The 15th-ranked Cardinal (6-2) brings a five-game winning streak into the series against the No. 22 Longhorns (6-2), who just had a five-game winning streak snapped by Sam Houston State on Tuesday.

Appel, last year's NCBWA Pitcher of the Year, recovered from a season-opening loss to Rice to toss a three-hitter against Fresno State in a 3-1 victory that started a sweep of the Bulldogs. Appel has 14 strikeouts in 14 innings on the season.

Stanford senior right-hander Mark Appel, who was named one of 30 college baseball candidates for the 2013 Senior CLASS Award on Wednesday, will take the mound Friday night for the first of a three-game set against visiting Texas. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

The Longhorns played their first eight games at home while Stanford already has made a trip to Houston. The Cardinal is 4-0 at home.

"My favorite time is just getting up there on the mound and throwing the first pitch," Appel said. "It gets the game going and the adrenaline pumping."

Appel (1-1, 1.93) will be opposed by Parker French (2-0, 1.35), making it one of the best matchups early in the season.

The weekend series features two of the top pitching staffs in the nation. Stanford brings a 2.03 team ERA to the mound, while Texas owns a 2.50 ERA.

Stanford has been able to get away with averaging just over four runs a game because the pitching staff doesn't allow opponents to score much more than two runs a game.

Slater leads Stanford with his .381 average and Diekroeger leads the Cardinal with 11 hits, including his own three-run homer that clinched the series sweep. He's batting .324. Ragira currently hits at a .324 clip and Ringo is at .360.

Stanford shortstop Lonnie Kauppila is hitting .188 on the season, yet leads the team with a .552 on-base percentage thanks to a team-high 10 walks. He's tied for third in runs scored.

The rest of the Cardinal lineup is hitting .186 with one home run and 13 RBI. That doesn't tell the whole story though. Brett Michael Doran, for example, has one hit on 11 at-bats, and that was a three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning in Saturday's win over the Bulldogs.

Most of Stanford's offense has been concentrated with four players: Menlo School grad Danny Diekroeger, Brian Ragira, Austin Slater and Justin Ringo. Combined they are hitting .342 with four home runs and 18 RBI.

The Cardinal will play nine of its next 10 games at home, with a road game at Santa Clara on Tuesday (6 p.m.) the only break.

Stanford coach Mark Marquess, in his 37th season at the helm, and Texas coach Augie Garrido, in his 45th year, have combined for 3,322 coaching victories. Garrido, who has won five national titles, is the all-time wins leader in Division I baseball. Marquess is fourth on the list.

Dean McArdle and Logan James each have made two starts, though it's likely freshman Bobby Zarubin (1-0, 0.84) earned a chance to start Sunday's game after a lengthy relief appearance over the weekend.

It starts with Appel, but there's plenty of good vibrations to share among pitchers. Saturday starter John Hochstatter, with his 3.18 ERA, has given Stanford a few to win in both of his starts.

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Stanford baseball well-armed for big series with Texas