STANFORD, Calif. – No. 3 Stanford made it five in a row with an 11-1 win over USC on Saturday at Sunken Diamond.
"Bubic was phenomenal today, getting ahead in counts and locating his pitches as well as he has all season," said Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "You've got to love the way this team can tack on runs as the game goes on, and Jesse Kuet deserves a shout after making things happen all afternoon."
Kuet reached base five times for the Cardinal (16-2 overall, 2-0 Pac-12), going 3-for-3 with one double and two walks while playing perfect defense. Bubic (3-0) was outstanding, taking a perfect game into the seventh inning before a leadoff walk. The Trojans (11-8, 2-3) broke up Bubic's no-hitter with two out in the seventh – the junior finished 7.0 innings while striking out six and allowing one hit and one walk.
Maverick Handley continued his strong series, going 2-for-3 with two RBI while catching another stellar showing by Stanford's pitching staff. Handley started the procession to the plate in the fourth inning, driving in Andrew Daschbach with a single up the middle. Nico Hoerner's fielder's choice made it 2-0 in the fifth before Will Matthiessen's pinch-hit RBI single scored Handley.
The Cardinal tacked on two runs in the sixth before Kyle Stowers' second home run of the season made it 6-0. Stowers drove a 3-2 pitch over the left field wall, giving him two home runs in his past four games.
Stanford added three more runs in the seventh courtesy of two wild pitches and a two-out Brandon Wulff single to left field. The Trojans struck back with a run in the top of the eighth, but Brendan Beck's pinch-hit RBI single restored the 10-run lead. It was the first plate appearance of Beck's career, sending the payoff pitch into the left field gap.
Austin Weiermiller and John Henry Styles each pitched an inning to close out the game, and Stanford's fifth win in a row gave Stanford its best start since 1998 (17-1-1).
Stanford returns to action on Sunday for the series finale at 1 p.m. PT. Left-handed pitcher Erik Miller takes the mound with Solomon Bates on the bump for USC. Live streaming and statistics will be available at GoStanford.com.
Cardinal Notes
- Bubic's season ERA dips to 1.19 – in five starts, he has pitched a team-high 30.1 innings while striking out 33, walking eight and allowing 15 hits. Opponents are hitting just .146 against Bubic.
- Nick Oar delivered his first hit of the season, a pinch-hit single to lead off the bottom of the eighth.
- Matthew Decker reached base on an error in his first plate appearance of the season in the eighth.
- Brandon Wulff's streak of games reaching base extended to 18 to start the season – Wulff finished the day 2-for-4 with one walk and one RBI.
- Nico Hoerner finished with two RBI, going 1-for-5 with one walk.