PULLMAN, Wash. – Sophomore Kris Bubic threw seven scoreless and five Cardinal had multiple hits to lead No. 9 Stanford to another victory, 13-2 over Washington State on Thursday night at Bailey-Branton Field.
Stanford has won 19 conference games for the first time since 1999. Overall, the Cardinal (38-14, 19-9 Pac-12) improved to 19-2 in its last 21 games, including a 14-2 Pac-12 record in that span.
Stanford scored two in the first and five in the second for an early 7-0 lead. Matt Winaker and Quinn Brodey each homered in a four-run fifth, and Bubic struck out six.
Stanford's first four hitters combined to go 10-for-20 with nine RBI and nine runs. Winaker was 3-for-6 and matched a career-high with four RBI, while sophomore Nico Hoerner scored three times and had multiple hits for the fifth straight game, including two doubles and a triple. Brodey finished 2-for-5 with two RBI and three runs, and freshman Daniel Bakst went 2-for-4 and knocked in two.
In the first, Hoerner got the offense started with his first double, and Brodey traded places with the Oakland native with a double of his own. Freshman Daniel Bakst followed with a single through the left side and Stanford led 2-0 before the Cougars got to the plate.
An inning later, Stanford sent 10 men to the plate, and plated five more on four hits. Winaker brought the first run home with a single past a diving first baseman, and then scored when Hoerner lofted one into right center and legged out a triple. Bakst hit one through the box to score Hoerner, and sophomore Brandon Wulff ripped a two-run single through the left side for a seven-run lead.
In the fifth, Winaker and Brodey continued to battle for the home run lead among Cardinal. Winaker launched a two-run blast to right center to surpass Brodey. That lasted two batters when Brodey deposited one well over the wall in right. It marked the eighth home run for each player and gave Stanford an 11-0 lead at the midway point.
Hoerner doubled and scored on a wild pitch in the eighth, and Winaker added a run-scoring single in the ninth to go up 13-0.
Junior Keith Weisenberg pitched a scoreless eighth, but the Cougars broke the shutout against freshman Jack Little with a pair of two-out runs in the ninth.
NUMBERS…
Bubic scattered seven hits and matched the longest outing of his career for the second straight start. Hoerner finished 3-for-5 and is now 13-for-21 over his last five games. Freshman Maverick Handley was 2-for-4 and scored a career-best three times.
High ?? and @KrisBubic strikes out the side!
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) May 26, 2017
?? leads 11-0 after 5 #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/mS2H2AAjmY
AND NOTABLES
Stanford's 38 wins overall are the most since 2012 (41) … The Cardinal went 19-5 in Pac-10 play in 1999 and finished third at the College World Series … Winaker has reached base in 23 consecutive games—a career best and the longest streak for a Cardinal since Alex Blandino reached in 31 straight in 2014 … Brandon Wulff has reached base in a career-high 12 straight games … A lefty has started 43 straight games for the Cardinal (since Feb. 28) … Stanford has won six straight series openers (all started by Kris Bubic) and went on to win each of the previous five series.
WHAT'S AHEAD
Two more remain in Pullman and both will be televised on Pac-12 Networks. Friday is slated for a 4 p.m. start, and Saturday's regular season finale is set for 1 p.m.
Hosts for the NCAA Regionals will be unveiled on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. PT., and the postseason seeds and field will be announced on Monday at 9 a.m. PT on ESPNU.
Stanford last played in a Regional in 2014 (won Bloomington, lost Super Regional at Vanderbilt), and last hosted a Regional in 2012.
SOCIAL SCENE
For the latest updates, you can follow Cardinal baseball all year long on instagram, twitter and snapchat (@StanfordBSB).
Our only flaw of the night #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/1v6ZPbLPFQ
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) May 26, 2017