Baseball – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com Breaking news from the Farm since 1892 Tue, 27 Feb 2024 09:21:45 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://stanforddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-DailyIcon-CardinalRed.png?w=32 Baseball – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com 32 32 204779320 Diamond in the rough: Champ Hampton shines in baseball and football https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/26/me-ks-champ-in-the-making-caleb-hampton-blends-power-and-precision-on-the-gridiron-and-diamond/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/26/me-ks-champ-in-the-making-caleb-hampton-blends-power-and-precision-on-the-gridiron-and-diamond/#respond Tue, 27 Feb 2024 06:47:54 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1243486 Freshman outfielder Caleb Hampton possesses rare power. But the five-foot-ten slugger — and Stanford running back — is driven by more than personal achievement.

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Freshman outfielder Caleb ‘Champ’ Hampton possesses rare power. With a small stride in his front leg and a little forward momentum, the five-foot-ten slugger generates enough torque to hammer a baseball into the seats at Sunken Diamond.

“The other day, he hit about a 450-foot home run during an intrasquad game,” said baseball head coach David Esquer. 

Hampton, who was ranked the eighth overall in Tennessee in the 2023 recruiting class, posted an impressive .396/.476/.780 slash line during his junior year. He continued his strong play during his senior year, slashing .358/.469/.701.

In addition to his hitting, Hampton is known for his quickness. In his junior year, he went for extra bases in 27 of 36 hits and stole 11 bases.

“He’s an explosive player,” Esquer said. “He’s got a rare combination of speed and power.”

But “Champ,” as his friends call him, has athletic aspirations beyond the baseball diamond. Hampton was also a standout running back in high school, rushing for nearly 1900 yards and 27 touchdowns his senior season.

With that production, Stanford offered Champ an opportunity to play both football and baseball, a rare possibility as athletes increasingly specializing at a younger age.

“I’m just so used to it that it’s natural,” Hampton said. “I feel like I’m going to be playing both as long as I can and winning a championship in both.”

After spending fall in the thick of football season, Champ is looking to make his mark on the baseball diamond. Last season, the baseball team lost nine players to the MLB Draft and Hampton hopes to contribute to a team that needs to replace several star sluggers.

“I expect him to keep getting better and show off that multidimensional athletic ability,” Esquer said. “He’s just starting to get comfortable, and I think he will show great improvement in a hurry.”

Although Hampton is a mild-mannered individual, with his demeanor reflecting the values of his small southern hometown: Ooltewah, Tenn., the freshman outfielder has already emerged as a leader on the baseball team. 

“[Champ] brought some of that football fire to the team and helped get the guys riled up,” said fellow freshman and pitcher Ben Reimers.

A supportive and vocal leader, Reimers described Hampton as a great teammate. “It’s cool to see him step into that role as a freshman.”

In his first-at-bat against Cal State Fullerton, Hampton barrelled a ball past a diving second baseman to get his first collegiate hit. Unlike other players who may have shown more visible excitement, Champ merely let out a small grin. 

But perhaps that’s because Hampton is grounded by something much greater than self-achievement.

Family is “definitely what fuels me,” Hampton said. “Every day after school I’d go to my grandparents’ to eat dinner. Seeing the smiles on their faces makes me happy and I want to make them proud.”

Despite being far from home, Champ holds Tennessee close to his heart and wants to give back to Ooltewah by creating his own foundation.

“A lot of my friends lost the love of playing baseball and football because their families couldn’t afford to pay for it,” Hampton said. “I want to bridge that gap and give children the opportunity to pursue their dreams for the sport they love.”

With a relentless drive for success in both football and baseball, Hampton is just scratching the surface of his full potential, leaving Cardinal fans excited for accomplishments to come.

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Baseball optimistic despite losses to MLB draft https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/16/baseball-optimistic-despite-losses-to-mlb-draft/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/16/baseball-optimistic-despite-losses-to-mlb-draft/#respond Fri, 16 Feb 2024 08:50:16 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1242815 Despite losing nine players to the MLB draft this past summer, Stanford's baseball team looks to rebuild in 2024 through dominant pitchers. “I really like our arms," said head baseball coach David Esquer.

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After losing nine players to the MLB draft, uncertainty looms over the Stanford baseball team’s upcoming season. But head baseball coach David Esquer ‘87 is optimistic — for him, one part of the team shines the brightest: “I really like our arms.”

“I think we have as much arm talent as we have had in recent years. I think early on we have built almost everyone up to be a starter,” Esquer said at Bay Area Baseball Media Days.

Stanford, along with several other regional college baseball teams including Cal, Santa Clara University and San Jose State, attended the annual event last Tuesday. Esquer, sophomore catcher Malcolm Moore and sophomore pitcher Matt Scott spoke to the media about the Cardinal’s upcoming spring season. 

KZSU lead baseball broadcaster Carson Trail ‘24 echoed Esquer’s praise for his pitching staff.

“The ceiling for this pitching staff is as high as it’s ever been,” Trail said. “The best pitching staff Esquer has had at Stanford was the 2018 staff. This is the kind of group, even if they don’t come along right away, if they develop, in one to two years they could be close to what that 2018 staff was.”

Stanford’s roster totals 17 pitchers, and Esquer said he intends to play each one early in the season to establish a pitching rotation that will win games. 

There is no question, however, about who will lead the pitching staff: right-hander Matt Scott. The sophomore pitcher said he wanted to improve his pitching consistency from last season. 

“Last year, I hit a stint where my slider wasn’t as sharp, my fastball wasn’t as sharp, and I have been figuring out what I need to do on a daily basis to dial it in,” Scott said. 

He said he is also trying to incorporate a third pitch into his arsenal. 

“The biggest thing for me was having a third pitch. I was really fastball- and slider-heavy last year with the occasional changeup,” Scott said. “I started throwing a splitter rather than a changeup, but it’s definitely still a work-in-progress.”

Other than Scott, Stanford’s most proven returner is sophomore catcher Malcolm Moore.

Moore, who maintained a batting average over .300 and hit 15 home runs last season, said the value he brought to the team came from his role as an offensively-productive catcher.

“I take pride in not only being a catcher that can hit, but also being a catcher that, when I am not hitting, I can catch and still help the team win,” Moore said.

Another player primed for a big season is junior infielder Trevor Haskins. After battling through mono at the beginning of last season, Haskins tallied disappointing stats during limited games the 2023 season. But according to Trail, Haskins may be the key to unlocking Stanford’s offense.

“The shape that the offense takes depends on the kind of season he has,” Trail said. “He went to the Cape Cod Baseball League last summer and tore it up. I think now that he’s finally healthy and feeling like himself, the sky’s the limit for him.”

Despite the loss of experienced players, there is still confidence that the younger players will fill the roles of the players before them. Esquer said he is intrigued by the uncertainty that lies ahead and how the team will respond.

“They don’t want any drop-off of the standard that the program has had for the last three years. I am excited to see how they embrace that challenge,” Esquer said. 

For Trail, while a drop-off in performance should be expected due to the loss of several power-hitting players, the team should still see relative success this season.

“I think we get anywhere between 32-38 games in the regular season,” Trail said. “That’s good enough for second place in the Pac-12. I think they’ll host a regional, but probably not a super-regional, but anything can happen from there.”

Stanford baseball opens the 2024 season with a three-game series against Cal State Fullerton starting on Friday, Feb. 16. First pitch is scheduled at 2:05 p.m PT.

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Head baseball coach hopes to hit last Pac-12 season out of the park https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/05/head-baseball-coach-hopes-to-hit-last-pac-12-season-out-of-the-park/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/02/05/head-baseball-coach-hopes-to-hit-last-pac-12-season-out-of-the-park/#respond Tue, 06 Feb 2024 07:02:24 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1241830 After making three consecutive College World Series appearances, Stanford baseball faces its last Pac-12 season with nine former players lost in the MLB Draft.

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Stanford baseball is coming off a season where it finished top 10 in the national rankings and made its 19th College World Series appearance. This offseason, however, nine Stanford players — including star infielder Tommy Troy — were selected in the MLB draft. Stanford lost another notable player through the transfer portal in its star two-way player Braden Montgomery. The Daily spoke with head coach David Esquer ’87, who just received his third Pac-12 Coach of the Year award during his time at Stanford, to see how the team is handling the major shakeup of its roster.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

The Stanford Daily (TSD): With several of last season’s players no longer with Stanford by means of the draft and the NCAA transfer portal, how did the team approach this offseason?

David Esquer (DE): Yeah, it is a huge transition year for us. We lost nine players to the draft, eight juniors and a senior. Obviously, the portal was not kind to us as we lost one of our best returning players in pitcher and outfielder Braden Montgomery. It is a huge blow to overcome now, but we have talent for sure. It may take us a minute to get back up to speed as a team. We are going to be playing a lot of guys that don’t have a lot of experience, but that is pretty typical. We have had good success with players that have limited experience coming out and playing well. We are not usually dealing with six or seven brand new players coming out and playing, so it is going to be a lot of opportunity for guys to get their feet wet. A main element of the fall practice was to maintain the culture and standards of the program in order to elevate the new players taking the field.

TSD: You mentioned the unusually high amount of players leaving and entering the program. With all the movement along the roster, how is the team taking form, including the frosh players?

DE: We are happy with our freshman class and excited about the pitchers in that class for sure. With the field players, we are probably in a situation where the freshmen will contribute, but they do not have to carry the load, which is good. We have the opportunity to play our last three starting shortstops all at once this year in the infield. Between Timo Becerra, Trevor Haskins and Owen Cobb, we are going to move them around the infield. At first base, there are a number of viable options, including Brendan Larson who transferred over from U.C. San Diego, sophomore Jimmy Nati and Jake Sapien who was our DH a year ago. The bigger question is who are going to be the three outfielders taking the field on a daily basis. There is going to be an opportunity for players to claim outfield positions. Then there is catcher Malcolm Moore, our returning sophomore who was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. He has improved this offseason and has been a great leader on the field for the whole team.

TSD: As you know, this will be the final year of Pac-12 baseball. What are your feelings on the conference coming to a close, and what are you looking forward to as we transition into the ACC? 

DE: Well, it’s a shame, right? No other conference has won more NCAA titles in college baseball than the Pac-12. If you look up and down the conference, you can see the domination. Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State, UCLA, USC and of course Stanford have all been national champions. I think that we would be hard pressed to find another conference where there [have] been that many programs with a history of championships. And so it is a shame to lose a baseball power conference. We are moving into a very strong conference in the ACC, a well respected conference. It is not a step down for us in competition at all. But it is going to be different to no longer be facing the current Pac-12 teams on a yearly basis.

TSD: Looking at the final Pac-12 season coming up ahead, the Cardinal are scheduled to face Cal State Fullerton in a few weeks. What are you hoping to see in that first game?

DE: Well, it is obviously going to be a baptism by fire when you schedule Fullerton on opening weekend. You have got to be prepared for every aspect of baseball in order to establish any type of advantage. Fullerton is going to be well schooled on how to exploit you and score runs in bunches. It is a good opponent to play to start the season because they are talented and keep you on your toes. We are looking to play a well-rounded game right off the bat. It is nice to maintain this traditional opening weekend because when I was a player in the 80s, Stanford opened up the season every year against Fullerton. 

TSD: Looking at the season as a whole, how will the team prepare itself for the long journey ahead?

DE: I think we’re going to anticipate every game being close, at least until we grow into our offense. We do not have the firepower to separate with the homerun ball as we have in the past three years. That is not how we are designing our offense as of this point. To start the season, it is going to be pitching and defense first. I do believe we will have nice offensive players and a style of play that will be best suited to those players. Hopefully we can develop that offensive power that we have been known for and that allowed us to lead the conference.

TSD: Is there just an overall message you’d like to send to the fans as the season approaches?

DE: We have had a great run recently. We have been to the Super Regionals four years in a row and we have hosted it every season I have been here. I don’t know if any Stanford team in these past few years has faced as much loss in quality players during the offseason. That is the blessing and curse of a great program. Stanford brings in good players, but many times major league baseball wants those same players by the end of their junior year. Sometimes you get lucky and you hold on to a couple. We have benefited from having seniors on the roster the last few years, including pitchers Brendan Beck, Alex Williams and Quinn Matthews. They have been the last three winners of the Pitcher of the Year award in the Pac 12. This year, the team is younger, and I think the young players understand the bar that Stanford baseball has for them. This year will provide a challenge, but it is great we have players like Moore who have extreme optimism. He thinks we are going to be better than we were last year and the team overall does not see any reason why we won’t be better than last year.

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Troy goes 12th overall, MLB Draft takes nine from Stanford https://stanforddaily.com/2023/07/18/troy-goes-12th-overall-mlb-draft-takes-nine-from-stanford/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/07/18/troy-goes-12th-overall-mlb-draft-takes-nine-from-stanford/#respond Wed, 19 Jul 2023 04:28:58 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1230559 In each of the last three years, Stanford baseball has made it to college baseball’s biggest stage. And for some members of these three teams, they’ll likely be making the jump to the only place where the lights shine brighter.

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In each of the last three years, Stanford baseball has made it to college baseball’s biggest stage. And for some members of these three years’ teams, they’ll likely be making the jump to the only place where the lights shine brighter. 

With nine players selected in this year’s MLB Draft, Stanford had the third-most picks among all schools, trailing only LSU and Wake Forest, who had 13 and 10, respectively. 

To kick things off for Stanford in the 2023 MLB Draft, junior Tommy Troy was drafted 12th overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round on July 9.

Troy marks Stanford’s 23rd player to go in the first round of the MLB Draft — extending the school’s lead for most first-round draft picks of all-time. The infielder is the first Cardinal to be selected in the first round since Nico Hoerner ’18 went to the Chicago Cubs with the 24th overall pick and the earliest a Stanford player has been picked since Cal Quantrill ’16 went eighth overall in 2016.

“There’s obviously a rich history of Stanford players going high in the draft,” said Stanford head coach David Esquer. “With Tommy having the year he had, it was pretty evident that he was going to be a first round pick and someone who’s going to play in the big leagues. So the Diamondbacks got a good one.”

The selection follows a remarkable junior year campaign that concluded with the 21-year-old playing his best baseball yet. After winning the 2023 Pac-12 batting title with a .404 batting average during the regular season, Troy earned MVP honors in the Stanford Regional, thanks to a ridiculous .571 average and 11 RBIs during the regional’s five-game stretch. He finished the season with a team-best .394, adding a career-best 98 hits, 17 home runs and 58 doubles. 

Troy was a contributor in the decorated Stanford program from day one, starting 39 games his freshman year. The righty appeared in at least 49 contests each of his three seasons as a Cardinal, posting improved batting averages, hits, runs and home runs each year. The junior will finish his college career with a number of prestigious accolades under his belt, including multiple All-American honors. 

Reports indicate that the Diamondbacks plan on playing Troy at shortstop. The first-rounder mostly assumed third base this past season at Stanford, but has proven his ability to play second and shortstop during periods in college and over the summers.

July 10 remained a cause for celebration for Stanford baseball, as seven Cardinal players were selected on day two of the MLB Draft. 

Pac-12 Player of the Year and fellow junior Alberto Rios was the next to go, after being chosen 79th overall by the Los Angeles Angels. 

“He deserves it and worked hard for it,” Esquer said. “But what a great year: Player of the Year and All-League and All-American and a third round draft pick. I mean, I don’t know if it can get any better than that.”

Rios, who had just seven plate appearances his first two seasons at Stanford, burst onto the national scene this year. Posting a .384 batting average and team-best 18 home runs and 73 RBIs this past season, Rios’ slugging ability is the main appeal of this pick, according to most scouting reports.

Senior Quinn Matthews and juniors Ryan Bruno and Joey Dixon, all pitchers, were the next three Stanford selections, going to the St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks and Houston Astros, respectively. Matthews, who served as Stanford’s ace in 2023, and Bruno both earned All-American honors this season while Dixon was recognized as an All-Pac-12 honorable mention.

The trio combined for 242.2 innings pitched, or 42% of Stanford’s total IP this past season. With their departure, a big void presents itself in the Cardinal pitching roster.

“We prepare for that,” Esquer said of the bullpen turnover. “We’ve got a strong pitching class coming in … that’s part of recruiting and it’s just one of the facts of having a successful program with good players.”

Three Stanford juniors went in the eighth round, as first baseman Carter Graham was selected by the Cincinnati Reds, Eddie Park by the Chicago White Sox and Drew Dowd by the Tampa Bay Rays. 

To round out the draft, junior Drew Bowser was picked in the 20th round by the Chicago Cubs. Set to join Park in the Windy City, Bowser — like many of the Stanford picks that preceded him — was a major factor for Stanford during his three years on the Farm. Starting in at least 50 games each season, the infielder recorded at least 60 hits and 40 RBIs every year.

All nine Cardinal were key components in the program’s College World Series appearance this year, and many of them were in prior years as well. 

“Pretty exciting, right?” Esquer said. “That’s obviously just kind of a tribute to the development the guys have while they’re here.”

Although the departure of such a contingent could seem devastating for Stanford fans, a similar situation presented itself last year when six Cardinal players were selected. Only Matthews, who was drafted in the 19th round, returned to the collegiate field; however, the program wouldn’t have to wait for another trip to Omaha, Neb.

For this upcoming season, the path to return will require early learning, especially with the anticipated turnover. 

“We’re gonna have to grow up early,” Esquer commented about next year. “We’ve got players who’ve been waiting for an opportunity to play, so it’ll be a tall order to get back next year. But I think we just have to grow into that type of team and the good thing is that the bar has been set so high in our program, I think our guys know what they’re reaching for and what it’s supposed to look like. And I think that’s nothing but positive.”

While it remains to be seen which players will and will not be signing, it’s inevitable that the young talent will be asked to step up in the absence of key contributors from 2023. Luckily for Stanford, there are some rising stars within the program that are already being looked at to lead the future.

“It starts with Malcom Moore and Braden Montgomery,” Esquer said. 

Moore, a catcher, is fresh off a first-year campaign that earned him Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Montgomery, a former Pac-12 Freshman of the Year himself, has continued to amaze fans and scouts alike with his two-way abilities after posting a .336 batting average and 17 home runs in 2023. It was announced July 11, however, that he entered the transfer portal.

“You know, you expect them to come back and have big years,” Esquer said. “You build around two players like that, and then you hopefully get some surprises with some freshmen and some guys who have been waiting in the wings.”

With positions to fill and questions to answer, Stanford baseball has a long road ahead of them. Nevertheless, the goal remains: return to where they’ve made it the last three years. 

“I’m looking forward to it because I think it’s gonna push us to great heights,” Esquer said. “It’ll be exciting.”

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Baseball loses Super Regional Game 1, stunned by Texas in five-run ninth inning https://stanforddaily.com/2023/06/14/baseball-loses-super-regional-game-1-stunned-by-texas-in-five-run-ninth-inning/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/06/14/baseball-loses-super-regional-game-1-stunned-by-texas-in-five-run-ninth-inning/#respond Wed, 14 Jun 2023 07:31:46 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1230181 No. 8 Stanford (42-18, 23-7 Pac-12) was defeated by Texas (41-20, 15-9 Big 12) in Game 1 of the NCAA Super Regionals in a stunning 7-5 loss on Saturday evening in Palo Alto. The result was driven by a devastatingly sloppy final inning that led to a five-run onslaught by the Longhorns, overwhelming the Cardinal and allowing the Longhorns to snatch the first game of the best-of-three series.

