STANFORD, Calif. – No. 2 Stanford exploded for a program-record 28 hits in a 25-5 win at Utah on Saturday at Smith's Ballpark.
"We keep creating opportunities, and that's what we want to see – even if we're stopped a couple times, we're doing a great job of continuing to give ourselves chances to score," said Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "I think we're getting more and more comfortable in the RBI spots – hitting is contagious, and our guys look very, very comfortable in the batter's box right now."
The Cardinal (35-6 overall, 16-4 Pac-12) plated 25 runs, the most since a 25-6 win at No. 19 Nevada on April 10, 1995. Stanford hit a season-high four home runs, tying a season high with 10 runs in the fifth inning while playing error-free for the fifth straight game.
Andrew Daschbach, who hit his 13th home run of the season, led the Cardinal with five RBI, adding three hits and two runs. Nico Hoerner and Christian Robinson had three RBI apiece, and Beau Branton and Tim Tawa scored four runs each. Branton hit his first career home run in the eighth inning – the senior had three hits, reaching base four times and finishing a double shy of the cycle.
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Tawa had a team-high four hits, adding two RBI – eight Cardinal finished with multiple RBI, while seven finished with three or more hits. Kris Bubic was outstanding in 5.0 innings, striking out six while allowing four hits on 88 pitches. Stanford has won each of Bubic's past 19 starts, a streak dating to April 14, 2017.
Daschbach's RBI single put Stanford in front in the first inning, scoring Tawa, who reached second base with a double into the gap in left. Will Matthiessen's single through the left side scored Maverick Handley in the fourth to make it 3-0, before the Cardinal erupted for 10 runs in the fifth.
Eleven Cardinal reached base to start the fifth, starting with a bunt single by Tawa. Nico Hoerner doubled to right before Daschbach's single scored Tawa. Stowers' double scored Hoerner before a single by Handley brought home Stowers and Daschbach. Robinson, Tawa and Hoerner added RBI singles, and Stanford tied its highest-scoring inning of the season with 10 (April 27 vs. California).
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Stanford added five more runs in the sixth, punctuated by home runs from Matthiessen and Daschbach, and a double from Hoerner. It was Matthiessen's second in three games, and Daschbach's team-leading 13th of the season. In the seventh, pinch hitter Nick Oar hit his second home run in as many games, a two-run shot to left field. Branton's home run came in the eighth, a solo shot on the first pitch he saw to left field.
"The bar has been set high, the guys are hungry, and everyone coming off the bench is doing a great job of keeping that intensity up when our starters come out," added Esquer.
M8 | @BeauBranton is the 4th Cardinal with 3 hits on the day, sending his first career HR beyond the wall in LF. ??: @Pac12Network
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) May 5, 2018
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Austin Weiermiller pitched a scoreless sixth inning before Utah plated three runs to the record of Carson Rudd in the seventh. Zach Grech relieved him, scattering three hits over 1.2 innings before John Henry Styles got the final three outs in the ninth.
No. 2 Stanford returns to action tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. PT for the series finale against Utah. The game will air on Pac-12 Networks with live statistics available at GoStanford.com.
Cardinal Notes
- Twenty two of Stanford's 25 runs were earned.
- Seven Cardinal finished with three or more hits – Branton (3), Tawa (4), Hoerner (3), Daschbach (3), Stowers (3) and Robinson (3).
- Eight Cardinal had multiple RBI – Branton (2), Tawa (2), Hoerner (3), Daschbach (5), Handley (2), Robinson (3), Matthiessen (2) and Oar (2).