April 22, 2012
STANFORD, Calif.-- Austin Wilson put the Cardinal ahead in the fifth and made a game-saving catch in the eighth as No. 10-ranked Stanford (25-10, 8-7 Pac-12) swept visiting No. 20-ranked Arizona State (24-16, 9-9 Pac-12), following a 9-5 win on Sunday afternoon.
A.J. Vanegas got the two inning save, the first in his career, finishing off four pitchers for the Cardinal
Up 6-5 in the eighth, Wilson stopped a game-tying score by the Sun Devils, sliding and catching a ball headed for extra bases, for the final out of the inning. Stanford then scored three times to lead 9-5.
The inning opened on a walk and bunt attempt, as an errant throw and three-base error by reliever Ryan Ravago scored the first run. Alex Blandino's ninth RBI of the weekend, an RBI single, then made it 8-5. Blandino later scored his seventh run against ASU following a steal and error to complete the three-run eighth.
Blandino's two hits gave him a .563 average for the week, which included four homers and a double in nine hits in 16 at-bats.
Ravago's wild pitch in the sixth gave the Cardinal a 6-4 lead.
A three-run fifth gave Stanford the lead back, at 5-4, following a Brian Ragira two-run single and an RBI single from Wilson against reliever Alex Blackford (1-3).
Dean McArdle (3-0) bridged the gap until the seventh, surrendering a run, as ASU closed to 6-5. Garrett Hughes got the final out of the seventh, before surrendering to Vanegas.
Both starters left early in the contest, as each team traded leads and bullpens.
John Hochstatter gave up three of his seven hits in the fifth as ASU took a 4-2 lead off a two-run triple by James McDonald.
After loading the bases in the third, Stanford chased starter Darin Gillies from the game. A run-saving and inning-ending catch by McDonald in left, kept Stanford in front at 2-1, as the righthander gave up two runs on two hits. Stephen Piscotty's two-run single made it 2-1 in the inning.
NOTES: Third baseman Alex Blandino, fully extended over the third base bag, throwing across the diamond and robbing Michael Benjamin of a base hit in the 2nd... A barbershop quartet sung the national anthem today... the home stand concludes on Tuesday with Brigham Young at 5:30 p.m., before traveling to UCLA next weekend.