STANFORD, Calif. – An early deficit proved too much to overcome for Stanford baseball in a 4-1 loss to Pac-12 rival Cal on Thursday night at Sunken Diamond.
The first three hitters of the game all singled for the Bears to score the game's first run, and another came across on a fielder's choice to make it 2-0. A single, bunt and single in the top of the second gave Cal a 3-0 edge.
Leadoff hitter Matt Winaker, who reached in his first four plate apperances, extended Stanford's longest hit streak of the season to 10 games on the first pitch. Two innings later, he scored the only run for the Cardinal. He led off the inning with a walk and worked his way to third base with two outs. Sophomore Quinn Brodey lined an opposite-field single to left to bring him home.
Freshman starter Kris Bubic kept the Cardinal within two with a quality start. After the first two innings, he threw four scoreless, and retired eight of the last nine batters he faced.
Sophomore Tyler Thorne entered in relief and threw a scoreless seventh, but surrendered an unearned run in the eighth as the Bears increased their lead to 4-1.
Stanford loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth with two outs in the eighth. Austin Barr walked, Duke Kinamon singled and Mikey Diekroeger walked, but a pop out to second ended the last threat for the Cardinal.
NOTABLES: Alex Dunlap walked in his first at-bat and has reached base in 15 straight games, making the longest of the season for a Cardinal (Winaker, 14) ... In three of the last four games, Winker has extended his streak with an RBI hit.
NEXT UP: Bark in the Park Night at Sunken Diamond. Fans can bring their dogs to the game as Stanford takes on Pac-12 rival Cal on Friday at 7 p.m. The game can also be seen on the Pac-12 Networks.
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A photo posted by Stanford Baseball (@stanfordbsb) on May 5, 2016 at 5:24pm PDT