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No. 8 Stanford (42-18, 23-7 Pac-12) was defeated by Texas (41-20, 15-9 Big 12) in Game 1 of the NCAA Super Regionals in a stunning 7-5 loss on Saturday evening in Palo Alto. The result was driven by a devastatingly sloppy final inning that led to a five-run onslaught by the Longhorns, overwhelming the Cardinal and allowing the Longhorns to snatch the first game of the best-of-three series.

The game started out comfortably in the Cardinal’s control, with the first inning yielding the Longhorns just one base before Stanford enjoyed three walks accompanied by a single from first baseman Carter Graham. The last of the walks, courtesy of Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Malcolm Moore, brought home junior infielder Tommy Troy to kick off the Cardinal offense with a 1-0 lead.

Some brilliant pitching by junior pitcher Joey Dixon made life easy for the Cardinal defense in the game’s first four innings. In the second inning, he threw three straight swinging strikeouts, and the third consisted simply of routine catch-and-throw outs for the infielders, topped off with a fly ball to right field. In the fourth inning, Dixon caught Texas with two strikes and an easy flier. 

Stanford took advantage of the strong defense. While the second inning was nothing remarkable, the third inning saw a spark in the offense from sophomore right fielder Braden Montgomery, who split the gap between center and right field for a deep double. Pac-12 Player of the Year, junior catcher Alberto Rios, was next up to bat with a chance to capitalize, but Texas pitcher Lucas Gordon rebounded from a 3-0 count to strike him out. Rios was then followed up by Moore, who built off of Montgomery’s double with one of his own, driving Montgomery home and placing himself into scoring position. However, a ball hit toward the mound by junior infielder Drew Bowser ended the inning with a quick 1-3 putout by Gordon.

In fact, in the very next inning, Gordon started off by taking out two Stanford hitters via 1-3 putouts and finished off by pitching to junior outfielder Eddie Park, who hit a bouncing ball just outside the infield for the Longhorns to get the easy out.

Texas began turning it around at the top of the fifth inning. Outfielder Porter Brown hit out to center field for a single, and Kennedy hit a home run to tie the game up at 2-2, followed up by a single from infielder Jalin Flores. Dixon, regaining his composure, found himself another strikeout, and then right fielder Saborn Campbell grabbed a line drive to right field to make it out two. Stanford then took Dixon out of the game, replacing him with pitcher Drew Dowd. Dowd’s first pitch was errant and allowed Texas to steal a base, but he ended up getting into stride, pitching a bouncing ball hit to first base for an easy out, and cleaned up the sixth inning with minimal issues for the Stanford defense.

The sixth inning saw a solo homer by Bowser launched to left field, giving Stanford a 3-2 lead. Sophomore infielder Temo Becerra built off of Bowser’s momentum, striking the ball into a gap in deep right-center field, leaving the ball rolling to the wall as he made his way to second base, with an error by the catcher giving him the opportunity to steal third, which he did. Park then came back from a 1-2 count to force a walk. Gordon then came out, and substitute Charlie Hurley got the strikeout to kill the momentum.

The top of the seventh, aside from an error at first base that turned a bunt before the mound into a double, went relatively smoothly, setting up a Stanford counterattack. But Texas found their defensive stride and firmly controlled the inning with the first two at-bats, two hits snapped up by the fielding team. After that, however, Rios broke through and hit a wall-touching stinger that brought him a double. Following him up, Moore rang home a scorching homer — 406 ft — just past the centerfield fence to bring home Rios and himself, creating a cushion for Stanford at 5-2. Bowser then struck out after a full count, but a statement was made.

The eighth inning began with a quick two outs by a ground ball and a strikeout. During an at-bat at a 1-0 count, Stanford took out Dowd and subbed in junior closer Ryan Bruno. Bruno, a powerful yet erratic pitcher, took Dowd’s batter to 3 straight walks before closing out with a 1-3 strikeout to end the inning. The Cardinal then led off their possession with a walk by Campbell and a sacrifice bunt from Becerra, leading to a second base for Campbell. Troy then stepped up to the plate, and Texas intentionally walked him and proceeded to nab Graham’s stinger between second and third to end the inning.

Texas, making note of Bruno’s pitching, made sure to follow a specific strategy, leading to disaster for the Cardinal defense. That strategy? “Act like you’re on a 3-1 count,” per Texas coach David Pierce, as relayed to the ESPN2 announcing team. The Longhorns dared Bruno to throw a strike, and it paid off for them. 

With the first at-bat, Bruno came in on a full count and eventually walked Kennedy, an at-bat where Kennedy swung just once. Flores then came up to the plate, and Bruno threw him a 3-1 count before the umpire called a hit on Flores’s elbow from an inside steamer. Stanford coach David Esquer challenged the call but failed. The next batter, infielder Jack O’Dowd, was then walked, loading the bases for Texas. Flores and O’Dowd did not swing once. 

Stanford then substituted Bruno and brought in freshman pitcher Matt Scott, looking to defuse the bomb known as “Bases Loaded with no Outs.” Scott pitched a fly ball to right field. Campbell and Park, both on the ball, were in position to make the easy catch, but miscommunication caused a fatal error that allowed Texas to explode for two runs on the play. Texas had a statement of their own: they wouldn’t back down.

On the next play, another ball was hit and grounded out, but not without another run, equalizing the game at 5-5. After two walks on the next two at-bats, the bases were loaded yet again with two outs remaining. Scott proceeded to strike out the next hitter, but at the next at-bat, Brown hit a deep right-field double that drove home two more Longhorns, giving them the lead for the first time in the game at 7-5. The next batter hit an easy groundout to first base, putting an end to a miserable defensive possession that consisted of four walks, one hit batter and one major error.

With their backs against the wall, Montgomery and Rios struck out on opposite 96-mph cutters. Moore was up next to bat, taking it to 2-2 before he swung at a breaking ball, ending what was a shocking and painfully winnable game for the Cardinal.

Game 2 of the series is back in Palo Alto on Sunday at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN2.

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Baseball kicks off regional with commanding win https://stanforddaily.com/2023/06/02/baseball-kicks-off-regional-with-commanding-win/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/06/02/baseball-kicks-off-regional-with-commanding-win/#respond Sat, 03 Jun 2023 05:29:24 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1229745 No. 8 Stanford baseball (38-16, 23-7 Pac-12) defeated San Jose State (31-25, 18-11 MAC) 13-2 in the first game of the Stanford regional on Friday afternoon. This is the sixth straight year an NCAA regional has been hosted at Stanford, the only D-1 program for which that is the case. A quality start from senior left-hander Quinn Mathews and home runs from four different hitters propelled the Cardinal to victory.

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No. 8 Stanford baseball (38-16, 23-7 Pac-12) defeated San Jose State (31-25, 18-11 MAC) 13-2 in the first game of the Stanford regional on Friday afternoon. This is the sixth straight year an NCAA regional has been hosted at Stanford, the only D-1 program for which that is the case. A quality start from senior left-hander Quinn Mathews and home runs from four different hitters propelled the Cardinal to victory.

The Stanford offense started off with a bang. On just the second pitch the opposing pitcher threw, junior outfielder Eddie Park hit a leadoff home run over the right field wall. Stanford had a 1-0 lead through one inning of play.

After his worst outing the year in which Mathews did not make it out of the second inning and allowed eight earned runs, he ran into traffic in his first three innings of work. He allowed at least one baserunner in those innings, but the Spartans were not able to take advantage of the baserunners until the third. With two outs the bases were loaded after two singles and a walk. On a three-two count and with the runners going, the next batter ripped a single into right-center field that scored two. San Jose State led 2-1 heading into the bottom of the third.

Stanford answered San Jose State in the bottom of the third. A walk by Park, a single by junior infielder Tommy Troy and a hit by pitch to sophomore outfielder Braden Montgomery, and the bases were loaded for the Pac-12 Player of the Year, junior outfielder Alberto Rios.

As he has done all year in clutch moments, Rios unloaded the bases with a towering home run to left center field to give Stanford the lead 5-2. Two batters later, junior infielder Drew Bowser added to the lead with a solo home run to dead center field. The next hitter, sophomore designated hitter Jake Sapien, was hit in the face with a pitch that caused him to leave the game. After a wild pitch allowed his pinch runner to advance to second, senior infielder Owen Cobb doubled to right center to push the lead to five. Stanford led 7-2 through three innings of play.

The bottom of the third was a long inning, but it allowed Mathews to regroup. He returned to form, the same form that got him named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year this season. He only allowed two more baserunners for the rest of his outing, one of which reached on an error. His final line was seven innings, five hits, two earned runs, two walks and seven strikeouts.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Cardinal added to their lead. Following a walk by Bowser and a single by Cobb that allowed Bowser to advance to third. Bowser scored and Cobb advanced to second on a wild pitch. Park then singled just out of reach of the second baseman to score Cobb. Troy followed that up with a deep drive to left field for a two-run home run. Stanford led 11-2 after five innings.

In the bottom of the seventh, Stanford pushed their lead to double digits. With two outs, Park singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Troy then brought him home with a single to center field. Junior infielder Carter Graham then ripped a double down the right field line to score Troy. Stanford’s lead was 13-2 at the conclusion of seven innings of play.

Junior right-hander Brandt Pancer shut the door for the Cardinal. He pitched the last two innings allowing just two hits, no runs and no walks with two strikeouts.

Up next, Stanford will await the winner of the game between Texas A&M and Cal State Fullerton. That game is scheduled for Saturday night with first pitch at 6 p.m.

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Baseball opens Arizona series in walk-off fashion https://stanforddaily.com/2023/05/13/baseball-opens-arizona-series-in-walk-off-fashion/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/05/13/baseball-opens-arizona-series-in-walk-off-fashion/#respond Sat, 13 May 2023 23:23:33 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1227742 No. 4 Stanford baseball (33-13, 19-6 Pac-12) defeated Arizona (26-21, 9-16 Pac-12) 9-8 in walk-off fashion in the first game of a three game series on Friday night. The bats remained hot for the Cardinal after putting up 20 runs on Tuesday as sophomore outfielder Braden Montgomery and senior infielder Owen Cobb both hit a homerun.

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No. 4 Stanford baseball (33-13, 19-6 Pac-12) defeated Arizona (26-21, 9-16 Pac-12) 9-8 in walk-off fashion in the first game of a three-game series on Friday night. The bats remained hot for the Cardinal after putting up 20 runs on Tuesday as sophomore outfielder Braden Montgomery and senior infielder Owen Cobb each hit a homerun.

After a relatively quiet first inning, the offense got going for both teams. The Wildcats put up three runs in the top half of the second inning, and the Cardinal responded big in the bottom half. With one out, freshman catcher Malcolm Moore singled and junior infielder Drew Bowser doubled to put runners at second and third. Sophomore designated hitter Jake Sapien then grounded out, but picked up an RBI for the Cardinal’s first run. The next hitter, Cobb, hit a no-doubter to left field to tie the game at three. The two-out rally continued as singles from junior outfielder Eddie Park and junior infielder Tommy Troy put runners at the corners. Junior infielder Carter Graham then brought home a run for his team-leading 52nd RBI, which gave the Cardinal the lead with a double down the right field and once again runners were at the corners. The next hitter, Braden Montgomery, brought home both runners in scoring position. The Cardinal led 6-3 after two innings.

After a 1-2-3 inning in the third, Stanford added to its lead. With one out, Troy reached base via a walk. Two batters later, Montgomery picked up RBIs number three and four with a home run to right field that got out in a hurry. The Cardinal led 8-3 after four innings.

After allowing two more runs in the top of the sixth inning, senior left-hander Quinn Mathews’ day was over. His final line was six innings, 10 hits, five earned runs, two walks, and six strikeouts. The 10 hits and five earned runs were a season high for Mathews. Of his last seven starts, this was the first one where he did not record double-digit strikeouts and it was his lowest strikeout total in his last 10 starts.

In the eighth inning with junior left-hander Drew Dowd on the mound, with two outs Arizona had runners on second and third with two outs after a walk and a double. The next hitter grounded a ball to third base. Troy’s throw to first was in dirt, which Graham was unable to pick. On the error, both runners in scoring position were able to score to cut Stanford’s lead to one and the hitter ended all the way up at third. During the next at bat, runner at third stole home to tie the game at eight.

After a 1-2-3 inning from Dowd in the ninth, Stanford was ready to do damage in the bottom of the inning. After a single by Troy, a double by Montgomery and an intentional walk to junior outfielder Alberto Rios, the bases were loaded with 1 out for Moore. With a fly ball to center field, Moore brought in the winning run with a walk off sacrifice fly.

Up next, the Cardinal will host the second game of the series against Arizona on Saturday. The first pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. PT.

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Rios’ grand slam propels baseball to series victory over UCLA https://stanforddaily.com/2023/05/02/rios-grand-slam-propels-baseball-to-series-victory-over-ucla/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/05/02/rios-grand-slam-propels-baseball-to-series-victory-over-ucla/#respond Wed, 03 May 2023 05:35:17 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1226838 Stanford baseball escaped the weekend with a series victory over UCLA, winning two out of three games to maintain their first place position in the Pac-12 standings.

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No. 8 Stanford baseball (28-13, 15-6 Pac-12) escaped the weekend with a series win over the UCLA Bruins (24-15, 10-9-1 Pac-12), winning two out of three games to maintain its first-place position in the Pac-12 standings. After dropping a series on the road in Eugene, Ore., last weekend, the Cardinal were able to rebound and remain in a strong position to host a super regional.

Stanford was in command throughout most of the first game, leading at all points during the game. But UCLA would not fail to make it a scare. After the Cardinal tallied runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings to make it a 3-0 game, the Bruins drove in two runs in the top of the seventh inning to cut into the lead. However, thanks to the experienced bats of junior outfielder Eddie Park, junior first baseman Carter Graham and sophomore outfielder Braden Montgomery, the Cardinal were able to bring home three more runs to give themselves a four-run cushion.

However, the Bruins would once again respond at the top of the eighth, getting on top of senior pitcher Quinn Matthews early in the inning. UCLA would score two more runs to make it a 4-6 game, and after a scoreless bottom of the eighth by the Cardinal, it was setting up to be a thrilling finish. After a strikeout to begin the ninth, UCLA hit back-to-back singles to get men on first and third with just one out. Stanford head coach David Esquer decided to make a change, substituting junior relief pitcher Ryan Bruno in for junior relief pitcher Drew Dowd. Bruno drew a fly-out to right field, which brought home one run, before forcing another pop-out to end the game. 

In the second game of the series, UCLA was able to generate offense throughout the entire contest, scoring runs in five different innings. Despite some early offense by the Cardinal, including a solo home run by freshman catcher Malcolm Moore, the Bruins put runs on the board with a bevy of walks, singles and sacrifice flies. After five innings, UCLA was in front 5-2 and later increased its lead to five at the top of the eighth inning. The Cardinal started to crawl their way back into the game with a timely home run by junior third baseman Drew Bowser and an RBI single by Carter Graham, but the Bruins refused to relinquish their lead, adding an extra insurance run at the top of the ninth inning to win by a score of 9-6. 

The third game of the series started out much like the second game. UCLA took an early lead thanks to an array of singles, walks, and extra-base hits. In the middle of the fifth inning, the score stood at 7-3 in favor of the Bruins. However, the Cardinal responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, cutting the lead in half. After an RBI single by Graham in the bottom of the sixth, the score stood at 7-6. After a scoreless seventh inning by both teams and a scoreless top of the eighth by UCLA, the energy in the ballpark was palpable, as fans waited for Stanford to break through.

After a couple of walks and a single, the bases were loaded with one out and junior Alberto Rios up to bat. All Rios needed to see was one pitch, as after being down 0-1 in the count, Rios unloaded on a ball in the zone, knocking it out of the park to make it a 10-7 game. That was all she wrote for the Bruins, as they were unable to muster enough offense to comeback and the Cardinal were able to clinch yet another Pac-12 series win.

Up next, Stanford will head to Tempe, Ariz., to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils (29-15, 14-6 Pac-12). The Cardinal and Sun Devils are the top two teams in the Pac-12 rankings, and the series could determine the Pac-12 standings leader for the foreseeable future. The first game of the series starts at 5:30 p.m. PT on Friday and will be televised on the Pac-12 network.

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Baseball sweeps rival Golden Bears https://stanforddaily.com/2023/04/10/baseball-sweeps-rival-golden-bears-2/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/04/10/baseball-sweeps-rival-golden-bears-2/#respond Mon, 10 Apr 2023 19:48:30 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1225095 No. 8 Stanford Baseball swept the California Golden Bears over the weekend to tie the Arizona State for the lead in the conference standings. Despite not being able to pick up a win, Cal was made things interesting in a couple of games. (Photo: BOB DREBIN/ISI Photos)

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No. 8 Stanford baseball (21-7, 10-2 Pac-12) swept the California Golden Bears (12-15, 3-12 Pac-12) over the weekend to tie No. 24 Arizona State (23-9, 10-2 Pac-12) for the lead in the Pac-12 standings. After losing a road series to USC (20-10-1, 9-3 Pac-12) in early March, the Cardinal have swept their last three Pac-12 opponents. But despite not being able to pick up a win, Cal was able to make things interesting in a couple of games. 

During the first game of the series, Stanford opened the proceedings with a five-run second inning, featuring home runs from junior catcher Alberto Rios, senior infielder Owen Cobb and junior first baseman Carter Graham. After the Golden Bears tallied a run in the fourth inning, the Cardinal drove in three more runs in the sixth to blow the game open. However, Cal slowly but steadily climbed its way back into the game. Scoring one run in the seventh and two runs in the eighth, the Golden Bears brought in three more runs in the ninth and looked poised to take the lead with two men in scoring position with just one out. Luckily for the Cardinal, junior pitcher Brandt Pancer was able to draw a double play that ended Cal’s comeback hopes and secured the first win of the series for Stanford.

The second game featured an offensive explosion from the Cardinal, as they were able to score runs in a balanced manner throughout the whole game. After a scoreless first inning, Stanford drove in two runs during each of the second, third and fourth innings. Then, during the back half of the game, the Cardinal tallied one and three runs in the sixth and eighth innings, respectively, before exploding for eight runs in the top of the ninth. Several hitters had big days, most notably junior third baseman Drew Bowser with two home runs and Graham with four base hits. After facing an 18-2 deficit in the bottom of the ninth, the Golden Bears were able to pad their stats with a series of late runs, but they weren’t timely enough to make a difference in the game.

In the series finale, Stanford ran into some trouble late into the game. After bringing home a run in both the first and second innings, the Cardinal were unable to tally any more runs until the ninth inning. In the meantime, Cal responded with a run in the bottom of the second inning and two runs in the sixth inning. Facing a 3-2 deficit at the top of the ninth, Stanford had its back against the wall for the second time this series. But with two men on base, two outs and facing a 2-2 count, senior designated hitter Cole Hinkelman smacked the ball over the center field wall to give the Cardinal a 5-3 lead. After once again facing a ninth-inning jam, Brandt Pancer was able to get a fly-out in the infield to end the game and give Stanford a sweep over its arch-rival.

Up next, the Cardinal will host Texas Tech (22-10, 4-5 Big 12) at Sunken Diamond for a midweek non-conference matchup before heading up to Eugene, Ore. for a weekend series against the Oregon Ducks (20-9, 7-5 Pac-12). The Red Raiders are a formidable opponent, slotting in at No. 22 in D1 baseball’s college baseball rankings. Moreover, these teams have recent history, with the Cardinal winning a super regional in Lubbock, Texas to reach the College World Series in 2021. If Stanford can take two games from the Red Raiders, it will add to its push to host a super regional. First pitch against the Red Raiders is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. PT on Monday.

