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In the Cards Young Stanford squad makes unlikely title game return
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Stanford was in a similar position a year ago -- one win away from another College World Series title with one of the best pitching staffs in the country. The Cardinal are back in the title game again and this time it's a group of relative unknowns who are on the brink of a title. "It's kind of crazy," coach Mark Marquess said Thursday. Stanford (51-16) will play Miami on Saturday in the Cardinal's fourth championship game. Until last year, Stanford was unbeaten on the final Saturday of the CWS. The Cardinal took a 5-2 lead into the eighth inning against Louisiana State and ended up losing 6-5. But the memory isn't particularly haunting to the Cardinal because hardly any of this year's players were contributors a year ago. "That was a great team we had last year, but this is kind of a different team," said left-hander Mike Gosling (7-2), who will start Saturday. "We'll take something from last year but at the same time I don't think we need revenge." Gosling was in the dugout last year, watching starters Justin Wayne, Jason Young and Brian Sager carry the Cardinal. Wayne and Young went early in the draft and Sager transferred. All but one position starter either graduated or was drafted, leaving Marquess with a significant rebuilding task. Marquess found a new rotation in Gosling, Jeff Bruksch and Jeremy Guthrie, who have the Cardinal 3-0 in the CWS. Gosling allowed just two hits over 7 2/3 innings against Cal State Fullerton on Sunday and the Cardinal won 5-2 in 10 innings. Guthrie, who was hit hard in the opener last Friday, rebounded Wednesday by holding Fullerton to four hits over seven innings in Stanford's 4-1 win. Bruksch has been the biggest surprise, returning to the relief role he held last year and picking up three saves. Gosling said not having to rely on the veterans helped with Stanford's adjustment this year. "I think guys kind of worried when they weren't in the game and we had to send somebody else out there," he said. "It's not exactly that we're no-names. We feel like we've got a lot of guys with real equal ability. We don't feel there's a fall off when you take one guy out and put another guy in." Marquess sees a big difference between the teams. Besides Young and Wayne, the Cardinal had high-profile players like right fielder Joe Borchard, a first-round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox and quarterback of the Cardinal's 1999 Rose Bowl football team. Marquess said the veteran nucleus led to veteran problems like getting the guys to practice hard. This year's Cardinal are a bit starry-eyed at the CWS experience. "We're not used to this," Marquess said. "My guys would stand out there for 15 hours and sign autographs if you let them. They love this. They love it because they don't get it. It's not like a major league player who doesn't want to be bothered." But they're not totally in awe. Other than stumbling in the early in opener and falling behind Tulane 8-0, the Cardinal have been playing very well. "We've experienced that almost throughout the whole year. You're not sure how a young team will respond, but we've had a lot of those games now so hopefully we should be prepared for anything," Marquess said. Gosling will have had five days' rest by Saturday and Bruksch has only pitched 3 1/3 innings, so Marquess is comfortable with his pitching entering the championship game. Marquess was coaching the Cardinal when they won consecutive titles in 1987 and '88. He said it's been a pleasant surprise to play for a third championship without a senior on the roster. "We're still a young team, but we're not inexperienced right now at the end of the season," he said.
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