SAN JOSE, Calif. – Stanford baseball rallied to take the lead with four runs in the ninth, but surrendered four runs in the bottom half to fall 10-9 at San Jose State on Monday night.
The Cardinal trailed by one, 6-5, entering the final inning at Municipal Stadium. The first three batters loaded the bases and set up a go-ahead, two-run single from sophomore first baseman Matt Winaker. Junior Jack Klein followed with an RBI single to right and Stanford added another when freshman Nico Hoerner drew a bases loaded walk.
That gave Stanford a 9-6 advantage entering the bottom of the ninth, but the Spartans matched the Cardinal. The first three batters loaded the bases. Two crossed the plate on wild pitches. After a strikeout, a single tied the game. Then with two away, a line drive to right centerfield scored the game-winner.
The first inning was a precursor. Stanford struck first with a pair of runs. Tommy Edman led off with a walk and Hoerner followed with the first of his three singles on the night. Sophomore Quinn Brodey, who finished with a career-high four RBI to go along with three hits, brought home Edman. Hoerner was plated on a two-out, opposite-field single from freshman Duke Kinamon.
A rare error from the nation's top defense -- just the ninth of the year in the team's 19th game -- led to an unearned run as the Spartans matched Stanford's two-run first.
But the Cardinal bounced right back and retook the lead in the next half inning. Junior Matt Decker walked and advanced to third on Hoerner's second single. That set up another two-out RBI single -- this time from Brodey -- for a 3-2 lead.
John Hochstatter pitched the first two innings for the Cardinal, and sophomore Andrew Summerville struck out four in three scoreless innings of relief.
However, in the seventh, the hosts put up four runs against two Cardinal relievers. The Spartans capitalized on four hits, a walk and an error to take a 6-5 lead, and set up a wild ninth inning.
NOTABLES: Hoerner's three hits tied a career high ... Summerville has not allowed an earned run in 15.0 innings dating back to March 1 ... Stanford is now 9-1 when scoring first this year ... The Cardinal's 16 hits were a season high.
NEXT UP: Stanford hosts Pac-12 rival USC for a three-game set at Sunken Diamond. All three games can be seen on the Pac-12 Network.
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Winaker delivers! A 2-run single and Stanford takes a 1-run lead, 7-6, in the ninth #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/gdNNQ4mxLW
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) March 29, 2016