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Baseball keeps it rolling against CSU Bakersfield, clinches series win https://stanforddaily.com/2023/03/04/baseball-keeps-it-rolling-against-csu-bakersfield-clinches-series-win/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/03/04/baseball-keeps-it-rolling-against-csu-bakersfield-clinches-series-win/#respond Sun, 05 Mar 2023 06:49:24 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1223226 No. 2 Stanford baseball (8-2, 0-0 Pac-12) defeated CSU Bakersfield (7-4, 0-0 Big West) 8-4 in the second game of a three games series on Saturday afternoon. This is Stanford’s sixth consecutive win.

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No. 2 Stanford baseball (8-2, 0-0 Pac-12) defeated CSU Bakersfield (7-4, 0-0 Big West) 8-4 in the second game of a three games series on Saturday afternoon. This is Stanford’s sixth consecutive win.

Like in their game yesterday, the Cardinal came out swinging in the early innings. In the bottom of the second, freshman phenom Malcolm Moore led off the inning with a towering solo shot, his fifth of the season (which leads the team). After a single by junior infielder Drew Bowser and a hit by pitch to junior outfielder Alberto Rios, sophomore catcher Charlie Saum brought in Bowser, his first RBI of the season, with a double down the left field line that also allowed Rios to end up on third base. Senior infielder Owen Cobb then hit a sacrifice fly to score Rios. Stanford led 3-0 through two innings.

In the bottom of the third inning, junior outfielder Braden Montgomery lined a single through the right side on the infield and ended up at third base after a double by Moore. After a pop out by Bowser, Rios singled through the left side to bring in Montgomery and extend Stanford’s lead to 4-0.

On the bump for Stanford was junior pitcher Drew Dowd. He was incredible through three innings. He retired the first eight batters he faced and struck out the side in the third inning to bring his strikeout total to six. However, after the third inning, Dowd ran into trouble.

In the top of the fourth inning, after a single, a walk and a fielding error by Bowser, the bases were loaded with two outs for the Roadrunners. With the Cardinal infield playing junior outfield Kyler Stancato to pull to the right side, he hit a grounder to the left side. With Cobb having a long way to go to field the ball towards his right, Stancato reached on an infield single and picked himself up an RBI to cut Stanford’s lead to 4-1.

In the top of the fifth inning, after back to back walks by Dowd, he was pulled from the game. Junior right hander Joey Dixon came into pitch. The first batter Dixon faced, junior designated hitter James Bell, ripped a double down the left field line that scored both the runners that were on base, charged to Dowd. Dowd’s final line was four plus innings pitched, three hits, three runs (only two of those earned), four walks and six strikeouts. Bell then advanced to third on a wild pitch by Dixon and wound up scoring on a groundout to tie the game at four. The next batter hit a ball into the right center field gap for what appeared to be a double, but was called out after forgetting to step on first base.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Stanford took the lead right back. After a single by Montgomery, a walk to Bowser and another hit by pitch to Rios, freshman infielder Jimmy Nati hit a ball just out of the reach of the third baseman for a two-run single to retake the lead 6-4. Nati started in place of junior infielder Tommy Troy after Troy was hit by a pitch in yesterday’s game. After Saum reached on a fielding error by the third baseman, Cobb brought home Rios once again via a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 7-4.

Junior right hander Brandt Pancer and freshman right hander Matt Scott shut the door in the last four innings. They allowed a combined two hits, and both pitched two innings allowing no runs, no walks and each striking out two. Scott is yet to give up a run this season.

Up next, the Cardinal will host the final game of the three games series and look for the sweep against CSU Bakersfield on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

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Bowser, Graham power baseball to series opener over CSU Bakersfield https://stanforddaily.com/2023/03/04/bowser-graham-power-baseball-to-series-opener-over-csu-bakersfield/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/03/04/bowser-graham-power-baseball-to-series-opener-over-csu-bakersfield/#respond Sat, 04 Mar 2023 21:18:20 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1223161 No. 2 Stanford baseball (7-2, 0-0 Pac-12) defeated CSU Bakersfield (7-3, 0-0 Big West) 7-1 in the first game of a three games series on Friday afternoon. The Cardinal were led to victory by a quality start from senior left-hander Quinn Mathews, and home runs from junior infielders Carter Graham and Drew Bowser.

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No. 2 Stanford baseball (7-2, 0-0 Pac-12) defeated CSU Bakersfield (7-3, 0-0 Big West) 7-1 in the first game of a three games series on Friday afternoon. The Cardinal were led to victory by a quality start from senior left-hander Quinn Mathews, as well as home runs from junior infielders Carter Graham and Drew Bowser.

Mathews at times was not able to find the strike zone, as he had a season-high four walks and 117 pitches thrown, but nevertheless he had a fine day on the mound. Through his first five innings of work, he allowed at least one baserunner every inning, but none were able to score. 

The Cardinal got to work early in the bottom of the first as they put up three runs before recording an out. Junior outfielder Eddie Park led off with a double down the left field line and wound up at third after the left fielder couldn’t field it cleanly. Junior infielder Tommy Troy then brought in Park with an infield single for the first run of the game, and he too picked up an extra base after a throwing error by the shortstop. In the next at-bat, Graham crushed a hanging slider for a two-run home run, which was his second of the season.

After recording two quick outs in the bottom of the second, senior infielder Owen Cobb reached first base on a softly hit ball to left field and then stole second base to put himself in scoring position. With the lineup turning over, Park then brought Cobb home with a hit that sneaked just past the third baseman and shortstop, which extended Stanford’s lead to 4-0.

Like in the bottom of the second, the Cardinal got another two-out rally going as Troy smoked a ball into left field for a single and then wound up on second after a stolen base. Carter then drove Troy home with a single up the middle, which extended the Cardinal lead even further to 5-0. Carter would finish the day going 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

Mathews only ran into real trouble in the top of the sixth. He gave up a single and then the next hitter reached base after an error by Cobb. Two batters later, redshirt junior catcher Angel Saldivar singled home a run to cut the Stanford lead 5-1. Mathews then induced two straight ground outs to limit the damage to just one run.

Mathews came back out in the top of the seventh inning which was a surprise to many, as he already had thrown over 100 pitches. The first batter he faced in the inning lined out to center field, and he then struck out the next batter. After this, the pitching coach came out, and it appeared Mathews was pleading his case to finish the inning after a long conversation on the mound but still was taken out for junior right-hander Brandt Pancer. Mathews’ final line was 6.2 innings, four hits (all singles), five strikeouts, four walks and just one unearned run.

In the bottom of the seventh, Stanford added to its lead. With one out, freshman catcher Malcolm Moore walked. Drew Bowser then stepped up to the plate. After a 1-1 count, Saldivar then went and had a conversation with junior left-hander Marcelo Saldana. The conversation was then extended when their opposing pitching coach also came out of the dugout to talk to Saldana. It did not matter what was said in this conversation because Bowser absolutely crushed the next pitch he saw over the trees in left field for his third home run of the season.

In the top of the eighth, Troy was taken out of the game after being hit by a pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning. This will be something to keep track of as Troy, who was on the 2023 Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list, is a big bat in the middle of the Cardinal lineup.

Graduate student left-hander Nicolas Lopez came in for the ninth inning to close out the game. After loading the bases with just one out, Lopez induced a game ending double play to seal the win for Stanford.

Up next, the Cardinal will host the second game of the three game series against CSU Bakersfield on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 P.M.

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Baseball sweeps Rice in first home series of 2023 season https://stanforddaily.com/2023/02/27/baseball-sweeps-rice-in-home-series/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/02/27/baseball-sweeps-rice-in-home-series/#respond Tue, 28 Feb 2023 02:30:49 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1222720 After a nail-biting series against Cal State Fullerton last weekend, No. 2 Stanford baseball was able to win in a more relaxed manner this week, sweeping the Rice Owls in its first home series of the 2023 season. 

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After a nail-biting series against Cal State Fullerton last weekend, No. 2 Stanford baseball (5-2, 0-0 Pac-12) was able to win in a more relaxed manner this week, sweeping the Rice Owls (2-5, 0-0 Conference USA) in its first home series of the 2023 season. 

After struggling in his first start against Cal State Fullerton, senior starter Quinn Mathews pitched better against Rice, giving up just two runs in six and a third innings. However, the Cardinal bats also remained quiet, tallying just one run through five innings. With the Owls leading 2-1 at the bottom of the sixth with one out, junior second baseman Drew Bowser reached second base thanks to an error by the Owls’ second baseman. During the next at-bat, another throwing error at second base allowed Bowser to score and knot the game up at 2-2. 

After sophomore catcher Charlie Saum walked and senior shortstop Owen Cobb grounded out along with advancing runners to second and third, the Owls made a pitching change, bringing in reliever Matthew Linskey. Unfortunately, the move failed to pay off for Rice, as junior left fielder Eddie Park drove the ball to left field and knocked in two runs, giving Stanford its first lead in the game. After a solo home run by infielder Pierce Gallo at the top of the seventh, the Cardinal added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the inning to buffer their lead. That was all freshman pitcher Matt Scott needed, as he failed to give up a hit during the last two innings and secured Stanford’s first win of the series.

On Saturday, the two teams would play a double-header due to the potential for inclement weather on Sunday. During the first game, Stanford jumped on Rice from the beginning, with the team piecing together a couple runs in the bottom of the second inning to make it a 2-0 game. While Rice responded with a run of its own in the fifth inning, the Cardinal bats went on a tear down the stretch, plating nine runs from the fifth to eighth innings. A team effort catalyzed by third baseman Tommy Troy’s home run and Park’s two-run double to center field allowed the Cardinal to blow the door wide open. In the end, the Owls were unable to keep up with Stanford’s offense, as they lost the game by a score of 11-1.

The third game featured a better effort by Rice, as it was a thriller until the final few innings. The Owls dealt the first blow in the game, with first baseman Drew Holderbach knocking in a run to bring home Gallo in the first inning. But the Cardinal answered promptly, as junior first baseman Carter Graham hit a grounder to the shortstop to plate Troy. After Graham’s at-bat, Pac-12 Preseason Player of the Year Braden Montgomery smashed a ball to right field to bring Stanford its first lead at 2-1. After Rice tied the game at the top of the second, Park hooked a two-run home run to right field to retake the lead for the Cardinal. 

After the Owls assembled two more runs to once again tie the game, the bats went quiet for both teams. However, the offensive drought ended in the eighth inning, when Owen Cobb tripled to center field and brought home freshman pinch hitter James Nati and pinch runner Henry Gargus. Alex Rios added insurance with his RBI single to make it a 7-4 game. A team effort from the bullpen allowed Stanford to walk away with the win and clinch its first sweep of the young baseball season.

Up next, Stanford will play Pacific in a midweek match-up before hosting Cal State Bakersfield for another non-conference series over the weekend. First pitch against Pacific is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. PT in Stockton, Calif. on Wednesday.

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Baseball falls to Cal in first home game https://stanforddaily.com/2023/02/22/baseball-falls-to-cal-in-first-home-game/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/02/22/baseball-falls-to-cal-in-first-home-game/#respond Thu, 23 Feb 2023 00:46:29 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1222365 No. 2 Stanford lost to the Golden Bears by a score of 8-4 on Tuesday.

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No. 2 Stanford baseball (2-2, 0-0 Pac-12) lost to its cross-Bay rival, Cal (3-1, 0-0 Pac-12), by a score of 8-4 in its home opener on Tuesday. The Golden Bears were able to limit Stanford’s damage at the plate during key situations throughout the game and gained an early advantage that would later pay dividends.

Freshman pitcher Toran O’Harran received the first start of his collegiate career and the first-game jitters appeared early. After striking out the lead-off batter, O’Harran gave up two straight hits to put runners at the corners. After walking the next batter, Cal shortstop Carson Crawford came up to bat with the bases loaded and just one out. On the first pitch of the at-bat, O’Harran threw a fastball over the plate. Crawford was able to get under O’Harran’s fastball and drove it to the outfield. The ball soared over the pine trees in left field, and the Golden Bears got out to an early 4-0 lead. 

The Cardinal got their chance to respond in the third inning, as a walk and back-to-back singles loaded the bases for junior second baseman Tommy Troy. Troy was able to draw a base-on-balls which brought junior catcher Alberto Rios to home plate. After Troy, junior first baseman Carter Graham hit a ball to center field to tally another run. Stanford was unable to plate more runs, however, with sophomore outfielder Braden Montgomery getting out in the infield to end the inning. At the conclusion of the third, the score stood at 4-2 in favor of Cal. 

Offensively, the Golden Bears were able to respond to Stanford’s threat with back-to-back two-run innings in the fifth and sixth. Catcher Caleb Lomavita knocked in two runs off a slam to left field in the fifth inning. Meanwhile, a succession of errors and walks by Stanford pitchers and infielders helped load the bases in the sixth inning. After a wild pitch brought in one run, Lomavita tallied another RBI after slapping a single to center field. 

The Cardinal looked to have signs of life in the bottom of the seventh thanks to an Owen Cobb homer. But unfortunately, Stanford was unable to piece together more runs as the Cal bullpen allowed just one hit in the remaining two innings. With their pitching performance down the stretch, the Golden Bears were able to get a win over one of the top teams in the conference and in the country, although this game will not count in the Pac-12 standings.

Up next, the Cardinal will host Rice (1-2, 0-0 Conference USA) for a weekend series starting Friday. The Owls lost their first series of the season to Louisiana (2-1, 0-0 SBC), but were able to rally in the third game to prevent being swept. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday at Sunken Diamond.

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Baseball seeks third straight College World Series trip https://stanforddaily.com/2023/02/14/baseball-seeks-third-straight-college-world-series-trip/ https://stanforddaily.com/2023/02/14/baseball-seeks-third-straight-college-world-series-trip/#respond Tue, 14 Feb 2023 17:43:41 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1221397 The past five years have been an era of nearly unprecedented success for Stanford baseball. Stanford hopes to continue its dominance in 2023, and with UCLA and USC on their way to the Big Ten in 2024, the Cardinal have a chance to leave the final mark in what may be the final year of the Pac-12 as we know it.

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The past five years have been an era of nearly unprecedented success for Stanford baseball. Under Head Coach Dave Esquer ’87, the team has hosted five straight regionals, attended three straight super regionals and advanced to the Men’s College World Series in two consecutive years. Now, in what will most likely be the final season with many of its core players, Stanford hopes to continue its dominance in 2023, and with UCLA and USC on their way to the Big Ten in 2024, the Cardinal have a chance to leave the final mark in what may be the final year of the Pac-12 as we know it.  

In 2022, Stanford pulled off one of the most staggering comebacks in college baseball history. A come-from-behind, walk-off victory in a winner-take-all game against Texas State marked the turning point from a dominant regular season to a postseason in which they would always be facing adversity. Their playoff run ended with a lackluster 0-2 performance in the College World Series, followed by five key players departing in the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft. 

But after bringing in two-way sensation Braden Montgomery ahead of 2022, the Cardinal once again boast a Top-100 Draft prospect in their freshman class. Malcolm Moore, a catcher from Sacramento, Calif., is one of three candidates who could fit neatly into the void left by Kody Huff, who was drafted by the Colorado Rockies. Matt Scott and Nick Dugan both have electric potential on the mound, and Australian international Jimmy Nati has the kind of power that can force its way into a starting lineup any day. Thanks to a strong returning core of players and another exciting recruiting class, the Cardinal enter 2023 ranked No. 3 in the nation, with more preseason All-Americans than any other program.

Let’s take a look at what the Cardinal lineup might look like:

Starting Outfielders: Saborn Campbell (So.), Braden Montgomery (So.), Eddie Park (Jr.)

Corner outfield spots are a lock entering 2023, with Eddie Park and Braden Montgomery returning to left and right field, respectively. Park has posted greater than .350 OBP seasons in each of his first two years, played stellar outfield defense and walked more times than he’s struck out. Montgomery played with USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team this past summer after coming off of an 18-home run campaign of his own, hitting 99 mph on the mound for good measure. 

After the Tampa Bay Rays drafted Brock Jones, who Coach Esquer described as a “once-in-a-lifetime player” in last week’s media conference, center field is the most contested position at the start of the season; it’s also the only one that Esquer said could see a platoon matchup. Sophomore Saborn Campbell will get the first chance to claim a more permanent starting role in his debut season. Campbell and Jones share similar athletic backgrounds, both seeing the chance to play both football and baseball at the D1 level. (Campbell chose to forego the former to play baseball at Stanford, whereas Jones played one season of football and then specialized in baseball starting his sophomore year.) While a few different players may see some early-season innings regardless, Campbell certainly possesses the tools, athleticism and potential to transition to a starting role smoothly. Should he experience some growing pains, freshman Cort MacDonald is a left-handed hitting option to platoon with Campbell, and senior Henry Gargus is another option to slot in left field with Park moving to center.

Starting Infielders: Drew Bowser (Jr.), Carter Graham (Jr.), Trevor Haskins (So.), Tommy Troy (Jr.)

It would be quite an understatement to say that these four are no strangers to the spotlight. Drew Bowser and Tommy Troy hit back to back home runs to tie the game in that fateful comeback against Texas State, and Trevor Haskins hit the walk-off single in only his 13th collegiate at-bat. Bowser and Troy are both top-ranked Draft prospects, with Troy penciled in to go as early as the first round. Haskins is not yet Draft eligible, and he will begin the year at shortstop after posting top-flight exit velocities off the bat during fall ball. As for Carter Graham, he had a breakout season in 2022, crushing a Pac-12-leading 22 long balls (including two against Texas State) with an OPS over 1.000. He opens this year’s campaign as a second-team preseason All-American, anchoring the Cardinal infield at first base. Coach Esquer said at Bay Area Media Day that it will be Bowser slotting in at second base and Troy starting at third on opening day, the opposite of the usual from the past two seasons. Both players have the arm, glove and athleticism to handle both positions, and both may need some time to adjust at the start of the season. 

Catchers: Charlie Saum (So.)/ Malcolm Moore (Fr.)/ Alberto Rios (Jr.)

It’s not often that a catcher like Kody Huff gets drafted in the high rounds from a college program, and that the same program still has an abundance of strong candidates to fill in. Malcolm Moore was a former Top-100 draft prospect, and he brings 20-homer potential to the lineup at a premium position. Charlie Saum boasts one of the best defensive skill sets out of any backstop on the west coast and Alberto Rios has a bit of both, plus the experience from working with the pitching staff for the past few years. With Saum being the most likely candidate to put down the signs on Opening Day, it is likely that one of the remaining two catchers will be the DH. However, Coach Esquer has the flexibility to change things up as the season goes on; too many talented catchers on a roster is a problem that every college coach dreams of having. 

Pitching Rotation: Drew Dowd (Jr.), Quinn Mathews (Sr.), Ty Uber (So.), Matt Scott (Fr.)/ Nick Dugan (Fr.)

The biggest surprise after the 2022 Draft was the return of Quinn Mathews for his senior season. Although Alex Williams earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year honors in 2022, Mathews was arguably just as dominant. Last season, Mathews tallied nine wins, nine saves and he struck out 111 in 99.1 innings pitched. After dominating in a swingman role, Mathews is now the Friday-night ace of the Pac-12’s most consistent pitching staff of the last five seasons. Resurgent southpaw Drew Dowd will likely be the Saturday Starter after putting together a series of high-quality outings in the 2022 playoffs, and Ty Uber will build up from a long-relief role into the third spot in the rotation. Furthermore, freshman right-handers Matt Scott and Nick Dugan will be vying for mid-week roles, each with electric repertoires of their own. The past two years, Stanford’s pitching rotation has been structured around one or two ace starters and a single anchor in the bullpen. This year, the talent trickles down to the fourth, and even the fifth options in the rotation.

