May 22, 2012
SANTA CLARA, Calif.-- Jake Stewart went 4-for-4 with two homers and No. 11-ranked Stanford (37-14) won its eighth straight following an 10-5 win at Santa Clara (25-26) on Tuesday evening.
Stewart took the first pitch of the game for a solo shot, and then hit a two-run homer to make it 8-5 in the eighth. Stewart finished a triple short of the cycle, scoring four times, while also adding a double, single and walk to his night.
Garrett Hughes (3-1) got the win, pitching 2.0 scoreless innings to start, as Sahil Bloom pitched the next 3.0 innings, giving up two runs one four hits.
Stanford built a 5-1 lead through four and a half innings, before the Broncos closed to within 6-5 in the seventh.
Three-straight hits gave Stanford a 5-1 lead against reliever James Smith. Brian Ragira extended his hit streak to nine games with an RBI single, before Austin Wilson doubled and Alex Blandino singled to extend the lead to three runs.
Smith gave up four runs prior to Chris Mendoza limiting the damage to just one run over the next 2.2 innings, as SCU closed to 6-5.
David Schmidt struggled in his 1.1 innings, giving up three runs on three hits, while also hitting a batter, as SCU closed to 6-5 in the seventh. Dean McArdle pitched 1.2 scoreless innings prior to Stanford adding four runs over the final two innings.
Stewart's two run homer then gave the Cardinal some breathing room in the eighth. A two-run double by Dominic Jose then made it 10-5 in the ninth. Jose finished with three hits.
NOTES: Kenny Diekroeger showed his range behind the second base bag, getting a 6-3 putout in the sixth from short... It was the third time this season that Jake Stewart had hit a leadoff homer, previously this season against Texas and UC Davis.... the Cardinal host California this weekend in the final regular season series, hosting the Golden Bears on Friday at 5:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 1:15 p.m.