| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Santa Clara (22-26) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | |
| Stanford (22-20) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 0 | |
| Stanford, Calif. | Klein Field at Sunken Diamond | |||||||||||||
| Pitching | |||||||||||||
| Win: Brett Hanewich (2-4) | |||||||||||||
| Loss: Nick Medeiros (2-1) | |||||||||||||
| Batting | |||||||||||||
| Austin Slater - 2-5, 2 RBI | |||||||||||||
| Dominic Jose - 2-5, RBI | |||||||||||||
| Wayne Taylor - 1-4, HR, 2 RBI | |||||||||||||
STANFORD, Calif. -- Wayne Taylor homered as part of eight Stanford runs in the first four innings to lead the Cardinal to an 8-2 victory over Santa Clara Tuesday night at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond. Stanford recorded its second win of the season over the Broncos behind the effort of four pitchers.
“At this point in the season every game is the most important game of the year,” said Taylor. “That is how we treated tonight, especially after what happened last year.”
Stanford avenged a devastating midweek loss to Santa Clara at the end of the 2013 season, which hurt last year’s team’s postseason chances. Tonight was a different story, as the Cardinal left little doubt in the outcome by the time the fourth inning ended.
Taylor’s opposite-field blast sparked a five-run fourth to put Stanford up 8-1. The lineup had four hits, a walk and a hit by pitch to lead to the big frame. Austin Slater, who is riding a six-game hitting streak, added a two-RBI single through the left side and Zach Hoffpauir provided another hit between second and third for the Cardinal’s eighth run.
“It was actually a hit and run on that play,” said Taylor of the homer. “I got a good pitch and was able to put the bat on it. We had a good wind tonight too; it helped me blowing out to left.”
Stanford (22-20, 9-12 Pac-12) had already given starting pitcher Brett Hanewich a 3-0 cushion after two innings. An error by Santa Clara gifted the Cardinal a first-inning score and RBI singles from Dominic Jose and Tommy Edman plated two more in the second.
Hanewich finished four innings on the mound, before being pulled in a predetermined decision. He allowed four hits and one run, while striking out six and walking two. The six punch outs are a season-best for the freshman, who was making his 12th start.
Marcus Brakeman, Chris Viall and Sam Lindquist finished the game for Stanford. The trio combined to go five innings and allowed only one run, a sixth-inning tally off Brakeman. The bullpen allowed only three hits to quickly shut down the Broncos.
Santa Clara (22-26, 12-9 WCC) used five pitchers over eight innings, including starter Nick Medeiros, who took the loss. Medeiros allowed five runs (four earned) through three innings before getting the hook.
Slater, Hoffpauir and Jose all had two hits for the Cardinal. Slater is hitting .522 (12-23) over the last six games.
The Cardinal goes back to Pac-12 play this weekend when it visits Tucson, Ariz., for three matchups against Arizona.
Wayne Taylor goes yard to make it 5-1 in the fourth. Watch the oppo shot here - http://t.co/B8ZK3usGA1
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) May 7, 2014