Nico_Hoerner_Jesse_Kuet_KAH_02232018_107Nico_Hoerner_Jesse_Kuet_KAH_02232018_107
Karen Ambrose Hickey/Stanford Athletics
Baseball

Homestand Continues

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STANFORD, Calif. – No. 8 Stanford hosts Michigan for a four-game series this week at Sunken Diamond, with Sunday's contest at 2 p.m. PT to be televised on Pac-12 Networks.

The Cardinal (8-0) tied its best start since 1998 with a four-game sweep of Rice last week, while the Wolverines (2-5) stay on the west coast after competing in the Tony Gwynn Legacy last week in San Diego.

The series opens on Friday at 6 p.m. PT, and includes a double header on Saturday (1 and 5 p.m.) and the series finale on Sunday at 2 p.m. Follow @StanfordBSB on twitter for the most immediate updates regarding possible inclement weather and schedule updates.

Series History
• Stanford's only meeting with the Wolverines came in the 1983 College World Series, with Michigan knocking the Cardinal out of competition with an 11-4 win.
• The Wolverines currently ride a four-game losing streak with recent losses to San Diego, Arizona, Cal Poly and San Diego State.
• Pitcher Alec Rennard leads the Michigan staff with a 1-1 clip and a 1.64 ERA in 11.0 innings of work. Two Wolverines, Christian Bullock and Jonathan Engelmann, have started all seven games with above-.300 batting averages. Lewis Miles and Ako Thomas lead the club with 11 and 10 RBI, respectively.

Last Time Out
• Stanford completed an 8-0 start to the season with a four-game sweep of Rice last week at Sunken Diamond. The Cardinal defeated the Owls by scores of 7-2, 6-2, 7-4 and 2-0, and Stanford pitchers struck out 46 batters in 36.0 innings of work.
• Jacob Palisch led the staff with 6.2 innings of work for the series in two relief appearances. The freshman lefty surrendered just two hits and two walks on the week while striking out nine, earning the save in Thursday's win and the win on Sunday.
• Brandon Wulff led the Cardinal bats with his first home run of the season, a grand slam in Thursday's 7-2 win to blow the game open. Wulff finished the week with six RBI, four runs while finishing with a .462 batting average.

Looking Ahead
• Stanford wraps up an eight-game homestand and a stretch of 12 of 13 games at home to start the season on Sunday.
• The Cardinal then travels to Austin, Texas, to face No. 22 Texas at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Game times from Thursday to Sunday are 4:30 p.m. PT, 4:30 p.m., 12:30 pm. and 11 a.m. – all contests will air live on ESPN's Longhorn Network.
• Stanford begins Pac-12 play when it plays host to USC March 23-25 following a week off for finals.

Cardinal in the Polls
• Stanford ranks top-10 in four polls entering the week – D1 Baseball (8), Baseball America (4), Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (8) and Perfect Game (7).

Strong Start for the Staff
• Stanford's pitching staff has been excellent to start the season, with a 2.13 ERA, seven saves in as many opportunities, a .205 batting average against and a 69-24 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
• Tristan Beck has looked sharp in both of his Friday-night starts, going 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 12 strikeouts with 12 total base runners.
• Kris Bubic holds a 1.64 ERA across two limited starts, going 2-0 in 11.0 innings of work with 12 strikeouts and no walks.
• Erik Miller, Stanford's third starter, set a career high with nine strikeouts in Thursday's 7-2 win over Rice.
• Brendan Beck, the younger brother of Tristan, is 1-0 in two starts with a 2.08 ERA in 8.2 innings of work.
• Stanford's bullpen has been nearly unhittable this season, led by sophomores Jack Little and Zach Grech. Little is 4-for-4 in save opportunities, and Grech's six relief appearances lead the Pac-12. The two have combined to throw 14.1 innings, scattering six hits, three walks and nine strikeouts.

• On the season, Jacob Palisch has surrendered just one run, three hits and three walks while striking out 11 in 9.0 innings of relief work.
• Other relievers to pitch in 2018 include Kyle Stowers (1.00 ERA, one save), John Henry Styles (0.00 ERA), Carson Rudd (0.00 ERA), Austin Weiermiller (three appearances, 3.86 ERA) and Daniel Bakst (four appearances).

Bats Waking Up
• Wulff leads the club in batting average (.462), OPS (1.240), hits (12) and runs (8), tying for the team lead in RBI with freshman Tim Tawa (8).
• Tawa is off to a hot start of his own, hitting .321 with an .819 OPS – the West Linn, Oregon, native is batting .500 with runners in scoring position.

• Shortstop Nico Hoerner has lived up to his billing as a preseason All-American, batting leadoff and starting every game at shortstop. Hoerner is hitting .379, including a .979 OPS. He ranks second on the team in hits (11), doubles (3), runs (7) and is 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts.
• Andrew Daschbach has settled into the middle of the lineup, ranking third on the team with five RBI. Daschbach hit his first career home run in Friday night's 6-2 win over Rice.

Streaking Stanford
• Stanford rides a 17-game regular-season home unbeaten streak into Thursday, dating to a 6-4 win over Cal on April 18. Since then, Stanford has allowed five runs just three times, surrendering three runs or less 11 times.
• Stanford also has an active streak of 15 straight Tuesday home wins dating to 2014.
• The Cardinal's streak of regular-season nonconference wins stands at 15. Stanford's last regular-season nonconference loss came against Rice on Marchxxx 12, 2017.

Fresh Faces
• Stanford welcomed eight freshman to The Farm for 2018 – three California natives and one student-athlete from Oregon, Arizona, Texas, Georgia and Florida.

18 • Zach Sehgal • INF • 6-2 • La Jolla, Calif. • La Jolla
20 • Brendan Beck • INF/RHP • 6-2 • Corona, Calif. • Corona
21 • Tim Tawa • OF • 6-0 • West Linn, Ore. • West Linn
24 • Nick Brueser • INF • 6-3 • Chandler, Ariz. • Hamilton
27 • Carson Rudd • RHP • 6-5 • Agoura Hills, Calif. • Oaks Christian
39 • Jacob Palisch • LHP • 6-5 • Richardson, Texas • Jesuit College Prep
42 • Austin Weiermiller • LHP • 5-11 • Milton, Ga. • Cambridge
44 • Christian Robinson • OF • 6-3 • Melbourne, Fla. • Viera

A New Era
• David Esquer was named Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball on June 16, 2017. Esquer is the 21st head coach in program history, succeeding Mark Marquess, who retired after 41 years at the helm.
• Esquer served as an assistant under Marquess from 1991-96 before spending the past 18 seasons as the head coach at Cal, where he was the 2011 National Coach of the Year and led the Golden Bears to five NCAA Regionals and the 2011 College World Series.
• Esquer accrued a 525-46-2 (.528) record at Cal, mentoring 81 Major League draft picks and 13 All-Americans.
 
Golden Watch List
• Juniors Nico Hoerner and Kris Bubic were each named to the watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, which annually recognizes the top amateur baseball player in the country.
• The winner will be announced June 28 in Los Angeles.