Bullpen

Bullpen depth was Stanford’s weakness down the stretch last year, and this year, the team has the kind of talent not seen since Jack Little and Zach Grech were at the back end in 2019. The only Cardinal besides Braden Montgomery to get selected to Team USA this past summer, preseason All-American junior Ryan Bruno enters the season ranked the second-best relief pitcher in all of college baseball. Montgomery has an electric arsenal himself that can rack up strike-outs, and junior Brandt Pancer posted superb numbers after making his slider his primary pitch. Junior Joey Dixon will transition from being the Sunday starter to a long-relief arm, and senior Max Meier and graduate student Nick Lopez can provide matchup advantages when necessary. Another key to Stanford’s bullpen success this year could be junior Tommy O’Rourke. He got roughed up the second half of last season, but he’s turned heads with an uptick in velocity this past fall. If that can translate into consistent, late-inning effectiveness, it would greatly ease the burden on the rest of the frontline arms.

Series to Watch: at Oklahoma (3/30-4/2), vs. Texas Tech (#24) (4/10-4/11), at Oregon (#25) (4/14-4/16), vs. UCLA (#17) (4/18-4/30)

Much like last season, the Cardinal’s schedule is loaded with top-level talent from across college baseball. Oregon and UCLA headline the matchups in Pac-12 play, each with a talented core of position players and pitchers, and Oklahoma was the runner-up in last year’s Men’s College World Series. Texas Tech is also coming to town in mid-April, facing off against Stanford for the first time since the 2021 Lubbock Super Regional, in which Stanford upset the Red Raiders in a lopsided series sweep. However, these two teams have drastically different profiles than they did two years ago, and it should make for an entertaining midweek clash during the meat of the Stanford schedule. 

As their pursuit of a national title continues, Stanford baseball enters the year brimming with talent. The roster brings veteran experience, grit, athleticism and energy to The Farm, and they’ll need all of those qualities to survive the tribulations of the upcoming season. In what may be the last year with nearly a dozen of their key contributors, one thing remains certain: Sunken Diamond is in for a treat.

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Stanford in the MLB Playoffs: Cal Quantrill ’16 falls short to juggernaut Yankees in NLDS https://stanforddaily.com/2022/10/20/stanford-in-the-mlb-playoffs-cal-quantrill-16-falls-short-to-juggernaut-yankees-in-nlds/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/10/20/stanford-in-the-mlb-playoffs-cal-quantrill-16-falls-short-to-juggernaut-yankees-in-nlds/#respond Thu, 20 Oct 2022 08:32:24 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1210687 Cal Quantrill ‘16 of the Cleveland Guardians showed flashes of his regular season dominance, but ultimately took a pair of losses against the New York Yankees in the American League Divisional Series this past week.

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Cal Quantrill ‘16 of the Cleveland Guardians showed flashes of his regular season dominance, but ultimately took a pair of losses against the New York Yankees in the American League Divisional Series this past week.

Quantrill played for the Cardinal from 2014-16, notching a 9-5 record with a 2.57 ERA in 20 starts. He became the first freshman to start on opening day for Stanford since Mike Mussina in 1988, who went on to be inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 2019.

Quantrill’s Stanford career was cut short as he underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the 2016 season, which was his junior year. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres with the eighth pick in the first round and was part of a high-profile trade at the deadline in 2020, with Mike Clevinger a notable piece heading to Southern California in return.

Quantrill started two crucial games against the strongly favored New York Yankees over the past week after an impressive regular season (15-5, 3.38 ERA). In Game One of the series, Quantrill started hot at a hostile Yankee Stadium, striking out newly crowned AL home run champion Aaron Judge and slugger Anthony Rizzo to quiet a loud crowd in the Bronx.

Through five innings, he limited New York’s potent offense to two runs on just three hits, going toe-to-toe with Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. In the bottom of the sixth, however, Judge and Rizzo exacted their revenge, combining for a walk and two-run blast to knock Quantrill out of the game, handing him the loss in the series opener. 

Quantrill took the mound once more in Game four, looking to send Cleveland to its first American League Championship Series since 2016. But it was a similar story for Quantrill as the long ball punished him early and he was replaced after five innings, giving up three runs, all earned.

After the game, Quantrill said “I think I can throw better than I threw today … it’s disappointing.” The Yankees, after a rain delay pushed the “win-or-go-home” game five to Tuesday, ultimately prevailed to advance to the ALCS where they will face the Houston Astros. 

For Quantrill and the Guardians, the season ended in disappointment, but the former Stanford ace can look ahead to next spring with optimism after a breakout year in the majors. From his first start, a win in a 17-3 rout of the Kansas City Royals on April 10, 2022, Quantrill demonstrated exceptional command, ranking 26th in walks per nine innings among starting pitchers, with 2.27.

He became a key part of a formidable starting rotation that led Cleveland to win the American League Central over the Chicago White Sox by 11 games. With 114 days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, Quantrill will be back soon enough with his sights firmly set on returning to the biggest stage in October and prevailing.

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Baseball gets makeover going into 2023 https://stanforddaily.com/2022/08/31/baseball-get-makeover-going-into-2023/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/08/31/baseball-get-makeover-going-into-2023/#respond Wed, 31 Aug 2022 07:33:54 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1207440 Fresh off another College World Series appearance, Stanford baseball will return to the field with a different set of faces after many departures this offseason.

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Coming off yet another College World Series appearance, Stanford baseball is once again projected to be one of the top teams in the country. But in 2023, the team photo won’t have the exact same faces as last year. 

Six Cardinal players were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft, all but one, senior pitcher Quinn Matthews, electing to sign professional contracts and move on from college. These include shortstop Adam Crampton, second baseman Brett Barrera, center fielder Brock Jones, pitcher Alex Williams ‘22 and catcher Kody Huff.

Moreover, the team’s fifth year seniors, pitcher Cody Jensen and catcher Vincent Martinez, decided to grad transfer to Georgetown and Notre Dame, respectively. Redshirt senior pitcher Justin Moore also left the program, joining Martinez in South Bend, Ind.

But Stanford has returning players from last year’s roster along with new additions that can fill the voids left by those departures. 

On the mound, expect do-it-all sophomore Braden Montgomery to pitch more innings this upcoming season. While he was only on the mound for 18.2 innings last season, he was able to amass 28 strikeouts and two saves.

“He’ll still hit in the middle of the batting order and play right field,” said head coach David Esquer. ”But the ability to use his arm on a more consistent basis is definitely something we’re planning on.” 

It also seems likely that senior pitcher Quinn Mathews will take on a starter role next season.  Mathews worked a lot of innings out of the bullpen in 2022 and ranked second in the conference in ERA. His ability to rack up innings from the closer spot leaves Esquer to believe the senior can finally take on a starter role this season. 

“I think we were looking to start Quinn this year,” Esquer told the Daily over the phone. “I think we can find someone to come pitch the end of the game, whether it’s Braden [Montgomery] or Ryan Bruno. So I think we can have the back end of the bullpen taken care of and then maybe utilize Quinn in the starter role.”

Esquer remains confident about the infield. His team, he said, has the depth needed to absorb the draft blows at shortstop and second base. 

“We’ve had good players behind good players behind good players,” Esquer said. “And then we’re bringing in a few more players this year. But I think between [junior infielder] Tommy Troy and [senior infielder] Owen Cobb, we can take care of the middle of the diamond. Then we got some young freshmen if one of them wants to step up. James Nati, a shortstop from Australia, is coming in. He’s a great offensive player. So we’ve got some options even though we lost good players in Adam Crampton, Brett Barrera and Kody Huff.”

In addition to those returning from last year’s roster, Stanford also has an incoming class of nine players that could provide immediate depth at key positions. Stanford was fortunate to not lose any of its freshman class to the MLB Draft. Even right-handed pitcher Matt Scott, who was drafted in the 20th round by the Texas Rangers, elected to continue his baseball career with the Cardinal.

“That was a big factor. We thought we had a couple kids with a chance of getting drafted. But we dodged that bullet,” Esquer said.  “We’re gonna come into this season with our full class.”

Stanford’s freshman class contains four right-handed pitchers in Scott, Nick Dugan, Toran O’Harran and Trevor Moore. Joining them and Moore are shortstops Gabe Springer and Jimmy Nati and outfielders Ethan Hott and Cort MacDonald.

Whether intentional or not, these players play the same positions as those in the departing 2022 MLB draft class. If a few of them can make a quick adjustment to college baseball, Stanford will once again have considerable depth backing up their starters.

While Stanford did lose quite a few pieces to the draft, they still bring back a solid core of players with a lot of experience. These include junior third baseman Drew Bowser, junior outfielder Eddie Park and junior pitcher Drew Dowd alongside Montgomery, Troy and Matthews. These players gained meaningful postseason experience during the team’s College World Series runs of the past two years.
Come spring, Stanford’s leadership and improvement, along with the play of the newcomers, should have the program competing for another Pac-12 regular season title and college baseball championship .

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Brock Jones headlines Cardinal 2022 MLB Draft selections https://stanforddaily.com/2022/07/18/brock-jones-headlines-cardinal-2022-mlb-draft-selections/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/07/18/brock-jones-headlines-cardinal-2022-mlb-draft-selections/#respond Tue, 19 Jul 2022 00:04:06 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1206227 In the first two days of the 2022 MLB Draft, four Cardinal — Brock Jones, Kody Huff, Brett Barrera and Adam Crampton — were selected. But that doesn't mean they are all going pro this year.

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For the fourth time in five years, a Stanford baseball player has been selected in the first two rounds of the MLB Draft.

This year, it was senior outfielder Brock Jones, selected by the Tampa Bay Rays with the 65th overall pick in the second round of the 2022 MLB draft on Sunday. In his junior season, Jones hit 21 home runs and 57 RBIs en route to being named a second-team All-American for the second straight year.

Jones has captured the attention of scouts, who tout his combination of athleticism, power and defense. However, many have criticized the Fresno-native for his streakiness at the plate and struggles against breaking balls.

Prior to the draft, many draft analysts had projected Jones to be a late first round or early second round pick. But despite ranking No. 33 on MLB.com’s Top 250 Draft Prospects list, Jones fell to the late second round.

The star slugger hasn’t formally announced whether he will sign with the Rays, but it is unlikely that he will return to The Farm. Out of over 1200 MLB draftees, approximately 900 usually agree to terms and sign professional contracts. The earlier the pick, the more probable an agreement is.

On Monday, Day 2 of the draft, a trio of Cardinal players joined Jones on the draft board. The Colorado Rockies selected senior catcher Kody Huff with the 206th overall pick of the draft. Huff possesses an above-average arm behind the plate and a good swing. This isn’t Huff’s first time through the draft process, however — in 2019, Huff was selected in the 32nd round but opted to attend Stanford instead of go pro. Later in the day with the 250th pick, the New York Yankees selected senior infielder Brett Barrera. Barrera led the Pac-12 in batting average during the 2022 season.

The final Stanford prospect off of the board was senior shortstop Adam Crampton, selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the 257th overall pick. Crampton, who is ranked No. 130 in MLB.com’s Top 250 Draft Prospects List, wowed scouts with his defensive play. In his four years at Stanford, Crampton anchored the Cardinal’s infield and was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.

With one more day in the draft to go, pitcher Alex Williams could also hear his name called. If Williams decides to return to college, it likely will not be at Stanford — the Stanford graduate put his name in the grad transfer portal weeks ahead of the draft.

The decisions these players will make will likely impact Stanford’s championship aspirations in the 2023 season. All four of the student-athletes picked have at least one more year of college eligibility remaining. If several decide to stay, the Cardinal will likely start the season with a high ranking and will have a strong chance of reaching the College World Series. 

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Baseball’s season ends after two losses in College World Series https://stanforddaily.com/2022/06/21/baseballs-season-ends-after-two-losses-in-college-world-series/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/06/21/baseballs-season-ends-after-two-losses-in-college-world-series/#respond Tue, 21 Jun 2022 15:52:28 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1205784 In the end, the Tigers defeated the Cardinal 6-2 to avoid elimination but ended Stanford’s illustrious season. While the early exit from Omaha may be a disappointment, the team achieved peaks the program had not seen in a long time.

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No. 2 Stanford (47-18, 21-9 Pac-12) was eliminated from the College World Series (CWS) after losing its first two games in Omaha. After being seen as one of the favorites to win heading into the tournament, the early elimination comes as a disappointment to the team and fans.

In the first game of the CWS, Stanford faced the Arkansas Razorbacks (44-19, 18-12 SEC). The Cardinal defeated Arkansas earlier in the season 5-0, but the Razorbacks were on a hot streak before entering the CWS, defeating two top-ten teams to make the field. 

Stanford head coach David Esquer decided to start senior Alex Williams on the mound, while Connor Noland started for the Razorbacks. Williams struggled in his first two postseason starts, recording a 16.50 ERA. Meanwhile, Noland had turned in several excellent pitching performances in the postseason up to that point, possessing a 2.57 ERA through two starts. 

In the very first at-bat of the game, Arkansas lead-off hitter Braydon Webb hit a fly ball to the right field warning track, where freshman outfielder Braden Montgomery was located. However, Montgomery had trouble seeing through the sun, which resulted in the ball bouncing off the wall. Because of Montgomery’s mishap, Webb was able to reach third base. Then, Brady Slavens hit a fly ball to left field that plated Webb and gave the Hogs a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first. 

But Stanford’s lead-off man also had an important hit of his own, as junior centerfielder Brock Jones hit a solo home run to tie the game at one apiece. The game remained 1-1 the next three innings, even as both teams had multiple opportunities to score with runners on base. 

Arkansas broke the stalemate in the fifth inning when Chris Lanzili hit a three-run home run to left field to put the Razorbacks back in the lead 4-1. After giving up another hit, Williams was replaced by sophomore left handed pitcher Ryan Bruno. Like Williams, Bruno also struggled against this Arkansas lineup, as he gave up a walk, a run by wild pitch and an RBI single before getting out of the fifth inning. 

This was the turning point in the game, as Arkansas continued to pile on runs throughout the later innings. The Hogs scored three runs in the seventh inning, two runs in the eighth and six runs in the ninth. Meanwhile, Stanford struggled to find hits against Noland and the Razorbacks’ terrific infield defense. 

After Noland came out of the game in the eighth inning, junior second baseman Brett Barrera doubled to right field to plate the Cardinal’s first run since the first inning. However, Stanford was not able to continue the rally and the Razorbacks’ deficit was too much for Stanford to overcome. Arkansas won 17-2 and set the overall record for hits in TD Ameritrade Park.

Following the game, Esquer credited Arkansas for their preparation against his team and maintained hope that the teams would rematch: “They did a good job of preparing for us and pitching to that preparation. Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to see them again, and we’ll see what happens in the rubber match between Stanford and Arkansas.”

After losing to Arkansas, Stanford played against No. 14 Auburn (42-21, 16-13 SEC) in the loser’s bracket. The Tigers had lost to Ole Miss 5-1 in their first game of the CWS.

Like Stanford’s first game of the CWS, Jones got a lead-off hit, dribbling a single through the right side of the infield. After first baseman Carter Graham struck out, Jones stole second base to put a runner in scoring position for Stanford. The steal eventually paid off, as Barrera hit a double to plate Jones and give Stanford an early lead.

Following the first inning, Stanford put another run on board in the second inning when junior shortstop Adam Crampton hit a ball down the third base line with sophomore DH Tommy Troy in scoring position. This extended Stanford’s lead to 2-0 and gave the Cardinal early momentum.

On the other side, Auburn’s offense was putting runners on base during several early innings, but failed to capitalize on the opportunities to bring these runners home. Additionally, the pitchers for both teams began to settle in after a couple of innings, which led to three scoreless innings between the two teams.

After sophomore starting pitcher Drew Dowd gave up a walk and a double in consecutive at-bats during the fifth, junior pitcher Quinn Matthews came in to relieve Dowd. Matthews got out of the fifth inning jam without giving up any runs, but his luck soon ran out.

At the top of the sixth, after getting the lead-off man out, Matthews gave up a single and double in consecutive at-bats to put runners on third and second. After striking out the next batter, Matthews issued two straight walks and gave Auburn its first run. After striking out the succeeding batter, Matthews hung a changeup in the strike zone that was barreled by Cole Foster. The ball hit off the centerfield wall, and all the runners on base scored to give Auburn its first lead of the game, 4-2. 

Following the game, Auburn senior outfielder Kason Howell discussed the significance of Foster’s hit: “It was huge. We lost a lot of 3-2 counts and we were battling. Offensively, we haven’t been where we wanted the last couple of games. Cole really put a spark into our offense. You could tell, everyone’s at-bats were a little bit more on the attack after Cole’s big swing.”

Even after his struggles in the sixth inning, Matthews stayed in the game during the seventh. He got into trouble early in the inning, as he gave up a walk and a double to put runners on first and third with no outs. Auburn’s Brody Moore subsequently hit a fly out to left field to score another run. Then Sonny Dichiara struck out, which gave Stanford a chance to get out of the inning with limited damage. However, Matthews did not take advantage, as Bobby Peirce hit a double to left center to give the Tigers an extra insurance run and a 6-2 lead.

The Cardinal did not lay down yet, putting up a rally in the bottom of the seventh with two outs. First, Crampton hammered a double to left center, Jones got hit by a pitch and Graham hit a single to load the bases. It was a prime position for the Cardinal to score since Barrera, the Pac-12 batting champion, was hitting next. But after battling to make it a full count, Barrera struck out. This devastating strike out effectively dashed Stanford’s chances of making a comeback.

In the end, the Tigers defeated the Cardinal 6-2 to avoid elimination but ended Stanford’s illustrious season. While the early exit from Omaha may be a disappointment, the team achieved peaks the program had not seen in a long time. These include winning the Pac-12 regular season championship for the first time since 2018 and being crowned the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament champions. 

Looking ahead, it remains to be seen which members of the team will declare for the MLB Draft. Important players like Jones, Barrera and Matthews can elect to come back another year, and their decisions will be vital for the prospects of the team in 2023. Currently, Jones is projected to be a first round pick, while both Barrera and Matthews will likely be drafted in the tenth round or later. 

But Stanford also has a lot of key pieces returning, including Pac-12 freshman of the Year Montgomery and the Pac-12 home run leader Graham. In addition to those two, left fielder Eddie Park, third baseman Drew Bowser and Troy will return to the Farm. While the pieces guaranteed to come back will likely slot Stanford in the Top 25 rankings, returning key draft-eligible players could boost the Cardinal to a preseason Top 5 ranking. 

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Stanford defeats UConn in Super Regional, advances to College World Series https://stanforddaily.com/2022/06/16/stanford-defeats-uconn-in-super-regional-advances-to-college-world-series/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/06/16/stanford-defeats-uconn-in-super-regional-advances-to-college-world-series/#respond Thu, 16 Jun 2022 17:11:26 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1205606 This weekend, No. 2 Stanford baseball came from behind to defeat UConn in a three-game series to advance to the College World Series.

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Over the weekend, No. 2 Stanford baseball (47-16, 21-9 Pac-12) defeated UConn (50-15, 16-5 Big East) in a best-of-three series to advance to the College World Series. The Cardinal dropped the first contest of the series in thrilling fashion before coming back to win the final two games to punch their ticket to Omaha, Neb. This marks Stanford’s 18th appearance in the College World Series, which ties Arizona for fifth all-time.

