could play (third base)."

Topham, though, has been the defensive story. He had 23 assists in three regionals, including 11 against Cal State Fullerton in the 13-inning Cardinal victory. He has made just two errors in 39 chances during the postseason, including a diving stop of a Steve Sollmann grounder to start the sixth inning Saturday and another play on a Sollmann grounder to end the game.

"We're a better defensive team because of it," Marquess said. "I give credit to Scott Dragicevich. We're fortunate that he was able to get his stroke back, and Andy has just been very good at shortstop."

• Texas closer Huston Street continued the recent trend of father-son CWS tandems. The last two years, Southern California righthander Brian Bannister had appeared in Omaha, following the footsteps of his father, former Arizona State star Floyd Bannister. Street's father Jim, who was at Rosenblatt Stadium for the game Saturday, was a two-sport star for Texas, an all-Southwest Conference choice three times in baseball (as a pitcher) and twice in football (as a quarterback). He led the Longhorns to a 1970 Cotton Bowl victory against Notre Dame, a 21-17 win that also resulted in a national championship.

"I gain a lot of knowledge from him," the younger Street said after picking up his 11th save. "He called me two days ago because we left a little early, and he just told me, 'You'll go out and try to do more because of the situation.' He told me to try to have fun and relax and pitch like it's a normal game, to just try to enjoy it. It was hard because I was really nervous, but it worked out."

• Notre Dame coach Paul Mainieri left Omaha late Saturday after the death of his father-in-law. He was expected to return in time for the Fighting Irish's elimination game Monday against Rice. Assistant coach Brian O'Connor was expected to run practice Sunday and handle media requests.

• Notre Dame and Mainieri had plenty of supporters Saturday, including Mainieri's longtime friend, Cubs assistant general manager Jim Hendry. One of the supporters, though, had as much an Omaha claim to fame as Hendry, who coached Creighton to the CWS in 1991. Notre Dame alum Jim Morris (not the Miami coach) was on hand to show his support for the Irish, 45 years after setting the CWS record for batting average. Morris hit .714 in Notre Dame's first Omaha trip in 1957, batting 10-for-14 in four games of that Series.

• Attendance for the Series so far has been on a record pace. Both Saturday sessions set records, with 21,919 on hand for the Stanford-Notre Dame matchup, while a session three record 24,067 attended the night game between Texas and Rice. That crowd allowed the Series' all-time turnstile count to pass the 5 million mark, one day before Omaha officials had planned a ceremony to mark the milestone.

• Stanford has won its CWS opener in its last five trips dating back to 1997. It also has won at least one game in all 14 of its Series appearances.