STANFORD, Calif. – A shutdown pitching performance by Tristan Beck and the bullpen propelled Stanford to a 2-0 series-opening victory against Kansas Friday night.
Beck (3-1) got the start and was strong on the mound, holding the Jayhawks (7-9) to no runs on six hits and a walk in 6.1 innings. Colton Hock came in as relief in the seventh and struck out five consecutive batters before handing the ball over to Chris Viall in the ninth who picked up his first save of the season.
The Cardinal (8-5) struck for two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning when Nico Hoerner led off with a triple to the right-center field gap. Mikey Diekroeger followed with a double to bring Hoerner home and give Stanford a 1-0 lead.
A single by Alex Dunlap in the following at-bat moved Diekroeger to third and Quinn Brodey followed with a sacrifice fly to center to bring him in and double the Cardinal's lead to 2-0.
The Cardinal managed just three hits the remainder of the game, due in part to a strong showing by Jayhawks' pitcher Ben Krauth (1-3) who permitted two runs on six hits with nine strikeouts in 8.0 innings.
Along with timely hitting, Stanford got clutch pitching from its trio on the mound. Kansas had at least one runner on base in six of nine innings, including two runners aboard in the fourth and seventh innings.
Beck pitched his way out of the jam in the fourth with a strikeout and a groundout to second. Hock provided assistance in the seventh with runners on second and third with one out, striking out the next two batters to end the frame.
The Jayhawks' leadoff batter reached base in the ninth inning but Viall retired the next three batters to secure the victory.
The Cardinal continues play against Kansas on Saturday with first pitch set for 3 p.m.