STANFORD, Calif. – Kris Bubic's strong start and Nico Hoerner's first home run of the season lifted No. 12 Stanford to its seventh straight win to start the season on Saturday at Sunken Diamond.
"Today was similar to last night, in that our starter really kept us in the game and it just took us being patient for the bats to wake up," said Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "Kris [Bubic] looked sharp and we're excited to see what he can do on Saturdays this season."
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Jesse Kuet reached base with two outs, setting up Hoerner's two-run home run to make it 2-1, Stanford. The rally continued with Maverick Handley reaching base and Daniel Bakst doubling down the left field line to score him.
Brandon Wulff legged out an infield single to score Bakst before Kyle Stowers' single to right scored Wulff to make it 5-1. Handley tacked on another run in the top of the seventh before Rice struck back with two runs in the eighth.
Jack Little entered in the eighth with one out, striking out four of the five batters he retired for a five-out save and his fourth of the season. Bubic (2-0) exited after 6.0 innings of work, striking out eight with no walks, five hits and one run in the opening frame.
Stanford wraps up its four-game series against Rice tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. PT. Brendan Beck is Stanford's likely starter, with a live stream and statistics available at GoStanford.com.
Cardinal Notes
- This is Stanford's best start since 2012, when the Cardinal started the season 8-0.
- Sixty of Bubic's 76 pitches were strikes.
- Nico Hoerner's season-opening hit streak stretched to seven games.
- Stanford's seven runs tied a season high.
- The Cardinal has yet to allow more than five runs in a game this season.