Before the series began, Stanford head coach David Esquer knew that beating the unranked Huskies squad would be a difficult task. “With sixteen teams remaining, there are no soft weekends,” he said. “All sixteen teams are capable.”

In the first game of the series, Esquer started senior Alex Williams on the mound. In the top of the first inning, Williams struck out the lead-off hitter and made the two-hole hitter fly out to center field to give the Cardinal two quick outs. But after Williams forced three-hole hitter Casey Dana to fly the ball to left field, sophomore left fielder Eddie Park dropped the ball, which allowed Dana to make it to second base. Promptly following this error, UConn Ben Huber hit a double to plate Dana and give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. 

Following his defensive mishap, Park redeemed himself in the same inning by making a leaping catch to steal a home run from UConn shortstop Bryan Padilla. This catch got the Cardinal out of the inning with limited damage. But it could not slow down UConn in the long run, as the Huskies went on a hitting streak in the top of the second. 

Williams gave up six base hits, including three doubles and a home run in the second inning alone. After UConn extended its lead to 6-0, junior pitcher Max Meier replaced Williams. But Meier could not limit the Huskies’ damage either, as he gave up three more runs to make the game 9-0.

But Stanford did not lay down after trailing by a seemingly insurmountable margin. Sophomore third baseman Drew Bowser hit a two-run home run in the second inning to cut the lead to 9-2. Soon after, junior right fielder Brock Jones hit a two-run shot to center field to further cut into the lead. Nonetheless, UConn gained these runs back by scoring two runs in the fourth and two more in the seventh. 

In the bottom of the seventh, two solo homers off the bats of Jones and junior second baseman Brett Barrera cut the UConn lead to 13-6. But the Cardinal offense did not stop there. 

In the bottom of the ninth, Jones hit a two-run shot — his third home run of the game — to put the Cardinal within five runs. Then, freshman right fielder Braden Montgomery followed with a two-run home run to make the score 13-10. Both Bowser and sophomore DH Tommy Troy hit solo big slams to make it a one-run ball game. However, after Park drew a base on balls, shortstop Adam Crampton struck out swinging, which clinched the game for UConn 13-12. 

In a reversal of game one, Stanford’s bats got out to a fast start in the first two innings of game two. In the top of the first, junior catcher Kody Huff hit a single up the middle to score Barrera and Graham. 

After UConn put up one run in the bottom of the first, Stanford went on a six-run rally in the second inning. First, Jones hit a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Park. Then, Graham hit a bloop single to right field, which scored Crampton. After Barrera singled, Montgomery hit a towering shot to left center to extend the lead to 7-1. To cap off the inning, Bowser hit a solo home run to make the score 8-1. 

UConn scored one more run in the bottom of the second inning, which was the last run of the game, as Stanford’s bullpen did not let UConn climb back into the game. In the end, Stanford took game two 8-2 to keep its College World Series hopes alive.

In the decisive third game, UConn got off to another quick start in the first inning. After sophomore pitcher Joey Dixon loaded the bases, UConn’s Ben Huber hit a double that brought all three runners on the base paths home. After Huber’s double, sophomore pitcher Drew Dowd came in to pitch for Huber.

With Huber on second, Padilla hit a double to put runners on third and second with no outs. After Padilla’s AB, Dowd got a pop fly in the infield to get the first out of the inning, but walked the next batter to load the bases with just one out. With the count at 1-0, Dowd placed an off-speed pitch outside the plate, which the UConn batter hit directly to Adam Crampton. Crampton tossed the ball to second baseman Brett Barrera, who then immediately threw it to Carter Graham to complete the double play and limit the damage in the inning.

For Stanford offensively, Jones led off the bottom of the first with a single that turned into two bases after an error by the UConn outfielder. After flyouts to the outfield, Jones scored to make the score 3-1. After Jones scored, Montgomery drew a walk and then Huff hit a double, which plated Montgomery.

After two scoreless innings, Stanford put up a six-run rally in the fourth inning to break the game open. To get it started, Park and Troy hit singles to put runners on first and second with no outs. After a muffed pick-off attempt, Park and Troy advanced to second and third, respectively. Then, the ninth-hole hitter, Crampton, hit a single up the middle to bring home Park and Troy. Later in the inning, the Cardinal loaded the bases with Huff up to bat. After battling to make it a 2-1 count, Huff hit a shot to left field for a grand slam, making the score 8-3. 

While UConn scored in both the sixth and ninth innings, the pitching combination of sophomore Ryan Bruno and junior Quinn Matthews limited the potent UConn offense to just two scores and helped Stanford clinch the win — and a trip to Omaha.

Looking forward, Stanford will face off against Arkansas first in the College World Series. The Cardinal defeated Arkansas earlier this year 5-0 in the Round Rock Classic, but the Razorbacks have been on a hot streak as of late, defeating two top-ten teams to make it to Omaha. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. PT on Saturday, June 18 and will be televised on ESPN.

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Baseball mounts 9th inning comeback to advance to Super Regional https://stanforddaily.com/2022/06/07/baseball-mounts-9th-inning-comeback-to-advance-to-super-regional/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/06/07/baseball-mounts-9th-inning-comeback-to-advance-to-super-regional/#respond Tue, 07 Jun 2022 21:58:54 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1205467 The wins at the Palo Alto regional sent the Cardinal to their 13th overall Super Regionals appearance in school history.

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No. 2 Stanford Baseball (45-15, 21-9 Pac-12) won the Palo Alto regional of the NCAA baseball tournament on Monday evening to advance to the Super Regional round next weekend. It marks the Cardinal’s 13th appearance in the Super Regionals in school history. 

In the opening game of the regional on Friday, Stanford faced off against No. 4 seed Binghamton (22-30, 15-15 America East). The Cardinal put on a great display of all around-hitting in the game, compiling four home runs, five doubles and 11 singles. 

After Binghamton scored a single run in the top of the first inning, Stanford promptly responded by going on a 10-run streak in the bottom of the second inning. Sophomore third baseman Drew Bowser started off the scoring spree by doubling to left field, which drove home junior catcher Kody Huff. Soon after, other hitters in the Stanford lineup like sophomore infielder Carter Graham, junior second baseman Brett Barrera and freshman outfielder/pitcher Braden Montgomery plated runs to give Stanford a 6-1 lead. Then, when Bowser stepped up to bat for his second time in the inning, he hit a big fly with the bases loaded to put Stanford up 10-1. 

This deficit was too much for Binghamton, which was a team that scraped into the tournament by winning their mid-major conference tournament. The final score for the game was 20-7 in favor of Stanford. 

After advancing past Binghamton, Stanford received their first test of the postseason by going up against the Texas State Bobcats (47-14, 26-4 Sun Belt). Texas State, who was ranked No. 11 in the final season edition of D1 baseball’s rankings, pounced on Stanford early, as junior left fielder Jose Gonzalez hit a solo shot to put the Bobcats up 1-0. 

While Stanford tied up the game in the second inning after sophomore left fielder Eddie Park hit an RBI single to center field, the Bobcats generated more offense in the middle of the game. Gonzalez hit another solo home run, which put Texas State back in the driver’s seat. After Gonzalez’s second homer, third baseman Justin Thompson hit a double, and then DH Wesley Faison hit a two-run home run to extend the Bobcats lead to 4-1. 

The Bobcats generated offense when they needed it, but the story of the game was their pitching, as pitchers Levi Wells and Tristan Stivors combined to give up just two runs to the potent Stanford offense. In the end, the Bobcats won the game 5-2.

Facing the prospect of elimination, Stanford had its back against the wall for the remainder of the regional. 

In the third game on Saturday, Stanford played UC Santa Barbara (44-14, 27-3 Big West). The Gauchos jumped out to an early 4-3 lead at the end of five innings. However, as seen numerous times throughout the season, no lead is safe against this Stanford team. 

In the sixth inning, junior outfielder Brock Jones hit a two-run RBI double to give Stanford a 5-4 advantage. The Cardinal scored another run in the sixth after a fielding error by Gauchos shortstop Jordan Sprinkle. Although Santa Barbara managed one more run, the Cardinal eventually went on to win the game 8-4, setting up another game with Texas State. 

This game might be remembered as the “Carter Graham” game for a long time, as many believed prior to the game that Graham would not play due to injuries suffered earlier in the series. However, Graham had two home runs in the game, including a three-run shot, to help the Cardinal win 8-4. This win set up a regional-deciding third game between Texas State and Stanford that took place on Monday. 

In an effort to advance, Texas State decided to start its star closer Tristan Stivors on the mound on Monday night. This decision paid off, as Stivors had a phenomenal performance, giving up just one earned run through seven innings. On the other hand, the Cardinal decided to bullpen their way through the game, bringing in six pitchers to pitch on the mound. Through eight innings, both team’s managers seemed to have made the right decisions, as the score was 1-1 going into the ninth inning. 

In the top of the ninth inning, Montgomery took the mound for the Cardinal as the relief pitcher. After walking his first two batters, Montgomery got Bobcats shortstop Dalton Shuffield to fly out and struck out Justin Thompson. However, after Gonzalez was intentionally walked, Wesley Faison hit a single to plate two runs and put the Bobcats up 3-1. Stanford seemed unlikely to make up this deficit, as its bats had been struggling all night.

But as has happened many times this year, just when you might think the team is dead in the water, it makes much-needed clutch plays for a comeback.

With zero outs in the bottom of the ninth, Bowser hit a solo home run to cut the Bobcats’ lead down to 3-2. Following Bowser, second baseman Tommy Troy hit another solo shot, which tied the game at three apiece. After Texas State made a pitching substitution, Park hit a single to left field, which put the winning run on base. After a groundout and walk, two men were on first and third. Head coach David Esquer put in freshman infielder Trevor Haskins to pinch hit for sophomore pitcher Brandt Pancer. After battling to make it a full count, Haskins pulled a hanging curveball through left field to give Stanford a walk-off win.

Looking ahead, Stanford will host UConn (48-14, 16-5 Big East) at Sunken Diamond in the Super Regional round. The Super Regional format is a best 2-of-3 series. First pitch for the series is scheduled for Friday at 7:30 p.m. PT.

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Stanford baseball wins inaugural Pac-12 Tournament, will host Regional https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/30/stanford-baseball-wins-inaugural-pac-12-tournament-will-host-regional/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/30/stanford-baseball-wins-inaugural-pac-12-tournament-will-host-regional/#respond Tue, 31 May 2022 04:23:18 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1204911 On Sunday, No. 3 Stanford baseball took down No. 4 Oregon State to win the inaugural Pac-12 Baseball Tournament. The Cardinal have now won 16 straight games, their longest winning streak since 1996.

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No. 3 Stanford baseball (41-14, 21-9 Pac-12) defeated No. 4 Oregon State (44-15, 20-10 Pac-12) 9-5 to win the inaugural Pac-12 Baseball Tournament on Sunday. The win extends Stanford’s winning streak to 16 games, which is the second-longest active winning streak in college baseball.

On Sunday evening, Stanford got off to a hot start against the Beavers. Junior DH Brett Barrera, the Pac-12 leader in batting average, hit an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning to give the Cardinal a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, outfielder Braden Montgomery, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, hit a two-run home run to center field to extend Stanford’s lead to 3-0.

In the fourth inning, Oregon State put up a rally to cut into the lead. The Beavers loaded the bases after sophomore pitcher Drew Dowd gave up a walk, an out, a single and another walk in order. Then, Dowd threw a wild pitch to put the Beavers on the scoreboard. Shortly thereafter, Beavers’ left fielder Greg Fuchs grounded out to first base, which plated another run for Oregon State. Dowd, however, was able to get a strikeout that ended the inning and limited the Beavers’ damage to just two runs.

In the bottom of the fourth, Stanford got those two runs back, as sophomore infielder Carter Graham hit a single through the right side, which scored junior outfielder Brock Jones and junior shortstop Adam Crampton.

The Beavers responded again in the fifth inning when DH Jacob Melton, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, hit an RBI single past the shortstop. The single scored two runs and kept the Beavers in striking distance with just a one-run deficit.

Melton assisted his team again in the seventh inning, when he hit a single to first base that helped score right fielder Wade Meckler from second. The run tied the game at five apiece.

But once again, Stanford showcased its prolific power-hitting in clutch situations. In the bottom of the seventh inning, sophomore third baseman Drew Bowser hit a solo home run to right center, which put the Cardinal on top once again, 6-5. The blast marked Bowser’s fourth home run in four games at the Pac-12 tournament.

Later in the inning, Crampton hit a double to left center, which brought sophomore infielder Tommy Troy home from first base. In the eighth, Troy hit a two-run home run to add extra insurance to Stanford’s lead.

These were the final runs of the game, as Stanford held on to win 9-5.

After the game, Bowser and Crampton were named to the All-Tournament Team due to their outstanding play throughout the tournament. In four games, Bowser went 8-18 with four home runs and two doubles, while Crampton went 7-15 with a double and played strong defense.

Since their regular season resumed, the Cardinal will now host a Regional at Sunken Diamond, and they will be guaranteed to host a Super Regional if they advance. Stanford is the No. 1 seed in the Regional and the No. 2 overall seed in the entire tournament.

In addition, Stanford will host No. 2 seed Texas State (43-12, 26-4 Sun Belt), No. 3 seed UC Santa Barbara (43-12, 27-3 Big West) and No. 4 seed Binghamton (22-28, 15-15 America East) in the Palo Alto Regional.

In college baseball, the Regional round features a double-elimination tournament format, while Super Regionals have a series format. The Cardinal will play Binghamton in their first game of the Regional. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. PT on Friday, June 3.

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Stanford baseball wins first two games at Pac-12 Tournament, advances to semifinals https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/27/stanford-baseball-wins-first-two-games-at-pac-12-tournament-advances-to-semifinals/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/27/stanford-baseball-wins-first-two-games-at-pac-12-tournament-advances-to-semifinals/#respond Sat, 28 May 2022 04:46:13 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1204717 In its first game of the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament, No. 1 seed Stanford baseball (39-14, 21-9) faced off against No. 8 Arizona State (26-31, 13-17 Pac-12) and won 6-3.

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In its first game of the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament, No. 1 seed Stanford baseball (39-14, 21-9) faced off against No. 8 Arizona State (26-31, 13-17 Pac-12) and won 6-3.

Head coach David Esquer started freshman pitcher Ty Uber, who has started in eight games this season. Both teams were able to keep hitters at bay through four innings, as the game remained scoreless. During the fourth inning, Esquer pulled Uber from the mound and replaced him with sophomore pitcher Drew Dowd. 

However, Stanford struggled during Dowd’s reign on the mound. An error from third baseman Drew Bowser gave Arizona State its first run in the fifth inning. Then, in the sixth, Dowd gave up back-to-back hits, which induced RBIs and put Arizona State ahead at 3-1.  

Bowser made up for his fifth inning error by hitting an RBI single to left field in the sixth inning to cut the Sun Devils’ lead to 3-2. Next, in the seventh, after junior shortstop Adam Crampton hit a single up the middle, junior outfielder Brock Jones hit a big fly to right field to give Stanford its first lead of the game, 4-3. Next inning, Bowser matched Jones by hitting a two-run home run himself, which put the Cardinal up 6-3.

After sophomore Ryan Bruno and junior Quinn Mathews came in for Dowd, the Cardinal did not give up any runs for the remainder of the game and survived a scare, 6-3.

Next up, the Cardinal played No. 4 seed Arizona (36-22, 16-14 Pac-12), a team that swept them during the regular season.

The Cardinal’s bats continued to hit for power in this game, a trend that has reared its head during the latter part of the season.  Sophomore second baseman Tommy Troy hit a solo home run in the top of the second inning, a two-run bomb in the top of the 5th and an RBI double in the top of the 6th, which gave him four RBIs on the day. Bowser also had a multi-home run day, hitting a solo shot in the top of the second inning and a three-run big fly in the top of the seventh inning. Junior DH Brett Barrera joined in on the home run fest, hitting a solo homer in the top of the third inning.

In this game, Esquer decided to start the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year, Alex Williams, on the mound. Williams struggled by his standards in his appearance on the mound, as he gave up four earned runs, including three in the third inning. After 4.2 innings, Esquer pulled Williams and put in sophomore pitcher Tommy O’Rourke. O’Rourke pitched 2.1 innings before sophomore pitcher Brandt Pancer pitched the 7th-9th innings.

Through two games, it seems Esquer is trying to preserve his pitching staff’s stamina, as only one pitcher has pitched more than four innings. 

Looking ahead, Stanford will play the winner of Arizona/Arizona State in the conference tournament semifinal. The Cardinal will have a bit of a cushion, as they will have to lose two games against their opponent to be eliminated from the tournament, while their opponent will be eliminated with just one more loss.

However, regardless of what happens in the tournament, Stanford is in prime position to host a regional and super-regional because of its regular season record. 

First pitch in the conference semifinal is scheduled for 9 a.m. PT on Saturday. If a second game must be played, it is scheduled to begin at 4:45 p.m. PT.

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Baseball set to compete in inaugural Pac-12 tournament https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/24/baseball-set-to-compete-in-inaugural-pac-12-tournament/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/24/baseball-set-to-compete-in-inaugural-pac-12-tournament/#respond Wed, 25 May 2022 06:00:34 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1204418 While the prize of an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament is no small feat for some teams, it may not be very meaningful for Stanford. No matter what happens in the tournament, Stanford will likely host a regional and super-regional due to the team's regular season record.

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No. 3 Stanford baseball (37-14, 21-9 Pac-12) is set to compete in the Pac-12 tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz. this weekend. Similar to college basketball, the winner of the tournament gets an automatic bid to the NCAA baseball tournament. This will be the first ever Pac-12 baseball tournament — and depending on the winner, it could potentially help slide another Pac-12 team into the tournament field. 

The tournament will consist of two pods and will have a double-elimination format. Stanford is the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament after capturing the Pac-12 regular season title last weekend. Their side of the pod includes No. 4 Oregon (35-21, 18-12 Pac-12), No. 5 Arizona (35-21, 16-14 Pac-12) and No. 8 Arizona State (25-30, 13-17 Pac-12). In the first game of the tournament on Wednesday, Oregon and Arizona will play each other. Shortly after, Stanford and Arizona State will play. 

Oregon State (41-13, 20-10 Pac-12) is the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament, and their pod includes No. 3 UCLA (35-20, 19-11 Pac-12), No. 6 Cal (28-25, 14-16 Pac-12) and No. 7 Washington (30-24, 14-16 Pac-12). In the third game of the tournament, Oregon State and Washington will play each other, while UCLA and Cal will be the fourth matchup. 

In each of the pods, the winners of the two initial games will compete against each other, and the losers will face one another. The team that wins the first two games in their pod will advance to the conference semifinals, while the team that loses their first two games will be eliminated. The teams that only lose one out of their first two games will play each other, and the loser of that game will be eliminated. 

Then, each conference semifinal game will match the team that won its first two games with the team that only lost one game over the first two rounds. Those teams will continue playing until one team has lost two total games in the tournament, in which case that team will be eliminated and the winning team will move on to the final.

The final will be a one game affair, and the winner will be crowned the inaugural Pac-12 tournament champion. 

Stanford is riding a lot of momentum going into postseason play, having won 12 straight games and swept three straight Pac-12 series. In addition, the Cardinal have toppled some of the top teams in conference play on the road, taking two out of three games from Oregon State and UCLA earlier this season.

While the prize of an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament is no small achievement to some teams, it may not be very meaningful to Stanford. No matter what happens in the tournament, Stanford will likely host a regional and super-regional due to their regular season record. Winning the Pac-12 tournament may actually work against the Cardinal, as it will require them to go deep into their bullpen — they will have to play games for five days straight.

