Although it was playing against a nonconference opponent, the Stanford baseball team still hoped to use this weekend’s series against Long Beach State as a way to regain some momentum heading into the back end of the Pac-10 season.
The Cardinal (25-18, 10-8 Pac-10) took the first two games from the Dirtbags (21-23), but was denied the sweep in the series finale.
Worryingly for Stanford, its offense turned in mediocre performances for the second weekend in a row. The Card only scored 12 runs in the series, and won its first two games largely on the strength of its pitching and defensive play.
The first game of the series, on Friday, was a low-scoring pitcher’s duel. Each starting pitcher lasted only six innings, but the relief squads of both teams held the other side to no runs and the game ended in a 3-2 Stanford victory.
Stanford sophomore starter Brett Mooneyham pitched well over his six innings of work, giving up five hits and two runs to the Dirtbags. He also struck out nine batters. However, he threw 122 pitches in those six innings and was pulled in favor of sophomore Brian Busick. Mooneyham got the win, improving his season record to 2-5.
Busick shut down Long Beach State for three innings, allowing just one hit to earn his first save of the season.
Long Beach State starter Andrew Gagnon also threw for six innings, but allowed three runs to the Cardinal. The four pitchers out of the Dirtbag bullpen were able to effectively contain Stanford for the last three innings of the game, but the three runs off Gagnon proved to be enough to seal the Stanford victory.
Stanford was led offensively by freshman first baseman Stephen Piscotty, who went 3-4 with a run scored.
The second game of the series was just as close, with the pitching staffs of both teams dueling into extra innings. The Cardinal was able to prevail, 4-3, in 10 innings.
Once again, the focus was on each team’s starting pitcher – sophomore Jordan Pries for Stanford and Jake Thompson for Long Beach State. Pries went eight innings and gave up just two runs, while Thompson went 8.2 innings and gave up three runs.
For most of the game, both pitchers were locked in a very tight battle. Each team scored a run in the first inning before the game settled down. Heading into the ninth inning, Long Beach held a slim 2-1 lead. The Card battled back, taking a 3-2 lead on a home run by freshman third baseman Kenny Diekroeger.
The Dirtbags refused to give up, scoring a run off junior reliever Alex Pracher in the ninth to force extra innings.
In the 10th inning, a clutch pinch-hit double by freshman Eric Smith scored freshman center fielder Jake Stewart from first base, giving Stanford a 4-3 lead. Freshman pitcher Dean McArdle held the Dirtbags scoreless in the bottom half of the inning to give the Card its second straight one-run win.
After the two pitcher’s duels on Friday and Saturday, Sunday’s game was much more of an offensive shootout. In the end, Stanford was unable to match Long Beach State’s firepower, and fell 10-5.
After a scoreless first inning, the floodgates opened on Stanford’s freshman starting pitcher Mark Appel in the second inning. The Dirtbags scored five runs in the inning, knocking Appel out of the game after just 1.2 innings in his first start of the season.
The two pitchers sent in after Appel, Busick and sophomore Chris Reed, were little better at stopping the Long Beach offense. Busick allowed two runs while Reed allowed three, sealing Stanford’s fate.
Meanwhile, Stanford’s offense was unable to match the Dirtbags, as the Cardinal scored five runs on eight hits off starter Branden Pinder and could not manage any more.
Stanford’s two offensive stars, freshman right fielder Tyler Gaffney and junior designated hitter Jonathan Kaskow, could not break through for the Cardinal. Gaffney went 1-4 (though he did have two RBIs), while Kaskow went 1-3.
The Cardinal will have little time to recover, as it returns to the Farm to play Santa Clara today before going on the road to play San Jose State on Wednesday. Its next Pac-10 series will start on Friday against Washington State.
Stanford will take on Santa Clara at Sunken Diamond. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.