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Storybook Finish

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STANFORD, Calif. – Junior Jesse Kuet hit a walk off single in the 10th inning to cap Senior Day and the home finale for head coach Mark Marquess, who had his number retired in a postgame ceremony on Sunday. No. 9 Stanford erased a five-run deficit to finish off a sweep of Washington, 6-5, at Sunken Diamond.

No. 9 is the first to be retired by Stanford baseball. Marquess, who has worn the number for nearly a half century, is retiring after four seasons as a player, five seasons as an assistant and the last 41 years as the head coach at Stanford.

Soon after Kuet capped the dramatic comeback, the six Stanford seniors gifted Coach Marquess with an over-sized No. 9 that was signed by players, members of the Stanford Athletics Department and fans. Then, as the official announcement was made to retire No. 9, Marquess' wife, mother and daughters presented the longtime coach with his framed jersey.

Family forever. #GoStanford #FinalSeas9n

A post shared by Stanford Baseball?? (@stanfordbsb) on May 21, 2017 at 5:35pm PDT


Seniors Alex Dunlap, Matthew Decker, Tyler Thorne, Brett Hanewich, Jack Klein and Chris Castellanos were recognized before the game. Dunlap was unable to play due to injury, but Castellanos was the starting pitcher, Decker made his first start of the season at catcher, Klein started for the 144th time in a Cardinal uniform, and Hanewich pitched in relief and Thorne earned the win with five scoreless innings.

Klein came up with the winning run on third in the 10th inning, but was intentionally walked. Kuet, a junior, took the first pitch and drilled it past second and into right field. Sophomore pinch runner Christian Molfetta touched home and sparked an emotional Cardinal celebration. 


Stanford (37-14, 18-9 Pac-12) has won 18 of its last 20 games, including a 13-2 mark in Pac-12 play in that stretch. The Cardinal also extended its home winning streak to 10 games.

Washington (26-25, 12-15 Pac-12) got the first two runners on in the first two innings, and got one home in the first and two in the second for a 3-0 lead. The Huskies added two unearned runs in the third for a 5-0 edge.

Stanford, which swept the Huskies for the first time since 2011, got on the board in the fourth. Sophomore Nico Hoerner singled to start the inning, and scored when freshman Daniel Bakst placed one in the right field corner for a double. On the next pitch, Duke Kinamon dropped one into centerfield to score Bakst and make it 5-2.

An inning later, the five-run deficit was completely gone. Hoerner's third single of the game plated Decker from third and moved Matt Winaker to second. Two batters later, with two outs, Bakst launched a double into the left centerfield gap. Both runners scored and it was 5-5.  

Thorne (4-1) pitched five scoreless innings in relief, allowed just two hits and struck out five, and the game remain tied until the 10th.

Bakst, who finished with a career-high four hits and three doubles, started the extra frame with a double to left. A sacrifice bunt set up Kuet's heroics.

NUMBERS…
Bakst was 4-for-5 with a run and three RBI, while Hoerner was 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. Winaker and Kuet each went 2-for-5.

Castellanos completed 4.1 innings, struck out two and surrendered five runs (three earned) on seven hits. Hanewich recorded two outs in the fifth.

AND NOTABLES
Three seniors combined for all 150 Stanford pitches ... Stanford's 37 wins overall and 18 conference wins are each the most since 2012 (41 and 18) … A lefty has started 42 straight games for the Cardinal (since Feb. 28) … Winaker has reached base in 22 consecutive games—a career best and the longest streak for a Cardinal since Alex Blandino reached in 31 straight in 2014 … Kuet has 12 hits in his last 21 at-bats (.571) … Brandon Wulff has reached base in a career-high 11 straight games … Stanford is 34-0 when leading or tied after seven innings this season ... Stanford had a 12-game home winning streak that spanned the end of last season and start of this season ... The Cardinal finished the regular season with a 23-7 home record, most home wins since 2012. 

WHAT'S AHEAD
The Cardinal, which sits in second place in the Pac-12 and can finish no lower than fourth, concludes the regular season at Washington State, May 25-27.

Regional hosts will be announced on May 28 and the Regional fields will be announced on May 29 at 9 a.m. PT on ESPNU.

SOCIAL SCENE
For the latest updates, you can follow Cardinal baseball all year long on instagram, twitter and snapchat (@StanfordBSB).

#GoStanford