No. 12 Stanford baseball (30-13, 13-8 Pac-12) won the series but lost an 11-game win streak at the end of its three-game weekend against Arizona State (20-24, 7-14). Playing on the road, the Cardinal finished with two wins and one loss in the series.
Starting off on Friday, Stanford’s 7-5 victory matched its longest winning streak since 2003. Junior Colton Hock had a record-tying 13 saves in the game, matching the school standard set in 1987. Freshman Daniel Bakst also played well, delivering a career-high three hits on the night.
Stanford started off strong with a run in each of the first three innings, but it was junior Matt Winaker’s scoreboard-denting hit that really kicked things into high gear in the fifth. The three-run home run brought the score to 6-2. Bakst hit one over the wall in the sixth to give the Cardinal their 7-5 victory.
The team continued hitting well on Saturday night with a 13-8 victory over the Sun Devils. The 11-game streak after this game was the longest for the Cardinal since 1999. These 11 games were echoed by the 11-0 lead Stanford had over the first four innings, created by three runs in the first, five in the second and three more in the fourth.
After Bakst got the first run with a sacrifice fly, sophomore Duke Kinamon sent one into orbit for a two-run home run. Sophomore Brandon Wulff continued with a home run at the beginning of the second, which was followed by a RBI single by sophomore Nico Hoerner, a two-RBI double by junior Quinn Brodey, who had a career-high of four runs on a 3-for-4 night, and Kinamon singling in to bring the score to 8-0.
A scoreless third inning led to the fourth, where Kinamon had his fourth RBI in as many innings. Senior Jack Klein hit a sacrifice fly, followed by a double by Wulff that gave the Cardinal their 11-0 lead. Stanford had plenty of pitching support from junior Andrew Summerville, who threw 6.1 innings and retired the first nine Sun Devils, striking out three in the game.
Stanford stretched its lead with Kinamon’s fifth hit and fifth RBI and a RBI single by Winaker in the ninth. The Sun Devils looked to make a splash in the seventh, but a double play induced by junior Keith Weisenberg allowed Stanford to keep a comfortable lead.
All good things must come to an end, though, as the Cardinal saw on Sunday afternoon. The win streak was snapped with a 9-6 loss to Arizona State. The Sun Devils jumped ahead with a 5-1 lead in the first inning, making this the first Pac-12 game of the last five that Stanford had trailed in.
Despite great pitching by senior Brett Hanewich for the last five innings of the game, holding Arizona State to two runs, the original deficit proved too much to overcome, and Stanford didn’t score after the fourth inning of the game.
Stanford’s 11-game streak on Saturday was the longest in the nation, and the Cardinal look forward to starting a new streak on Tuesday against San Francisco. The game will be held at the Sunken Diamond at 5:30 p.m.
Contact Ariana Rollins at arianar ‘at’ stanford.edu.