STANFORD, Calif. – Junior Tristan Beck earned the win in his first start in 630 days and No. 13 Stanford defeated No. 17 Cal State Fullerton, 5-1, on Friday night at Sunken Diamond.
"This is a great start for us, especially given the circumstances with three guys playing positions they didn't think they would play going into today," said Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer, Stanford's first new head coach in 42 seasons after Mark Marquess' retirement in 2017. "Tristan and Nico Hoerner really led us tonight, as advertised, and this team still has a lot of room to improve."
The Cardinal (1-0) jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the fourth inning, giving Beck all he needed to earn the win in his first start since his freshman season. Facing two strikes, freshman Tim Tawa singled through the left side of the infield in his first career at bat to drive in the opening run in the bottom of the second.
In the third, Hoerner drove in Handley with a single, and Handley followed him home after a wild pitch. Hoerner drove in Tawa in the fourth before scoring on a balk to make it 5-0.
Hoerner was a home run shy of the cycle, finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs. Andrew Daschbach reached base three times, going 2-for-3, and Handley, Brandon Wulff, Tawa and Jesse Kuet added one hit apiece.
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— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) February 17, 2018
Beck exited the game after six innings, surrendering four hits, one run and one walk while striking out five. Sophomore Zach Grech and Jack Little replaced him in relief, combining to allow two base runners and no runs in three innings of work.
Stanford returns to action tomorrow at 1 p.m. PT when it hosts the Titans in Game 2 of the three-game series. Kris Bubic, the 2017 Cape Cod Baseball League Pitcher of the Year, takes the hill tomorrow against the Titans' Andrew Quezada. The game will stream live on GoStanford.com.
Cardinal Notes
- It was the first contest in charge for David Esquer, who was named Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball in June.
- Junior second baseman Duke Kinamon was a late scratch from the lineup, sustaining an injury in the warm-up.
- Kyle Stowers made a difficult catch on the left field warning track to end the top of the seventh with a man on base.
- Stanford's series continues on Sunday when sophomore Erik Miller takes the hill. Stanford's home stand continues next week when it hosts Rice for a four-game series.