April 21, 2012
STANFORD, Calif.-- Alex Blandino delivered a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to give No. 10-ranked Stanford (24-10, 7-7 Pac-12) an 8-7 win over visiting No. 20-ranked Arizona State (24-15, 9-8 Pac-12) on a warm Saturday afternoon.
Blandino finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs, which included a three-run homer. It was the third home run of the weekend for the Palo Alto freshman as Stanford looks for the sweep on Sunday.
Winner A.J. Vanegas (3-0), after a perfect eighth, gave up the game-tying run in the ninth to Mike Benjamin, his third RBI of the contest, and second game-tying RBI.
Stanford had led 7-3 behind starter Brett Mooneyham's first 6.0 innings of work.
The Cardinal rapped out 17 hits, including three-hit days from Blandino, Kenny Diekroeger and Brett Michael Doran.
Eric Smith and Diekroeger singled with one out to start the game winning rally against Jake Barrett (1-3). A fly ball put runners on the corners, before Blandino sent a single down the third base line, scoring pinch-runner Wayne Taylor from third and giving Stanford its sixth win in its last at-bat.
ASU got back into the game against relievers Sahil Bloom and David Schmidt, who each struggled in the seventh, giving up three ASU runs to make it 7-6.
Mooneyham left it over to the bullpen after three runs on six hits over 6.0 innings, as Stanford pounced on ASU starter Trevor Williams.
Williams, the Pac-12 win leader, who came in with a 1.41 ERA, gave up season-highs in runs (seven) and hits (11), going the first 6.0 innings. It was the second-straight game Stanford caused a season-high in runs and hits against an ASU starter.
Blandino, who had two home runs on Friday, added a three-run homer in the sixth to make it 6-3. An RBI double by Tyler Gaffney added to the lead and made it 7-3.
NOTES: Danny Diekroeger's first career homer gave Stanford a 2-0 lead in the third.... Williams had given up just three runs twice prior to today's start, giving up that many in three of his last four starts... Sunday's game is at 1 p.m. as the home stand concludes on Tuesday with Brigham Young at 5:30 p.m.