SEATTLE – Trailing 4-1 headed to the ninth inning, No. 6 Stanford (24-13, 11-8 Pac-12) mounted a two-out comeback and put the tying run at third before eventually dropping a 4-3 decision to Washington (17-22, 7-15 Pac-12) on Friday night from Husky Ballpark.
Junior Brock Jones got the two-out rally going with a solo home run to left-center field. The round-tripper was Jones' sixth homer of the year.
Carter Graham and Brett Barrera followed with a single and a walk, respectively, before freshman Braden Montgomery delivered an RBI-single that cut the deficit to 4-3 and left runners at the corners. Kody Huff had a chance to tie the game on the ensuing play, but a shallow fly ball to center field ended the rally and sealed the victory for the Huskies.
Stanford starter Alex Williams did not factor into the decision on Friday night after allowing a run on five hits and three walks with seven strikeouts over six innings of work.
The Cardinal struggled hitting with runners in scoring position all night, finishing 2 for 17 in the situation while leaving 11 runners aboard – including eight in scoring position.
Washington starter Jared Engman held the Cardinal in check while working out of a handful of jams, eventually logging six innings with seven strikeouts in a no decision.
Husky reliever Stefan Raeth threw the final three innings, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks to earn the victory and move to 5-4.
The Cardinal caught a break and drew even at 1-1 in the eighth inning when a two-out pop up to shallow left off the bat of Huff was lost in the lights and allowed Graham to score from second.
Sophomore Joey Dixon, who pitched 1 2/3 innings, was saddled with the loss after allowing three runs in bottom of the eighth inning. The big blow came from leadoff man McKay Barney who shot a two-out, two-RBI single into right field to reclaim the lead. A stolen base and an error charged to center fielder Jones backing up the play pushed Barney to third, setting the table for a wild pitch that proved to be the game-winning run.
With the loss, Dixon fell to 2-3 on the year.
Stanford will look to even the series on Saturday when the two teams clash at 2:05 p.m.