EUGENE, Ore. – Sophomore Nico Hoerner tied a career high with four hits and was a triple shy of the cycle as Stanford clinched the series at No. 25 Oregon with an 8-5 win on Saturday afternoon at PK Park.
Hoerner singled and scored in the first, doubled and scored in the third, hit his first career home run in the fifth, and singled and scored in the seventh. He finished 4-for-5 with four runs and an RBI.
Stanford (22-12, 7-7 Pac-12) won for the fourth time in five games and improved to 7-2 in its last nine contests. The Cardinal has won six straight over Oregon (23-12, 6-8) and is looking for its first sweep since winning the last three over the Ducks in 2016.
No word on the official breakfast of @nico_hoerner, but we'll have what he's having
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) April 22, 2017
3-for-3. Triple shy of cycle ?? https://t.co/Yh9vESgceA
The Cardinal got on the board in its first ups for the second straight day. Matt Winaker walked and Hoerner singled up the middle to start the game. Two outs later, it was up to junior Mikey Diekroeger, who brought both runs home with a double into the left centerfield gap.
Oregon answered with a solo shot in the first, and tied the game with a single and double in the second.
??Crazy good catch alert ?? ??@quinnbrodey #GoStanford
A post shared by Stanford Baseball?? (@stanfordbsb) on Apr 22, 2017 at 4:33pm PDT
Hoerner had Stanford's response. He led off the next half inning with a double. Quinn Brodey got him to third with a single, and Hoerner scored on a ground out from Daniel Bakst to put the Cardinal back up one, 3-2.
After Hoerner's line-drive home run over the left field wall in the fifth, junior starter Andrew Summerville maintained Stanford's 4-2 lead entering the seventh.
The Cardinal blew the game open with four runs in the top of the seventh. Sophomore Brandon Wulff led off with a double to right center and scored on a single from Winaker. Freshman catcher Maverick Handley scored on a wild pitch, Brodey knocked in another run with a sacrifice fly, and Duke Kinamon capped the scoring with an RBI single.
T7: Two more come ??! Lead is up to ? #GoStanford https://t.co/5k1rjlj0PW
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) April 22, 2017
Oregon scored one in the home half to make it 8-3, but West Linn, Oregon, native Will Matthiessen came on in relief and stranded two Ducks. Matthiessen pitched into the ninth in front of some hometown fans, and gave way to senior Tyler Thorne. Thorne entered with two on, two out and a four-run lead, and sealed the series with a strikeout.
NUMBERS…
Eight different Cardinal accounted for Stanford's 13 hits. Kinamon also had a multi-hit game at 2-for-4 with an RBI ... Summerville struck out five in 6.2 innings. He allowed nine hits and was charged with three runs, and allowed just one walk. Matthiessen gave up two runs in two innings.
AND NOTABLES
Stanford clinched its first series win at PK Park since 2009 ... Freshman Daniel Bakst extended his hit streak to eight games, and has a hit in 19 of the last 20 games and all but one game in his career when he has at least three at-bats …Hoerner also had four hits at Arizona on April 17, 2016 .. Stanford last swept a Pac-12 road series at Utah in the 2014 regular season finale.
WHAT'S AHEAD
Senior Chris Castellanos takes the ball for the series finale at PK Park. First pitch for the Ducks and Cardinal is set for noon PT. Stanford returns home on Tuesday to take on Santa Clara at 5:30 p.m. The Cardinal has won 10 straight Tuesday affairs at Sunken Diamond, and tickets are two for $9. Next weekend, Stanford hosts national runner-up Arizona. Thursday is Dollar Dog Night, Friday is the Trading Card giveaway (set 4 of 5), and Saturday is Classroom Cardinal where local students earned free tickets for reaching their reading goals.
SOCIAL SCENE
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#GoStanford