BERKELEY, Calif. – Down to its last strike, Stanford baseball stunned #11 Cal with three runs in the ninth, including a game-winning home run by senior Jonny Locher to give the Cardinal an 8-6 victory in a back-and-forth affair at Evans Diamond on Tuesday.
Stanford, which came back to tie or take the lead four different times, earned its third straight win over Cal (18-9) dating back to last season, snapped the Bears seven-game win streak, and collected its sixth win over a Top 25 opponent this season.
Locher's only at-bat of the game came with two outs and a runner on in a tie game in the top of the ninth. On the second pitch he saw, the Economics major lofted one high over the wall in left field to give the Cardinal a two-run lead.
The senior's heroics were made possible by a freshman. One batter earlier, Brandon Wulff was down to his last strike, but singled back up the middle to score Matt Winaker from second base and tied the game.
Cal scored first with a pair of runs in the first inning. The Bears capitalized on a leadoff double, a single and an error to take a 2-0 lead.
As they did to win the final two games of the USC series, the Cardinal fought back. In the next frame, Quinn Brodey, who finished with three hits, and Wulff led off with back-to-back singles. Junior catcher Alex Dunlap brought Brodey home with a sacrifice fly to center.
Stanford tied the game in its next at-bat. Brodey's second hit of the game plated Nico Hoerner, who led off with a single.
Cal went back on top with a run in the bottom of the third, but once again, Stanford responded in the next half inning. With two outs and two runners in scoring position, Hoerner's hustle resulted in a go-ahead, two-RBI infield single. The freshman grounded one toward second base, but beat the throw to give Stanford a 4-3 advantage.
The Bears continued the seesaw contest and regained the lead with two runs in the sixth.
But, again, Stanford rallied back. Mikey Diekroeger, who finished with his third straight multi-hit game, singled to left, and scored all the way from first when Brodey doubled off the top of the wall in centerfield.
When Cal took the lead again with a run in the bottom of the eighth, Stanford came back for a fourth and final time.
NEXT UP: A three-game series at UCLA awaits the Cardinal on Thursday (7pm), Friday (7pm) and Saturday (4:30pm). All three games can be seen on the Pac-12 Network.
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The hero @jonnylocher earns some TV time #GoStanford?? #BeatCal
A photo posted by Stanford Baseball (@stanfordbsb) on Apr 5, 2016 at 10:43pm PDT