STANFORD, Calif. – Throw this one to the dogs. No. 1 Oregon State nearly set a school record with its offensive output, and defeated No. 15 Stanford, 15-7, on Bark at the Park Day at Sunken Diamond.
It was also April Fool's for all those expecting a pitcher's duel on Saturday. The top two pitching units in the Pac-12 Conference surrendered 20 earned runs and 36 hits. The Beavers finished two hits shy of a school record with 25.
Oregon State (23-1, 8-0 Pac-12) went up 4-1, but Stanford scored the next five to take a 6-4 lead. The Beavers tied it after six, and used a seven-run eighth inning to lock up the series.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Stanford led after the first inning when senior Alex Dunlap drew a bases loaded walk. However, the Beavers answered in the top of the second when five straight hitters reached base, and four came across to score.
The Cardinal, which scored in each of the first four innings, responded with two in the home half. Junior Matt Winaker singled home senior Jack Klein, who led off the inning with a double. Winaker eventually scored on a sacrifice fly from Quinn Brodey.
Dunlap homered to left to tie the game, 4-4-, in the third, and the Cardinal took the lead in the fourth. Winaker doubled home Klein, and scored on an RBI ground out from Nico Hoerner to give Stanford a 6-4 advantage.
The Beavers got one in the fifth and another in the sixth to tie it up. Then added two in the seventh for an 8-6 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, sophomore Duke Kinamon doubled to right center to score Mikey Diekroeger and pull Stanford within one again. But Oregon State's seven-spot in the eighth put the game out of reach.
NUMBERS…
Klein registered his second career three-hit game with a 3-for-4 effort and two runs. Winaker finished 2-for-3, walked twice, knocked in two, and tied a career-high with three runs. Diekroeger notched his team-leading eighth multi-hit game of the year with a 2-for-3 afternoon, while Dunlap finished 1-for-2 with two walks, two runs batted in and a run. Junior Keith Weisenberg allowed just one hit in 1.2 scoreless innings to close out the game.
AND NOTABLES
Freshman Daniel Bakst extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single in the first .... Bakst, Winaker and Nico Hoerner have all had team-high eight-game hit streaks this season, though Bakst is the only active one ... Klein's other three-hit performance was at Santa Clara on April 22, 2014 ... Stanford lost for the first time this year when scoring more than three runs ... Stanford lost back-to-back home games for the first time since Arizona State swept the Cardinal, April 22-24 (span of 24 home games) ... Coach Marquess remains one win away from becoming the fifth coach in NCAA history to reach 1,600 career victories.
WHAT'S AHEAD
The series will conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m. There will be postgame autographs and kids can run the bases after the game. Stanford hosts rival Cal for a mid-week matchup on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Two for Tuesday deals are just $9 this season in honor of Coach Marquess' final season. That game can also be seen on the Pac-12 Network.
SOCIAL SCENE
For the latest updates, you can follow Cardinal baseball all year long on instagram, twitter and snapchat (@StanfordBSB).