Cal St. Fullerton ends Cardinal’s year
As Jack Klein’s short hopper to second was flipped to short for the final out of Stanford’s 4-2 loss to Cal State Fullerton on Saturday night, all Mark Marquess could do was sit at the far end of the dugout at Sunken Diamond. The season, and his 41-year career as the Cardinal skipper, was over.
Marquess popped up and raced out to congratulate each Titans player. He then sat back down, surrounded by his players. He placed both hands to his cheeks, swallowed by a cloud of gray jerseys.
The sellout crowd gave the man known as “Nine” a standing ovation, and he reluctantly came out and waved.
“It hasn’t sunk in,” Marquess said after his team was eliminated from the NCAA tournament with a second loss to Fullerton in the Stanford regional. “I haven’t thought about what’s next. I really haven’t.”
Fullerton took advantage of freshman lefty Erik Miller’s discomfort with runners on base early, with an RBI double in the first inning and a tworun home run in the second.
Fullerton starter Colton Eastman shut down a two-on, one-out chance by the Cardinal in the sixth. After Cardinal closer Colton Hock gave up a solo homer to Chris Hudgins in the ninth, Titans closer Brett Conine allowed a leadoff triple by Quinn Brodey, who scored on a throwing error, but Conine then got two flyballs and the groundout to end an era.
For 41 years, Marquess has hand-written his practice schedules. At 70, he still throws batting practice. With Marquess at the helm, Stanford had just three losing campaigns.
They started this season sluggishly, opening Pac-12 play 5-7 before holding a team meeting after an April 15 loss to UCLA.
“We all wanted the storybook ending for Nine,” Klein said. “We had a meeting one night, all the position players. We knew we weren’t getting it done. We felt the season sliding.”
The Cardinal finished Marquess’ last campaign by going 23-4, including a 10-0 win over Sacramento State to open this weekend’s Regional.
“That run they made,” Marquess said. “It was unbelievable. Not the most talented team I’ve had, but they competed.”
Fullerton, though, sent Stanford to the loser’s bracket with a 4-1 decision on Friday night, and after a 9-1 win over BYU on Saturday afternoon, the Cardinal were riding high.
Then, they ran into Eastman, who used a devastating curve, a low-90s fastball and a tumbling change to keep the Cardinal off balance, going 62⁄3 innings and allowing one run on two hits.
Marquess ends his career with 1,627 wins, most in Pac-12 history. He’s had six 50-win campaigns, two national titles.
In the stands, Marquess had eight grandchildren, his three daughters and his wife.
“It’s really emotional. You know there’s going to be a last game, but you just don’t know,” said Marquess’s wife, Susan, who walked with him, arm in arm, to the interview room.
“We’ve got a lot of kids I can coach in Little League, but I’d probably get run out of the stands,” Marquess said. “I’m not over the hill yet, so I’ll find something to keep me busy, and I’m sure my wife has some things lined up for me.”