The extent to which Stanford head coach David Esquer will prioritize winning the tournament and how that will impact his management of the tournament pitching rotation remains to be seen. Esquer may elect to limit the innings of his starting pitchers to prevent injuries and keep them fresh for the NCAA tournament. For similar reasons, he may also choose to sit some of his key position players if he decides player freshness is more important than the tournament title. 

First pitch against Arizona State is scheduled for 45 minutes after the Oregon/Arizona matchup, which will begin at 9 a.m. PT on Wednesday, May 25.

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Baseball sweeps Trojans, wins Pac-12 regular season title https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/22/baseball-sweeps-trojans-wins-pac-12-regular-season-title/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/22/baseball-sweeps-trojans-wins-pac-12-regular-season-title/#respond Mon, 23 May 2022 05:47:31 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1203938 No. 4 Stanford baseball (36-14, 21-9 Pac-12) clinched the Pac-12 regular season title this weekend, sweeping the USC Trojans (25-28, 8-22 Pac-12) in a three-game series.

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No. 4 Stanford baseball (36-14, 21-9 Pac-12) swept the USC Trojans (25-28, 8-22 Pac-12) in a weekend series to clinch the Pac-12 regular season title outright. The Cardinal have now won 12 straight games and seven of their last eight series.

In the first game of the series, Stanford’s ace, senior Alex Williams, had yet another strong pitching performance. Williams pitched the full nine innings, allowing just four hits, one walk and one earned run. In addition, Williams’ performance allowed the Cardinal to save their bullpen for later in the series. 

On offense, do-it-all freshman Braden Montgomery hit a two-run homerun in the first inning and hit an RBI double in the third inning. Junior DH Brett Barrera also hit an RBI double in the third and an RBI single up the middle. Junior outfielder Brock Jones added to his late-season tear by hitting a two-run home run in the sixth. 

USC had little chance of winning against the pitching performance from Williams coupled with the batting performance in the middle of the lineup. In the end, the Trojans lost the game 7-1.

The second game of the series featured the strongest batting performance of the year, as the Cardinal scored a season-high 22 runs. As a team, Stanford tallied 18 hits, including six home runs.

Jones posted another terrific batting performance, recording up three hits, including a three-run home run in the fourth inning. Barrera hit a grand slam in the seventh and ended the day with three hits and five RBIs. Montgomery came close to hitting for the cycle, ending the day with a home run, a triple and a double.

On the mound, sophomore pitcher Joey Dixon went seven innings and gave up only four hits, two walks and no earned runs. Dixon’s performance marked the second straight day where the Cardinal received a great performance from their starting pitcher. In the end, USC could not match the massive offensive output the Cardinal generated and ended up losing 22-3.

After the game, when Barrera was asked by the Pac-12 Network about the Cardinal’s recent home run surge, he told the Pac-12 Network, “We’re in the weight room more than a bunch of other teams. We go to away games and the other coaches say, ‘Man that team is big!’”

In the final game of the series, USC got off to a hot start in the first inning, as DH Trevor Halsema hit a three-run home run to give the Trojans an early 3-0 lead. However, the Cardinal would respond in the bottom of the first inning, as junior catcher Kody Huff hit a double to score two runs. In addition, third baseman Drew Bowser and sophomore Tommy Troy plated two runs to put Stanford in the lead at 4-3. 

After two scoreless innings by both teams, the Cardinal scored six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, courtesy of a fielder’s choice from sophomore left fielder Eddie Park, a hit-by-pitch to Jones and a grand slam from sophomore infielder Carter Graham. 

This inning effectively put the game out of reach for USC, as they only scored two more runs in the contest. Eventually, Stanford won this last game of the series 12-5 and clinched the Pac-12 regular season title outright.

Looking ahead, the Cardinal will now be the No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament, which is scheduled from May 25-29 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The tournament consists of two pods and features a double-elimination format. The winner of each pod will then play in a one-game final to determine the champion. Stanford will take on the No. 8 seed Arizona State Sun Devils (25-30, 13-17 Pac-12) in its first game of the tournament. 

First pitch is scheduled for 45 minutes after the Oregon-Arizona game, which will begin at 9:00 a.m. PT.

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Baseball outslugs Santa Clara on the road https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/18/baseball-outslugs-santa-clara-on-the-road/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/18/baseball-outslugs-santa-clara-on-the-road/#respond Thu, 19 May 2022 05:25:50 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1203656 No. 4 Stanford baseball (33-14, 18-9 Pac-12) cruised past Santa Clara (24-25, 11-16 WCC) 19-0 on Tuesday. The Cardinal now sit just one game behind No. 2 Oregon State in the Pac-12 standings.

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No. 4 Stanford baseball (33-14, 18-9 Pac-12) dominated the Santa Clara Broncos (24-25, 11-16 WCC) 19-0 in a midweek matchup on Tuesday. The Cardinal lineup put together an impressive display of power hitting, as five different players hit home runs in the game. 

Stanford got off to a hot offensive start, scoring five runs in the opening inning. First, junior DH Brett Barrera hit a single to score junior outfielder Brock Jones. Later, with the bases loaded, sophomore third baseman Drew Bowser hit a grand slam to plate four runs and extend the Cardinal’s lead to 5-0. 

In the second, Barrera hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Jones for the second time in the game. Then, sophomore first baseman Carter Graham hit a single down the line in the third inning to score sophomore second baseman Tommy Troy from third base. 

The fourth inning featured another long rally from Stanford.

Do-it-all freshman outfielder Braden Montgomery and junior catcher Kody Huff hit back-to-back solo home runs to lead off the inning. Later, junior shortstop Adam Crampton grounded into a fielder’s choice that brought home Bowser from third. Finally, to cap off the inning, Jones hit a two-run shot to extend Stanford’s lead to 12-0. 

After two scoreless innings from both teams, the Cardinal posted a seven-run seventh inning. To start the run, Bowser hit a sacrifice fly to score Montgomery from third base. Then, senior outfielder Joe Lomuscio, who came in during the inning to pinch hit for Jones, hit a single to score sophomore left fielder Eddie Park and Troy. 

Infielder Trevor Haskins, who pinch hit for Carter Graham in the seventh inning, doubled to score Crampton from second base. Next, Barrera hit a three-run home run to give Stanford a whopping 19 total runs. These would be the last runs scored in the game, and Stanford came out with a 19-0 win.

While the bats stole the show for most of the game, the Stanford pitching staff also shut down the Broncos. The Cardinal rolled out six pitchers to get through the game, and the longest any pitcher stayed on the mound was two innings. Combined, the Stanford pitchers gave up just three hits and three walks. Sophomore Tommy O’ Rourke started the game and received the win. 

Looking ahead, Stanford will play the USC Trojans (24-25, 8-19 Pac-12) in a weekend series at Sunken Diamond from Thursday through Saturday. This will be Stanford’s last weekend series before the team heads to Scottsdale, Ariz. for the Pac-12 Tournament. The Cardinal are just one game behind No. 2 Oregon State (40-11, 19-8 Pac-12) for first place in the Pac-12 regular season standings. 

Stanford will have a good chance at tying or winning the Pac-12 regular season championship outright if they sweep the Trojans, since Oregon State will face a very strong No. 23 UCLA (33-19, 17-10 Pac-12) team. First pitch against USC in game one is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT on Thursday.

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Baseball completes second consecutive weekend sweep https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/16/baseball-completes-second-consecutive-weekend-sweep/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/16/baseball-completes-second-consecutive-weekend-sweep/#respond Tue, 17 May 2022 03:15:18 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1203483 The Cardinal now sit in second place in the Pac-12 standings, just one game behind the Oregon State Beavers.

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No. 4 Stanford baseball (32-14, 18-9 Pac-12) swept the Utah Utes (25-23, 10-16 Pac-12) in Salt Lake City over the weekend. The series marks the team’s second consecutive weekend sweep, and the Cardinal now sit in second place in the Pac-12 standings, just one game behind the Oregon State Beavers.

In the first game, Stanford ace, senior Alex Williams, got the start on the mound. Williams, the Pac-12 leader in ERA, pitched eight innings and gave up only three hits and zero runs. 

On offense, junior outfielder Brock Jones had his second multiple home run game of the week, hitting solo home runs in the third and seventh innings. Junior catcher Kody Huff had three hits, including a solo home run in the second inning. Stanford’s offense put up five runs, which was more than enough with Williams’s pitching performance. 

In the ninth inning, after sophomore pitcher Brandt Pancer gave up two hits, the Cardinal put in junior pitcher Quinn Matthews to close out the game. Matthews got three quick outs to secure a 5-0 win.

In the second game, Stanford increased its offensive output from game one. In the first inning, Stanford put up two runs thanks to a fielder’s choice by junior second baseman Brett Barrera and a single by do-it-all freshman outfielder Braden Montgomery. 

In the fifth inning, sophomore first baseman Carter Graham hit a two-run home run. Then, in the sixth inning, sophomore second baseman Tommy Troy hit a double to score Huff from second base. In the same inning, junior shortstop Adam Crampton flew out to center field to score sophomore left fielder Eddie Park from third base. 

At this point, the Cardinal held a commanding 7-2 lead. Later, Barrera hit a solo home run in the ninth inning to add extra insurance to the Cardinal lead. 

The Cardinal continued their strong pitching from Friday, as the trio of underclassmen Joey Dixon, Ryan Bruno and Montgomery gave up only two runs to the Utes. Their combined pitching and batting performances led the Cardinal to defeat the Utes 8-2.

The third game of the series featured a familiar story that Stanford baseball fans have witnessed all year. After Jones hit a solo home run in the first inning, Utah had a five-run offensive stretch in the second inning, which gave the Utes a 5-1 lead. 

However, although they had already won the series, the Cardinal did not stop fighting. In the third inning, Carter hit a solo home run to right field. Crampton hit an RBI single to center field in the fourth inning to cut the lead to 5-3. 

After the Utes scored in the fourth inning, Utah pitcher Bryson Van Sickle committed an error, which plated Crampton. In the eighth inning, sophomore third baseman Drew Bowser scored after Carter was hit by a pitch. Barrera then hit a single to score both Jones and Crampton to give Stanford a 7-6 lead. Matthews once again closed the game to give Stanford the victory.

Looking ahead, Stanford will face Santa Clara (24-25, 11-16 WCC) in a midweek game before facing the USC Trojans (24-25, 8-19 Pac-12) in a weekend series at Sunken Diamond. First pitch against Santa Clara is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT on Tuesday, while first pitch for the USC series will be thrown at 6 p.m. PT on Thursday.

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Fifth inning rally lifts baseball past USF https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/10/fifth-inning-rally-lifts-baseball-past-usf/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/10/fifth-inning-rally-lifts-baseball-past-usf/#respond Wed, 11 May 2022 05:02:22 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1203041 No. 8 Stanford baseball (30-14, 15-9 Pac-12) defeated the USF Dons (24-27, 11-13 WCC) 9-7 in San Francisco on Tuesday. After getting down early in the contest, the Cardinal offense produced a huge fifth-inning rally to lead the team to victory.

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No. 8 Stanford baseball (30-14, 15-9 Pac-12) defeated the USF Dons (24-27, 11-13 WCC) 9-7 in San Francisco on Tuesday. 

Late-game comebacks have become a common occurrence this year for Stanford, and this game featured yet another one for the Cardinal. After getting down early in the contest, the Cardinal offense produced a huge fifth-inning rally to lead the team to victory.

Sophomore starting pitcher Drew Dowd got the start for Stanford. After getting out of a jam in the first inning to keep the Dons scoreless, Dowd gave up a walk and hit two batters, which loaded the bases with nobody out. 

After securing two quick outs, Dowd allowed a single to USF right fielder Harris Williams III, which plated two runs. After this play, Dowd was removed from the game and replaced by sophomore Tommy O’Rourke, who forced a pop out that ended the inning. 

But this would be the only out O’Rourke got in the game, as he walked three straight batters in the third inning and was promptly replaced by junior Cody Jensen. During the inning, Jensen would hit two batters with the bases loaded, which gave the Dons two more runs. In addition to these unforced errors, Jensen would give up a sacrifice fly and another RBI single. This left the Dons with a 6-0 lead.

The Cardinal cut into the lead in the top of the fourth inning after sophomore third baseman Drew Bowser hit an RBI single. But it was the fifth inning where Stanford drew real blood. 

After Brock Jones led off with a triple, an error by the Dons’ shortstop plated Jones and allowed sophomore first baseman Graham Carter to reach first base. Then, junior DH Brett Barrera hit a two-run home run to cut the lead to 6-4. Later in the inning, Bowser and junior shortstop Adam Crampton hit two-run home runs to give Stanford the lead, 8-6. 

But the game was far from over. Dons third baseman Mario DeMera hit an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to cut Stanford’s lead to 8-7. And in the top of the eighth inning, do-it-all freshman pitcher/outfielder Braden Montgomery hit an RBI single to score Jones and extend Stanford’s lead back to two runs. 

In addition to his hitting, Montgomery was arguably Stanford’s best pitcher on Tuesday, going 2.1 innings with no earned runs allowed.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, with Stanford sitting in the lead 9-7, the Cardinal brought out junior Quinn Mathews to close the game. Mathews found himself in a jam after giving up two walks and a single, as the bases were loaded with two outs. But Mathews was able to force Dons pinch hitter Brandon Greim into a pop out to save the game for Stanford.

Looking ahead, Stanford will face the Utah Utes (25-20-1, 10-14 Pac-12) in Salt Lake City this weekend. Winning the series against Utah could put the Cardinal in a more favorable position to host a super-regional in the NCAA tournament. First pitch for Friday’s game against Utah is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT.

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Baseball sweeps rival Golden Bears https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/08/baseball-sweeps-rival-golden-bears/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/08/baseball-sweeps-rival-golden-bears/#respond Mon, 09 May 2022 05:04:32 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1202854 No. 11 Stanford baseball swept its weekend series against Cal, giving the team its fifth Pac-12 series win in six tries.

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No. 11 Stanford baseball (29-14, 15-9 Pac-12) swept its three-game series against the California Golden Bears (22-25, 11-15 Pac-12) over the weekend. With the sweep, the Cardinal have now won five of their previous six conference series. 

Senior pitcher Alex Williams, the Pac-12 leader in earned run average (ERA), started for the Cardinal in Friday’s game. However, he ran into trouble in the first inning. Cal first baseman Nathan Martorella hit a single to right center to get on base, and after a strikeout, second baseman Hance Smith reached first following an infielder error, which also advanced Martorella to third. Then, designated hitter (DH) Caleb Lomavita hit into a fielder’s choice, which allowed Martorella to reach home plate. After allowing this run, however, Williams turned in a lights-out pitching performance, going 8.1 innings while allowing four total hits and two unearned runs throughout the game. 

Feeding off Williams’ pitching, the Cardinal offense showed out early in the game. Sophomore first baseman Graham Carter closed Cal’s lead quickly, hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning to knot the game at 1-1.

In the second inning, sophomore infielder Tommy Troy, who slotted in at DH for Friday’s game, hit a double to score sophomore left fielder Eddie Park from second base. Junior catcher Kody Huff hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning to extend Stanford’s lead to 5-1. Do-it-all freshman outfielder Braden Montgomery added insurance to Stanford’s lead, hitting a single to score second baseman Brett Barrera from second base, which increased Stanford’s lead to 6-1. 

Junior Quinn Matthews came in to relieve Williams in the ninth inning. Even though Matthews gave up one run, Stanford built a sizable lead that was too much for Cal to overcome. The Cardinal ultimately won 6-2.

The second game of the series had no shortage of in-game drama. Stanford head coach David Esquer decided to start sophomore pitcher Drew Dowd for the game. After retiring the lead-off batter, Dowd had a rough pitching stretch, allowing four straight hits, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, a passed ball and three runs. After this stretch, Dowd was replaced by sophomore relief pitcher Joey Dixon. For the remainder of the first inning, Dixon gave up an error and a double, which gave Cal a 6-0 lead. In the third inning, Cal got two runners on base with a pair of singles. The Golden Bears then used a pair of small ball moves, which included a fielder’s choice and bunt, to plate one more run and extend their lead to 7-0.

However, as seen previously this season, this Stanford team has the offensive firepower and fortitude to mount big comebacks. The Cardinal’s scoring started in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Huff hit a two-run home run to cut the deficit to 7-2. Stanford plated another run in the bottom of the fifth inning after an infield error. Park then hit a single in the bottom of the sixth inning to score Montgomery from third base. As a result of another infielder error, Stanford scored two runs to inch closer to Cal’s 7-6 lead. Then, junior shortstop Adam Crampton singled to right center to score Tommy Troy and tie the game at 7-7.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Montgomery led off with a double to left center and advanced to third base on an error. After Cal retired a hitter on a groundout, sophomore pinch hitter Alberto Rios drew a walk to get on first base. Cal then intentionally walked Park in order to position themselves for a double play. However, Crampton drew a walk with the bases loaded to win the game for Stanford 8-7.

The third game featured a great all-around performance from Stanford. The Cardinal put up double-digit runs, including home runs, sacrifice flies, singles and doubles. In addition, the team shut out the Golden Bears’ offense until the seventh inning. 

Stanford got on top early in the game, earning a 5-0 lead through six innings. Even after a slight scare at the top of the seventh inning, Stanford added six more insurance runs to put the game out of reach for the Golden Bears. The Cardinal won the game 11-3 to clinch their first sweep against Cal since 2017.

Looking ahead, Stanford will play against the USF Dons in San Francisco before facing the Utah Utes (25-20, 10-14 Pac-12) in Salt Lake City. The Cardinal are looking to position themselves as a host for the super regionals, and losing to a mediocre Utah team could be a red mark on the team’s resume. First pitch against USF will be at 1 p.m PT on Tuesday, while first pitch against Utah is scheduled for 5 p.m PT on Friday.

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Cardinal baseball out-slug Aggies in midweek matchup https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/04/cardinal-baseball-outslug-aggies/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/04/cardinal-baseball-outslug-aggies/#respond Thu, 05 May 2022 05:38:10 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1202586 No. 11 Stanford baseball (26-14, 12-9 Pac-12) defeated the UC Davis Aggies (4-24, 3-15 Big West) 16-6 in a midweek contest. 

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No. 11 Stanford baseball (26-14, 12-9 Pac-12) defeated the UC Davis Aggies (4-24, 3-15 Big West) 16-6 in a midweek contest.

Coming into the game losing six of their last seven matchups, the Aggies weren’t the toughest competition that Stanford has faced this year. Stanford’s dominating win, however, could provide momentum going into the weekend series against Cal.

In Tuesday’s game, the Cardinal poured on the offense early. They scored 13 runs through the first five innings, as many of Stanford’s best overall hitters had strong offensive performances.

Junior outfielder Brock Jones registered perhaps the best offensive performance, hitting two home runs and batting in seven runs. Sophomore first baseman Carter Graham followed Jones’s lead, hitting two home runs himself in the game. Graham, who has now tallied 14 home runs this season, is tied for the Pac-12 lead in home runs.

Do-it-all freshman outfielder Braden Montgomery homered in the third inning for his 12th of the year, which keeps him in the top five in the Pac-12 in home runs. Sophomore third baseman Drew Bowser added two hits and one run batted in. Finally, sophomore second baseman Tommy Troy had three hits, including a double, in the game.

The Cardinal’s early lead was never in danger at any point during the game, as down the stretch in the seventh inning, the Cardinal added three runs to put the game out of hand at 16-3.

