OMAHA, Neb. - Danny Putnam hit a two-run home run in the top of the 10th inning Thursday night to send Stanford into the College World Series championship round with a 7-5 victory over Cal State Fullerton.
Putnam, 2-for-5 with three RBIs, hit a 2-and-2 pitch from Darric Merrell into the right-centerfield stands after Ryan Garko led off by getting hit by a pitch.
The win set up a best-of-three championship matchup, starting Saturday night, between Stanford (50-16) and Rice (55-11), which advanced Wednesday with a victory over defending champion Texas.
The Cardinal, playing for the championship for the third time in four years, is looking for its first title since winning in 1987 and '88. The Owls are trying for their first title in any sport.
Jonny Ash hit a two-run homer - the first of his career - off Titans closer Chad Cordero in the seventh to tie the score at 5.
Chris Carter also homered for the Cardinal and David O'Hagan (7-1) scattered three hits in 41/3 innings of relief for the win.
The Titans (50-16) took advantage of a record five hit batsmen by Stanford starter Matt Manship, usually the Cardinal's closer, to build a 4-1 lead.
There was a scary moment in the third when Fullerton shortstop Justin Turner, attempting to bunt, was hit in the face by a Manship pitch. With his face bloodied and swollen, Turner left the game assisted by trainers.
Fullerton loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, but O'Hagan got Kyle Boyer to fly out to end the threat. The Titans stranded 13 runners through eight innings, including nine in scoring position.
Shula's deal nearly done
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama officials are reviewing a contract for new football coach Mike Shula and it could be signed soon, one of his legal advisers said.
The approval includes a review by President Robert Witt, Chancellor Malcolm Portera and the Alabama System Board of Trustees Compensation Committee.
The contract is expected to be a six-year deal worth $900,000 annually with a $1-million buyout. A seventh year will be automatically added if Alabama wins seven games this season, and incentives could total as much as $600,000 per year.
PITT PLAYER DIES: Pittsburgh wide receiver Billy Gaines died after falling through a church ceiling and landing on a pew. Gaines, a 19-year-old sophomore from Ijamsville, Md., was attending a cookout at St. Anne church in Homestead, police said. He was apparently alone when he fell about 25 feet at 2:30a.m. Wednesday after climbing onto two planks used by church workers to change ceiling lights.
GRADES ARE IN: The American Football Coaches Association honored Connecticut, Boston College, Duke, Northwestern, Rice, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest for graduating at least 90 percent of their players.
Basketball
MISSISSIPPI ST.: Recruit Travis Outlaw, from Starkville (Miss.) High, bypassed a chance to play for his hometown university and kept himself available for the June 26 NBA draft.
Outlaw, a 6-foot-9 McDonald's All-American, applied for the draft in May to see where he stood with the NBA. Outlaw is projected as a late first-round selection.
Other colleges
USF SOCCER: Jenny and Mindy Mulvihill from Oviedo have been selected to the South Region pool and await word on a possible trip to the U.S. Soccer Festival, held July27-Aug.2 in Houston. If chosen to join the South Region (III) team, the sisters would compete against the USASA's three other region teams and against national teams from around the world, making them eligible for a spot in the under-23 national pool.
USF SOFTBALL: Ginny Georgantas, a 2002 graduate, will represent Greece on its national team in the U.S. Cup in Honolulu, Hawaii.
