SEATTLE – Three solo home runs were nearly enough for Stanford baseball, but No. 17 Washington tied the series opener in the eighth and walked off in the ninth, 4-3, on Friday night at Husky Ballpark.
Freshman starter Tristan Beck ran into some trouble early. A leadoff walk led to a run in the first, and then the Huskies loaded the bases with one out. Beck escaped with a line out and strike out to keep it 1-0.
In the home half of the second, with a runner at third and one out, a pop up on a squeeze bunt resulted in an inning-ending double play. And in the third, with runners at first and second with one out, Beck got a strikeout and then sophomore catcher Bryce Carter picked off the runner at first to get out of another jam.
Meanwhile, Carter hit the go-ahead home run in the top of the third -- a towering solo shot to right for a 2-1 lead. It came just moments after sophomore Mikey Diekroeger had tied the game with a solo home run to right center.
Sophomore Matt Winaker added to the lead in the sixth inning with Stanford's third solo home run of the game. It easily cleared the 365-foot marker in right center for a 3-1 advantage.
Beck settled in and retired eight in a row before a solo home run broke that string and made it 3-2 in the sixth. Two more runners reached and sophomore Colton Hock came on in relief. He stranded both Huskies with a strikeout and ground out.
Washington (30-18, 15-10) tied the game in the eighth. A leadoff walk came around to score on a steal and single. Hock left two runners stranded, but the Huskies ended it one inning later.
In the ninth, a one-out single was followed by a pair of walks to load the bases. Huskies pinch hitter MJ Hubbs hit a deep fly ball to centerfield for the game-winning sacrifice fly.
NOTABLES: Quinn Brodey extended his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games -- longest of the season for the Cardinal and longest for a Stanford player since Alex Blandino hit safely in 24 straight in 2014 ... Winker has hit safely in 17 of the last 18 games, including seven straight ... Winaker and Carter's home runs were the first of the year for both.
NEXT UP: Both of the weekend games have been moved up an hour. The Cardinal and Huskies will meet on Saturday at 1 p.m., and on Sunday at noon.
T4: Double from Brodey extends his career-best hit streak. Also longest of the season for a Cardinal #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/EozpSUWVo6
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) May 21, 2016