On the opposite side of the ball, Stanford employed a number of pitchers to get through the game. Sophomore Joey Dixon got the start for the Cardinal, but he only stayed on the mound for two innings, which was the most for any Cardinal pitcher. After Dixon, Braden Montgomery, junior Cody Jensen, freshman Ty Uber, junior Nathan Fleischli and sophomore Brandt Pancer pitched the remainder of the game for the Cardinal.

Besides a three-run home run in the fifth inning and a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning, Stanford’s pitching remained solid for most of the night, recording 11 strikeouts in total. While the Cardinal pitchers gave up nine walks in the game, this is to be expected from young pitchers and pitchers who play limited time.

Looking ahead, Stanford will host the California Golden Bears for a weekend series at Sunken Diamond. This upcoming stretch of baseball is important for the Cardinal, as they are looking to position themselves to host a regional or even a super-regional in the NCAA tournament.

To host a regional, the Cardinal must be among the top sixteen teams in the country. Hosting a super-regional will require the Cardinal to be among the top eight teams in the country. Losing a series to a poor Cal team could drop the Cardinal out of hosting a regional in the short term.

The first pitch for the series begins at 7 p.m. PT on Friday.

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Baseball loses first Pac-12 series since March https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/02/baseball-loses-first-pac-12-series-since-march/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/05/02/baseball-loses-first-pac-12-series-since-march/#respond Mon, 02 May 2022 07:22:04 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1202252 No. 6 Stanford baseball (25-14, 12-9 Pac-12) lost its series against the Washington Huskies (17-23, 8-16 Pac-12) over the weekend, ending the Cardinal’s Pac-12 series winning streak. The team had previously won four straight conference series.

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No. 6 Stanford baseball (25-14, 12-9 Pac-12) lost its series against the Washington Huskies (17-23, 8-16 Pac-12) over the weekend, ending the Cardinal’s Pac-12 series winning streak. The team had previously won four straight conference series.

The first game in the series on Friday was uneventful until the final two innings. Washington got on the board after third baseman Michael Synder hit an RBI single in the second inning, but neither team scored for the next five innings and the game remained 1-0 through the seventh. At the top of the eighth inning, junior catcher Kody Huff doubled to left field to score sophomore first baseman Carter Graham from second base, knotting the game up at 1-1.

Washington, however, had an answer for the Cardinal. In the bottom of the eighth, Huskies center fielder McKay Barney singled to right field to score second baseman Josh Urps and left fielder Preston Viltz. Soon after, Barney would reach home on a wild pitch to extend the Huskies’ lead to 4-1.

The Cardinal didn’t go down without a fight and attempted to mount a scoring run of their own in the top of the ninth inning. With two outs, junior outfielder Brock Jones hit a solo home run to close the Huskies’ lead to 4-2. After Graham singled, and junior DH Brett Barrera drew a walk, do-it-all freshman outfielder Braden Montgomery hit a single through the left side to send Carter to home plate. Husky relief pitcher Stefan Raeth ended the game and the Cardinal’s comeback by forcing Huff to pop out and give Washington a 4-3 win.

The second game of the series featured a spectacular performance from Stanford’s pitchers. Sophomore starting pitcher Drew Dowd went five innings, giving up only one run, while three other relief pitchers combined to go four innings with one run given up. The Cardinal got on top early, leading 5-0 after 5.5 innings. Rather than using extra-base hits as they’ve done in the past, the Cardinal drew walks, hit singles and took advantage of a variety of Washington miscues to build their lead. While the Huskies attempted to make a comeback, scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, it was not enough as sophomore relief pitcher Brandt Pacer shut down Washington’s offense and helped Stanford close the game with a 6-2 win.

In the series-deciding final game, the Cardinal got off to a quick offensive start thanks to some power hitting. In the top of the third, Jones hit a two-run home run to give Stanford a 3-1 lead. Graham followed Jones with a solo home run and Huff hit a double to send Barrera to home plate. After 3.5 innings, the score was 7-1 in Stanford’s favor.

But Washington would not lie down, even after the Cardinal held a seemingly insurmountable lead. The Huskies scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the lead to 7-3. After two consecutive scoreless innings from both teams, Urps hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to cut the lead down even further. Then, the Huskies hit three straight RBI singles to take an 8-7 lead. Stanford responded at the top of the eighth, scoring three runs off the bats of junior left fielder Eddie Park, sophomore infielder Tommy Troy and Carter to retake a 10-8 lead.

With the game on the line in the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinal sent out junior relief pitcher Nathan Flieschi to get the remaining three outs. Flieschi, however, soon got into a jam, as Washington loaded the bases with only one out. After pulling Fleischli from the game, the Cardinal sent out sophomore relief pitcher Tommy O’Rourke to close it out.

Washington pinch hitter Colby Wallace hit a single through the right side to cut the lead to 10-9. Once again the bases were loaded when O’Rourke hit infielder Urps on a pitch, which plated another run to knot the game up at 10-10. Finally, O’Rourke threw a wild pitch, to score pinch runner Ben Smith and win the game for Washington 11-10.

Looking ahead, the Cardinal will play a mid-week game against UC Davis at Sunken Diamond on Tuesday before hosting their rival, the California Golden Bears, at home for a weekend series. While Cal has not been a good team this season, the Cardinal have a tendency to play down to their competition. To jump further up the rankings, Stanford must play with more consistency going forward. First pitch against Cal will occur at 7 p.m PT on Friday, May 6.

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Cardinal take series from Bruins, remain in striking distance for the top of the Pac-12 https://stanforddaily.com/2022/04/17/cardinal-take-series-from-bruins-remain-in-striking-distance-for-the-top-of-the-pac-12/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/04/17/cardinal-take-series-from-bruins-remain-in-striking-distance-for-the-top-of-the-pac-12/#respond Sun, 17 Apr 2022 22:23:46 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1200560 The Cardinal picked up their fourth consecutive Pac-12 series win after going 2-1 versus UCLA.

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No. 22 Stanford baseball (20-11, 11-7 Pac-12) won its weekend series against the No. 12 UCLA Bruins (24-11, 9-6 Pac-12) in Los Angeles, Calif. over the weekend, marking the Cardinal’s fourth consecutive Pac-12 series win.

In the first game of the series, UCLA got off to a quick 1-0 lead after third baseman Kyle Karros hit a sacrifice fly to score first baseman Jake Palmer from third. However, that was the only run the Bruins would score all night, and the Cardinal began their offensive torrent as sophomore infielder Carter Graham hit a three-run home run in the third inning to put the Cardinal up 3-1. 

In the fourth inning, Graham hit into a fielder’s choice, which scored junior shortstop Adam Crampton from third base. In the sixth inning, sophomore outfielder Eddie Park doubled to left field, scoring third baseman Drew Bowser from first base. In the seventh inning, do-it-all freshman outfielder Braden Montgomery hit a three-run home run to extend Stanford’s lead to 8-1. After an extra insurance run at the top of the ninth inning from the Cardinal, redshirt junior relief pitcher Cody Jensen closed the game and the Cardinal won 9-1.

The pitching performance from senior starting pitcher Alex Williams and sophomore relief pitcher Joey Dixon was stellar, as both combined to give up one run and three hits over eight innings. 

The second game of the series was a nail-biter to the end. Once again, UCLA struck first in the second inning as left fielder Michael Curialle hit a two-run home run to left field to put the Bruins on top 2-0. In the fourth inning, the Bruins received another two-run home run off the bat of Palmer to extend the Bruins’ lead to 4-0. 

Stanford did not throw in the towel yet, though. In the fifth inning, Bowser hit a solo home run to close the lead to 4-1. In the sixth inning, Montgomery hit a two-run home run as the Cardinal inched closer, 4-3. At the top of the eighth inning, junior catcher Kody Huff hit a single to score Graham and tie the game up at 4-4. 

After surrendering its lead, UCLA responded in the bottom of the eighth inning, as catcher Darius Perry singled up the middle to score Curriale. After giving up a single and a walk at the top of the ninth inning with one out, the Bruins were able to retire two more batters to secure the 5-4 victory.

The series-deciding third game featured a shutout performance from the Cardinal’s pitchers. Junior pitcher Quinn Matthews went seven innings, giving up only four hits and zero runs. Sophomore Brandt Pancer pitched the remaining two innings, giving up zero runs while allowing only one hit. In addition to lights-out pitching, the Cardinal’s bats also came to play as the team turned in a solid game in all areas. Junior outfielder Brock Jones had two two-run home runs and Bowser, who hit 6-for-14 over the series, had three hits, including a home run and a double, as well as four runs batted in. The Cardinal took the last game in blowout fashion, 11-0, to win the series.

With this series win, the Cardinal remain in the top four of the Pac-12 standings, with a chance to move into a tie for first if both Oregon State (27-7, 10-5 Pac-12) and Oregon(24-11, 10-5 Pac-12) lose their next series.

Looking ahead, the Cardinal have a five game non-conference slate against Cal Poly (22-13, 9-3 Big West), Grand Canyon (25-12, 15-3 WAC) and San Diego State (10-25, 4-14 Mountain West) before resuming conference play against the Washington Huskies (16-18, 6-12 Pac-12) in Seattle, Wash. First pitch for the team’s next game, against Cal Poly, will occur at 6 p.m. PT in San Luis Obispo, Calif. on Tuesday. 

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Cardinal best the Dons in walk-off fashion https://stanforddaily.com/2022/04/13/cardinal-best-the-dons-in-walk-off-fashion/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/04/13/cardinal-best-the-dons-in-walk-off-fashion/#respond Thu, 14 Apr 2022 04:29:58 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1200291 In a Tuesday night duel at Sunken Diamond, No. 22 Stanford baseball (18-10, 9-6 Pac-12) beat USF (17-19, 6-6 WCC) on a walk-off wild pitch. The Cardinal have now won five of their last six games.

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No. 22 Stanford baseball (18-10, 9-6 Pac-12) defeated the University of San Francisco Dons (17-19, 6-6 WCC) 6-5 in a walk-off win on Tuesday. This victory continues Stanford’s recent hot streak, as the Cardinal have won three straight Pac-12 series over the last three weekends.

For Stanford, do-it-all freshman outfielder and pitcher Braden Montgomery got the start on the mound, while the Dons started pitcher Kaleb Woltz.

In the top of the first inning, the Dons struck first. After shortstop Luke Keaschall was hit by a pitch, first baseman Gabe Giosso hit a double to score Keaschall from first base. After advancing to third base on a groundout, Giosso scored on a wild pitch from Montgomery to extend the Dons lead to 2-0.

Stanford responded at the bottom of the first inning, as sophomore infielder Carter Graham launched a two-run home run to tie the game. Soon after, junior catcher Kody Huff hit an RBI-single to put the Cardinal in the lead, 3-2. 

In the bottom of the second inning, Stanford scored a pair of runs from to extend its lead to 5-2. Graham hit a sacrifice fly to score junior shortstop Adam Crampton from third base, and later, Montgomery hit a double to score designated hitter Brett Barrera from second. 

After the third inning, Montgomery was pulled from the game, and Stanford relied on four different relief pitchers to last them the remainder of the contest. 

From the fourth through the sixth inning, the Dons slowly chipped away at Stanford’s lead. In the top of the fourth, Keaschall drew a walk with the bases loaded to score a run. During the fifth, Giosso scored an unearned run off an error in the infield. Then, in the sixth, outfielder Harris Williams III hit a triple to score Keaschall to tie the game at 5-5.

After two more scoreless innings from both teams, the game was still knotted at five heading into the ninth inning. After USF failed to score in the top of the ninth, the Cardinal were poised to strike in the bottom half of the inning to end the game.

After junior outfielder Brock Jones reached first base on a walk, both Graham and Barrera were retired to put two outs on the board. To keep the inning alive, Montgomery hit a single through the right side to advance Jones to third base.

With two outs and a runner 90 feet away from ending the game, nobody else would have to provide offense for the Cardinal — Dons pitcher Adam Shew threw a wild pitch in the ensuing at bat, and Jones scored to win the game for Stanford. 

Looking forward, the Cardinal will head to Los Angeles to play series against the No. 12-ranked UCLA Bruins (22-9, 8-4 Pac-12) over the weekend. The Bruins are currently one place ahead of Stanford in the Pac-12 standings, so the road trip will be influential in determining the top of the conference come season’s end. First pitch for game one on Thursday is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

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Gaels blow out Cardinal in midweek baseball matchup https://stanforddaily.com/2022/04/07/gaels-blow-out-cardinal-in-midweek-baseball-matchup/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/04/07/gaels-blow-out-cardinal-in-midweek-baseball-matchup/#respond Thu, 07 Apr 2022 07:05:50 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1199089 While the loss will not have any impact on Stanford’s ranking in the Pac-12 standings, it is indicative of the inconsistency that the team has shown thus far this season.

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Stanford baseball (14-10, 6-6 Pac-12) lost 8-1 to Saint Mary’s (18-11, 2-7 WCC) on Tuesday at Sunken Diamond. While the loss will not have any impact on Stanford’s ranking in the Pac-12 standings, it is indicative of the inconsistency that the team has shown thus far this season, especially coming off an upset series victory against No. 3 Oregon State (21-7, 7-5).

Early in the first inning, Saint Mary’s left fielder Gavin Napier reached base on a single. After three consecutive wild pitches, Napier scored to put the Gaels up 1-0. Saint Mary’s would score again in the fourth inning with third baseman Chris Santiago hitting a solo home run, extending its lead to 2-0 .

After two more scoreless innings, the runs began pouring in for the Gaels, starting with a three-run seventh inning. Napier, who hit 2-for-4 on the night, hit a double in the seventh inning to score second baseman Javy Espinosa. Napier then found home plate for the second time on Tuesday after shortstop Christopher Campos hit a single and Cardinal junior pitcher Cody Jensen committed a throwing error. Santiago, not to be outdone, hit a double to score Campos for the Gaels’ third run of the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, Stanford was finally able to change the “0” on the scoreboard to a “1” as junior designated hitter Brett Barrera hit a single to score freshman outfielder Braden Montgomery from third base. This run never materialized into a larger rally for the Cardinal, as Gaels relief pitcher Conner Linchley limited the damage to just that one run. The Gaels added three extra insurance runs in the ninth inning to put the game out of reach for the Cardinal.

Tuesday’s game marked Montgomery’s first start on the mound. After a sizzling start to the season coming out of the bullpen, Montgomery has struggled as of late, posting an ERA above 9.00 in his past four outings. The Cardinal recruited Montgomery because of his talents as a multi-faceted player on the mound, as a hitter and as a defender in the outfield, but his playing time this season indicates that he could use some more experience to mature at the collegiate level.

Saint Mary’s was able to shut down both junior centerfielder Brock Jones and sophomore first baseman Graham Carter. Combined, both players went 1-for-7 at the plate with 0 walks. Carter has had a hot start to the season, hitting for an average of .359, leading the team in home runs with six and achieving an OPS above 1.000. Jones is projected as a first-round pick by many MLB draft pundits this year, possibly even in the Top-10 due to his power hitting. Both players’ lack of hitting on Tuesday prevented the Cardinal from sparking a comeback from the deficit.

Looking forward, the Cardinal will host the Arizona State Sun Devils (14-16, 5-4 Pac-12) at Sunken Diamond for a weekend series from April 8 to 10. While the Sun Devils have struggled this year overall, they do hold a winning record in conference play and could present a tough challenge for a Stanford team looking to win its third conference series in a row. First pitch for Friday’s game is 6:05 p.m. PT.

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Baseball upsets No. 3 Oregon State, earns key series win https://stanforddaily.com/2022/04/03/baseball-upsets-no-3-oregon-state-earns-key-series-win/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/04/03/baseball-upsets-no-3-oregon-state-earns-key-series-win/#respond Mon, 04 Apr 2022 04:39:08 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1198631 After losing their first two series in Pac-12 play in early March and dropping out of the top 25 this past week, the Cardinal bounced back and won two straight series.

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Stanford baseball (14-9, 6-6 Pac-12) got its mojo back in Corvallis, Oregon, taking the series against the No. 3 Oregon State Beavers (20-7, 7-5 Pac-12) over the weekend. After losing their first two series in Pac-12 play in early March and dropping out of the Top 25 this past week, the Cardinal have bounced back to win two straight series.

In the first game of the series on Friday, the Cardinal eked out a close win against the Beavers in extra innings. Senior starting pitcher Alex Williams pitched 6.1 innings and gave up zero runs. Beavers starting pitcher Cooper Hjerpe exceeded Williams’ efforts, however, going eight innings and giving up only two hits and zero runs.

At the top of the 10th inning with the score tied at 0-0 with zero outs, junior catcher Kody Huff hit a double to right center. On the following at-bat, do-it-all freshman outfielder/pitcher Braden Montgomery hit a double to send Huff to home plate. This run would be all the Cardinal needed, as junior relief pitcher Quinn Mathews kept the Beavers’ hitters at bay and the Cardinal took the 1-0 victory.

The second game of the series was another low-scoring, extra-inning thriller. After Oregon State center fielder Jacob Melton hit a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch, first baseman Garret Forrester hit a single up the middle to score Melton in the bottom of the 4th. A single and a fly out advanced Forrester to third base, and shortstop Jabin Trosky hit a sacrifice fly to bring Forrester home. After the fourth inning, the Beavers held a 2-0 lead.

At the top of the fifth inning, junior shortstop Adam Crampton got a walk and junior outfielder Brock Jones hit a double to keep runners on third and second with nobody out. Fifth-year senior left fielder Joe Lomuscio flew out to center field to score Crampton. Sophomore first baseman Graham Carter then hit a single to bring Jones home and knot the game up at 2-2. After a series of scoreless innings, Beavers left fielder Austin Meckler hit a double with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning. Right fielder Justin Boyd hit a single to score Meckler, and the Beavers won 3-2.

In the third game of the series, the Cardinal had to mount a massive comeback. After three innings, Oregon State led 5-0. In the top of the fourth inning, the Cardinal put up three runs to pull closer to the Beavers, headlined by a double by Huff, which scored Graham. At the top of the sixth inning, Graham scored again, this time on a wild pitch. Shortly thereafter, sophomore third baseman Drew Bowser reached base on an error by Beavers third baseman Kyle Dernedde. This error scored both Huff and junior infielder Brett Barrera, and the Cardinal pulled ahead 6-5.

In the eighth inning, infielder/outfielder Tommy Troy hit a double to score Bowser and Jones and add insurance to the Cardinal’s lead. After sophomore Drew Dowd’s rough pitching start, Mathews took the mound and gave up only one earned run in seven innings of work. Stanford won the game 8-5 and took its second straight series.

Looking ahead, Stanford will play a midweek game on Tuesday against the Saint Mary’s Gaels before hosting Arizona State at Sunken Diamond over the weekend. At times this year, the Cardinal have lived up to their preseason top-10 ranking, but they must show more consistency across Pac-12 play if they want to host a regional or super regional in the NCAA tournament.

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No. 5 Stanford baseball drops first Pac-12 series https://stanforddaily.com/2022/03/13/no-5-stanford-baseball-drops-first-pac-12-series/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/03/13/no-5-stanford-baseball-drops-first-pac-12-series/#respond Mon, 14 Mar 2022 03:59:29 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1197677 No. 5 Stanford baseball (9-5, 1-2 Pac-12) dropped its first series against the unranked Oregon Ducks (10-5, 2-1 Pac-12) over the weekend, losing two out of three games.

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No. 5 Stanford baseball (9-5, 1-2 Pac-12) dropped its first series against the unranked Oregon Ducks (10-5, 2-1 Pac-12) over the weekend, losing two out of three games.

The first game of the series was a nail-biter until the ninth inning. The Cardinal jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after the first inning, thanks to an error by the Oregon first baseman which scored sophomore left fielder Eddie Park. A fielder’s choice also scored sophomore second baseman Tommy Troy.

In the top of the fifth inning, a triple from Oregon center fielder Colby Shade scored right fielder Anthony Hall. Later, a single from third baseman Sam Novitske scored Shade to knot the score at two.

After both teams scored a run in the eighth inning, the game was tied at three heading into the ninth. With no outs and a 3-1 count, Oregon left fielder Tanner Smith hit a solo home run to put the Ducks on top, 4-3. After giving up a walk, Oregon relief pitcher Kolby Somers retired three straight batters to earn the win for the Ducks.

The second game of the series was even more action-packed than the first. Striking quickly in the first three innings, the Cardinal held a 9-3 lead going into the fourth inning. However, this lead would quickly shrink, as the Ducks scored a combined five runs over the next two innings to pull the game to 9-8.

The eighth inning saw the Ducks score six more runs to take a 14-9 lead. Oregon added two insurance runs at the top of the ninth inning to pad their lead, 16-9.

The Cardinal initiated a comeback attempt in the bottom of the ninth, as sophomore third baseman Drew Bowser hit a three-run home run to make the score 16-12. Then, senior pinch hitter Vincent Martinez hit a solo home run to make it 16-13 and stoke some anxiety within the Oregon dugout.

However, even after giving up four earned runs in the inning, Oregon relief pitcher Dylan Sabia was able to retire three straight batters to pull out the win for the Ducks. 

In the third game of the series, sophomore pitcher Drew Dowd started and only gave up three earned runs in six innings of work. In the bottom of the second inning, junior designated hitter Brett Barrera hit a grand slam to give Stanford a 5-1 lead.

From the fourth through the eighth inning, the Cardinal put up five more runs, including an RBI double and home run from Graham Carter. These runs were enough for the Cardinal to escape the game and win 10-6.

After some early season success, which included beating the then-No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks (11-3, 0-0 SEC), the Cardinal have struggled recently, losing games to unranked teams such as Oregon and UTSA (10-5, 0-0 Conference USA). Next week, Stanford will head to Tucson to take on the No. 16 Arizona Wildcats (12-4, 2-1 Pac-12) in a three-game weekend series.

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Baseball takes series against Cal State Northridge https://stanforddaily.com/2022/03/07/baseball-takes-series-against-cal-state-northridge/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/03/07/baseball-takes-series-against-cal-state-northridge/#respond Mon, 07 Mar 2022 08:29:01 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1197015 After dropping its first game against Cal State Northridge (6-4, 0-0 Big West), No. 6 Stanford baseball (8-3, 0-0 Pac-12) won the final two games to win the series this weekend.

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Over the weekend, No. 6 Stanford baseball (8-3, 0-0 Pac-12) took two out of three games against the Cal State Northridge Matadors (6-4, 0-0 Big West) at Sunken Diamond to win the series. 

In the first matchup, Cal State Northridge played a solid all-around game against the Cardinal, with both teams pitching and hitting well. Matador designated hitter Gabe Gonzalez recorded five RBIs, three of which came on a home run to left field in the top of the third inning. Northridge starting pitcher Blaine Traxel went 7 1/3 innings, giving up three earned runs, all on solo home runs.

On the Stanford side, sophomore third baseman Drew Bowser, junior catcher Kody Huff and sophomore first baseman Carter Graham all hit home runs to provide offense for the Cardinal. However, Stanford’s pitching struggled, as starter Alex Williams went four innings and gave up four earned runs. At the end of the ninth inning, the Cardinal fell to the Matadors 9-3. 

In the second game of the series, Bowser continued to produce, tallying three hits and two RBIs. In the bottom of the first inning, he doubled to left field, scoring junior outfielder Brock Jones. In the bottom of the fourth inning, he hit a solo home run to center field, which extended the Cardinal lead to 2-0.

In the sixth, first baseman Carter Graham hit a single to center field, scoring freshman pitcher/outfielder Braden Montgomery and junior designated hitter Brett Barrera. Later, a throwing error from the center fielder allowed sophomore left fielder Eddie Park to score from second base. The Cardinal would not relinquish their lead, and they ultimately won 6-2.

The series-deciding finale was a low-scoring thriller. After a scoreless first three innings, the Matadors got on the board in the fourth after a single from first baseman Joey Kramer scored shortstop Ali Camarillo.

The Cardinal responded in the bottom of the fifth, when junior shortstop Adam Crampton hit a single to center field to score sophomore second baseman Tommy Troy and advance Braden Montgomery to second base.

After a throwing error by the Matadors’ shortstop, Montgomery scored to give the Cardinal a 2-1 lead. Montgomery added insurance to Stanford’s lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, hitting a solo home run.

“It felt great,” Montgomery said of his home run. “I knew I wanted to come up and plate a run for the team … I just went up, ready to attack any pitch in the strike zone. And it happened to come in there, and I got the bat cleared.”

In the top of the ninth, Montgomery was given the ball with a chance to earn the save. Montgomery struggled to close the game at first, giving up three walks and a wild pitch, which scored a runner. But eventually, Montgomery retired the Matadors to give Stanford a 3-2 victory and the series win.

The Cardinal will start Pac-12 play next week and face the Oregon Ducks (7-5, 0-0 Pac-12) in a series beginning Friday. First pitch against the Ducks is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. PT at Sunken Diamond.

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Errors sink No. 6 baseball in extra-inning defeat https://stanforddaily.com/2022/02/28/errors-sink-no-6-baseball-in-extra-inning-defeat/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/02/28/errors-sink-no-6-baseball-in-extra-inning-defeat/#respond Tue, 01 Mar 2022 07:53:51 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1196177 No. 6 Stanford baseball (6-2, 0-0 Pac-12) fell in extra innings to the University of Texas at San Antonio (7-1, 0-0 Conference USA) on Monday. The Cardinal recorded four errors in the contest and lost 6-5 in 10 innings.

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Despite climbing out of an early 5-2 deficit, No. 6 Stanford baseball (6-2, 0-0 Pac-12) was unable to complete the comeback in extra innings against the University of Texas at San Antonio (7-1, 0-0 Conference USA) Monday night. The Cardinal fell 6-5 in 10 innings at Roadrunner Field in San Antonio, Texas.

The normally sure-handed Cardinal committed four errors which led to three unearned runs over the course of the game, including the game-winner in the 10th inning. 

Prior to Monday, Stanford committed just two errors in its first seven games of baseball. Its stellar defense and pitching had been a major reason for the team’s red-hot start, which included a three-game sweep of the Karbach Round Rock Classic and a 5-0 shutout win over No. 2 Arkansas. With momentum on the team’s side, Stanford was set to play one final contest in the Lone Star State before returning to the Farm.

To open up the bottom of the 10th inning with the score tied at five, junior shortstop Adam Crampton mishandled a routine ground ball and rushed the subsequent throw to first. The ball sailed into the stands, which allowed the runner to advance an extra base and turned a would-be out into a UTSA scoring threat. Following a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to third, UTSA second baseman Leyton Barry drove a pitch off the wall in center field for the walk-off upset win.

Sophomore pitcher Tommy O’Rourke (0-1) took the hard-luck loss in the contest. He threw a clean ninth inning before coming back out in the 10th for his second inning of work.

By the time O’Rourke entered the game, Stanford had worked its way back from an early hole largely due to the efforts of sophomore first baseman Carter Graham. Graham hit the first two home runs of his collegiate career, the first of which tied the game 2-2 in the fourth and the second of which knotted the game at five apiece in the eighth.

Graham, senior third baseman Austin Kretzschmar and junior second baseman Owen Cobb drove in all five runs for the Cardinal on a day where strikeouts plagued the team. Stanford struck out 14 times in its 34 at bats, more than doubling its six total hits.

On the mound, freshman pitcher Ty Uber got the start for the Cardinal. He dealt with traffic on the base paths for the duration of his time in the game and finished his start with three innings pitched, five hits and four runs allowed. Despite the seven total baserunners (an additional two reached via walk and hit by pitch), just two of his four runs were earned, as miscues in the field by Kretzschmar and Uber came back to haunt the team.

Following Uber’s start, five Stanford pitchers — redshirt juniors Justin Moore and Cody Jensen, junior Max Meier, sophomore Ryan Bruno and O’Rourke — combined to keep the team in the game, throwing five innings of one-run ball until the tenth.

Despite the extra-inning loss on Monday, Stanford has shown it can be a title contender with its play thus far this season. Through its first eight games, Stanford has allowed one run or fewer in six of them and scored at least five runs in six games as well.

The Cardinal will now return home to face Cal State Northridge (5-2, 0-0 Big West) on Friday at 2 p.m. PT for a three-game set at Sunken Diamond. It’s the last non-conference series for Stanford before Pac-12 play kicks off on March 11.

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Stanford baseball defeats No. 2 Arkansas, sweeps Round Rock Classic https://stanforddaily.com/2022/02/28/stanford-baseball-defeats-no-2-arkansas-sweeps-round-rock-classic/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/02/28/stanford-baseball-defeats-no-2-arkansas-sweeps-round-rock-classic/#respond Mon, 28 Feb 2022 08:29:45 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1196032 Over the weekend, No. 6 Stanford baseball (6-1, 0-0 Pac-12) swept round-robin play at the Round Rock Classic in Texas, defeating Louisiana (3-2, 0-0 Sun Belt), Indiana (1-5, 0-0 Big Ten) and No. 2 Arkansas (4-2, 0-0 SEC). 

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Over the weekend, No. 6 Stanford baseball (6-1, 0-0 Pac-12) swept round-robin play at the Round Rock Classic in Texas, defeating Louisiana (3-2, 0-0 Sun Belt), Indiana (1-5, 0-0 Big Ten) and No. 2 Arkansas (4-2, 0-0 SEC). 

On Friday, the Cardinal went up against the Ragin’ Cajuns. After starting senior pitcher Alex Williams gave up an RBI single in the top of the first inning, the Stanford pitching staff effectively shut down Louisiana’s offense. Williams did not give up a run for the remaining four innings of his outing. Relief pitchers sophomore Joey Dixon, junior Cody Jensen and freshman closer Braden Montgomery closed the game for the Cardinal, only giving up two hits combined.

Offensively, junior catcher Kody Huff hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning to give Stanford a 2-1 lead, an advantage that the Cardinal did not relinquish. Later, in the bottom of the third inning, sophomore second baseman Tommy Troy grounded into a double play, which scored junior shortstop Adam Crampton.

In the fourth inning, sophomore first baseman Graham Carter hit a sacrifice fly to center field, which scored Huff. To add insurance, junior designated hitter Brett Barrera hit a solo home run to extend the lead to 5-1 — the eventual final score. 

The game against Arkansas, originally scheduled for Saturday, was delayed due to inclement weather, leading the Cardinal to play a doubleheader against Indiana and Arkansas on Sunday. 

Versus Indiana, both the hitting and pitching staff put on a dominant performance for the Cardinal. Since Stanford led by over ten runs after the top of the seventh inning, the game was called, and Stanford walked away with a win.

In the end, the Cardinal scored 13 runs on 14 hits and shutout the Hoosiers. Barrera and Crampton led the Cardinal on offense, each recording three hits and combining for seven RBIs. 

In the final game and marquee matchup of the tournament, Stanford squared off against Arkansas. The Stanford pitchers continued their dominant performance against the Hogs, allowing only three and no runs.

Barrera continued his hot streak at the plate, homering in the bottom of the second to put the Cardinal up 2-0. In the fifth inning, he singled to bring home junior outfielder Brock Jones, which extended the lead to 4-0. Stanford tacked on a run in the ninth to win 5-0. 

This victory was an impressive performance by the Cardinal, as they completely dominated a good Razorback team in all facets of the game.

Next up, Stanford will continue its road trip in Texas, taking on UTSA (6-1, 0-0 Conference USA) in San Antonio on Monday. First pitch against the Roadrunners is scheduled for 11 a.m. PT.

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Hold your horses: Cardinal shut out Broncos at Sunken Diamond https://stanforddaily.com/2022/02/23/hold-your-horses-cardinal-shut-out-broncos-at-sunken-diamond/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/02/23/hold-your-horses-cardinal-shut-out-broncos-at-sunken-diamond/#respond Wed, 23 Feb 2022 09:26:16 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1195430 In its first midweek contest of the season, Stanford baseball (3-1, 0-0 Pac-12) defeated cross-town foe Santa Clara (1-3, 0-0 WCC) 5-0 behind a stellar pitching performance. The Cardinal pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts and only allowed three hits in Tuesday night's game.

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In its first midweek contest of the season, Stanford baseball (3-1, 0-0 Pac-12) defeated cross-town foe Santa Clara (1-3, 0-0 WCC) 5-0 behind a stellar pitching performance. The Cardinal pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts and only allowed three hits in Tuesday night’s game.

The Cardinal entered the game following their season-opening series against Cal State Fullerton (1-2, 0-0 Big West), where they took two of three games. As for Santa Clara, their first action was against USC (2-2, 0-0 Pac-12); in their first series against the Trojans, the Broncos hit .271 as a team and scored 14 runs.

But in his first career start for Stanford, freshman pitcher Ty Uber put a damper on the Broncos’ offensive production. Uber, who pitched two scoreless innings in his debut versus Cal State Fullerton on Friday, maintained his consistency as a starter. 

“I thought he got better as the innings went on,” said head coach David Esquer. “I thought early on he was a little off, but I thought he started to get more rhythm. I thought his pitches were more precise by the third and fourth inning here, which is what we’ve seen in practice and how we’ve seen him compete beforehand.”

Uber struck out five Broncos in just four innings and allowed two hits during his time on the mound. When he threw his final pitch, the score remained 0-0.

Despite ending the first inning with two runners in scoring position and the third inning with the bases loaded, the Cardinal could not get on the board by the time they returned to bat in the fourth inning.

“We left a few runs on the table there but, you know, the offense isn’t really coming easy to us yet,” said Esquer.

Despite early struggles, the Cardinal got things going in the fourth inning. Junior infielder Brett Barrera got on base with a single and the next hitter, junior infielder Adam Crampton, took a four-pitch walk. The two baserunners would be enough for Santa Clara head coach Rusty Filter to retire starting pitcher Alex Reelfs for the day. 

Pitcher Nick Sando stepped in for Reelfs, but he walked sophomore outfielder Eddie Park in four consecutive balls. With the bases loaded and two outs, junior outfielder Brock Jones would get a chance to put the Cardinal on the board.

After being walked in his first two at bats, Jones faced a 3-1 count, and knew he would have a chance to swing.

The consensus preseason All-American rocketed a ball into deep right-center field, clearing the bases to give Stanford a 3-0 advantage.

With Uber done for the day, sophomore pitcher Joey Dixon stepped in to open the fifth inning. On his very first pitch, Broncos infielder Efrain Manzo managed a single down the left field line, putting pressure on Dixon. However, he responded by retiring the next three batters in as many pitches. 

In the bottom half of the inning, the Cardinal continued their offensive surge. Sophomore infielder Drew Bowser reached second base following an error from Santa Clara’s second baseman. Two-way freshman Braden Montgomery, who debuted against Cal State Fullerton with two home runs and six RBIs, came up to bat next. He singled, scoring Bowser and extending the Stanford lead to 4-0. 

The Cardinal did not stop there. With a line drive up the middle, Crampton sent Montgomery home to open up a five-run lead. 

Redshirt junior Cody Jensen, junior Quinn Matthews and Montgomery all stepped in as relief pitchers in the final three innings. Despite none of them allowing any hits, Esquer limited them to one inning. Regardless, their strong play enabled the Cardinal to prevail 5-0.

“Our pitching and defense has been there, and that’s what’s gonna be the foundation of this team,” said Esquer. “We’ll play with anybody if we can pitch and play good defense and give ourselves a chance.”

Next up, the Cardinal will head to Round Rock, Texas for the Round Rock Classic. They will face off against No. 2 Arkansas (2-1, 0-0 SEC), Louisiana (3-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) and Indiana (0-3, 0-0 Big Ten). Playing tough opponents, it will be a great early-season opportunity for the Cardinal to gauge where they currently stand in the college baseball landscape.

Stanford will first play Louisiana on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. PT at Dell Diamond.

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Baseball takes opening series against Cal State Fullerton https://stanforddaily.com/2022/02/20/baseball-takes-opening-series-against-cal-state-fullerton/ https://stanforddaily.com/2022/02/20/baseball-takes-opening-series-against-cal-state-fullerton/#respond Mon, 21 Feb 2022 07:56:01 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1195127 In its first series of the year, the No. 6 Stanford baseball team (2-1, 0-0 Pac-12) took two out of three games against Cal State Fullerton (1-2, 0-0 Big West). 

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In its first series of the year, the No. 6 Stanford baseball team (2-1, 0-0 Pac-12) took two out of three games against Cal State Fullerton (1-2, 0-0 Big West). 

The Cardinal bats were silent for most of the first game, managing only two hits in nine innings. With two outs and runners at the corners in the first inning, third baseman Drew Bowser hit a ball under the glove of the Titans’ shortstop, allowing second baseman Tommy Troy to score.

This run proved to be enough for the Cardinal to win, as five Stanford pitchers combined to pitch a five-hit shutout against the Titans.

Senior right-handed pitcher Alex Williams received the win for the Cardinal, pitching three innings, allowing zero earned runs and striking out one batter.

In the second game, Cal State Fullerton’s offense exploded for 11 runs on 16 hits. The Titans scored in droves early on, putting up three runs in the third inning and six runs in the fourth inning. The Titans’ six-run inning included a grand slam by first baseman Cade Connor and a solo home run by designated hitter Austin Schnell.

Meanwhile, the Cardinal bats struggled for the second straight game, scoring no runs and tallying only four hits. 

“It took us a while to get going, and you run the risk of falling into the season and not hitting a hot streak,” said head coach David Esquer. “Fullerton did a good job of keeping us off-balance, and we maybe started pressing a little bit.”

Cal State Fullerton left-handed pitcher Tyler Stultz received the win for the Titans, allowing zero earned runs in five innings.

In the series-deciding third game, Stanford’s bats began to heat up in a big way. Freshman outfielder and right-handed pitcher Braden Montgomery had a massive offensive performance with two home runs, six runs batted in, a stolen base and three runs scored. Montgomery also showed his pitching prowess earlier in the series, earning a save in game one. 

“We’ve got our hands full figuring out how to use him best while looking out for him as well. He’s a great athlete and he’s got a great arm. He’s got such a slow heartbeat, the game doesn’t really speed up on him,” Esquer said after the game.

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Drew Dowd got the start for Stanford in game three. He pitched five-and-two-thirds innings, allowing just one earned run and three hits while striking out four batters.

Junior outfielder Brock Jones, a projected top-10 pick in the 2022 MLB draft, hit 2-for-8 and recorded three walks in the series.

Looking forward, Stanford will have a mid-week game against Santa Clara on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT before heading to Austin, Texas for the Round Rock Classic.

In Austin, the Cardinal will play three teams in a round-robin format, including the No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks (2-1, 0-0 SEC), who were the No. 1 overall seed in last year’s College World Series. Stanford will also take on Louisiana (2-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) and Indiana (0-3, 0-0 Big Ten). This early-season test will help Cardinal fans see how Stanford stacks up against the nation’s best teams.

Stanford will take on Louisiana Friday, with first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m. PT at Dell Diamond.

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