Messin' With TexasMessin' With Texas
Bob Drebin / isiphotos.com
Baseball

Messin' With Texas

STANFORD, Calif. – No. 7 Stanford opens a four-game series at No. 23 Texas on Thursday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas.

The Cardinal (11-1) started the season 10-0 for the first time since 1998 thanks to Tim Tawa's walk-off, three-run home run in Saturday's 3-2 win over Michigan. Thursday and Friday's contests will start at 4:30 p.m. PT with Saturday's game set for 12:30 p.m. and Sunday's finale at 11 a.m.

All contest will air on ESPN's Longhorn Network, and live statistics will be available at GoStanford.com.

Series History
• Stanford holds a 39-34-1 all-time record against Texas, most recently hosting the Longhorns for a four-game series in 2017. After dropping Game 1, the Cardinal rebounded with three straight to win the series. Quinn Brodey had walk-off hits in Games 2 and 3, driving in Stanford's winning run in Game 4.
• The Longhorns (8-4) enter the series on a three-game win streak. Texas took three-of-four against Northwestern last weekend, and won one-of-three against No. 22 LSU to start the season.
• Kody Clemens leads the Longhorns offensively, hitting .436 with 11 runs, 13 RBI and three home runs. Three starters – Blair Henley, Nolan Kingham and Chase Shugart – have at least 17.0 innings of work under their belt. Henley's 0.53 earned-run average leads the starting staff, and Nico O'Donnell (1-0, 1.04 ERA) rounds out the weekend rotation.

Last Time Out
• Stanford's 10-0 start was the best since 1998 when the Cardinal went 17 games unbeaten to start the season. After taking Games 1-2 against Michigan, Stanford dropped its first decision of the season in the second leg of Saturday's doubleheader. Stanford bounced back on Sunday with a 7-4 win over Michigan, clinching a third consecutive series win to start the season.
• Tim Tawa hit a walk-off, three-run home run in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader, giving Stanford its 10th straight win to start the season.  
• Tristan Beck was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season after another sterling effort in Friday night's 7-0 win. Beck pitched 7.0 innings of shutout ball, allowing just three base runners (two hits, one walk) while striking out eight.

Looking Ahead
• Following a week off for finals, Stanford opens an eight-game homestand with a three-game series against USC March 23-25.
• The Cardinal hosts San Diego on March 27 before a three-game series against Oregon and a Monday showdown with Gonzaga.
• Stanford's next road game after the Texas series is April 6 when the Cardinal travels to face UCLA in Los Angeles for a three-game series.

Cardinal in the Polls
• Stanford ranks top-seven in five major polls – D1 Baseball (7), Baseball America (4), Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (7), NCBWA (6) and Perfect Game (7).
• The Longhorns check in at No. 23 in the D1 Baseball poll. Three of Stanford's 2018 opponents currently rank in the top 25 – Texas, Oregon State (2) and UCLA (11).

Beck is Back
• Tristan Beck made his first start in 630 days on Feb. 16 when Stanford defeated No. 16 Cal State Fullerton, 5-1, to open the season. Since then. Beck has accrued a 1.50 earned-run average with 14 base runners (10 hits, four walks) and a .161 batting average against.
• Beck was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week for the second time on Tuesday after posting 7.0 innings with eight strikeouts and three base runners in Friday's 7-0 win.
• Beck's younger brother, Brendan, has also made three starts for the Cardinal. Brendan Beck's ERA stands at 2.53 across 10.2 innings pitched with seven strikeouts.

Palisch Putting Up Zeroes
• Freshman Jacob Palisch has enjoyed an excellent start to his Stanford career, owning the Pac-12's lowest batting average against (.098) and fourth-lowest earned-run average (0.75) among pitchers with 1.0 innings pitched per game.
• In 12.0 innings of work, Palisch has allowed one run on four hits and three walks while striking out 11. Stanford is 6-0 in games he has pitched, and he has not allowed a run since his first appearance of the season on Feb. 17.  

Back End Finding Form
• Stanford had to replace a combined 99.2 innings pitched by setup man Tyler Thorne and closer Colton Hock, who formed one of the nation's most dominant back ends in 2017.
• Jack Little has established himself as Stanford's closer – his five saves lead the Pac-12, and he has yet to allow a run in 11.0 innings of work. Batters are hitting just .088 off  of Little, who has 10 strikeouts while allowing five base runners (three hits, two walks).
• Zach Grech, Little's classmate and teammate from high school, has made eight relief appearances, tied for the most in the Pac-12. Employing a deceptive sidearm delivery, Grech has allowed five hits and one walk in 7.2 innings of work with batters hitting .185 off him.
• Other pitchers to see steady work in the pen include John Henry Styles (0.00 ERA in three appearances), Daniel Bakst (five appearances) and Austin Weiermiller (3-0 in five appearances).

Offense by Committee
• Brandon Wulff leads Stanford in several offensive categories – hits (14), runs (12), on-base percentage (.489) and batting average (.368). Wulff has reached base in each of the first 12 games, starting the season on a 10-game hit streak.
• Andrew Daschbach leads the club with three home runs, two of which came against Michigan last week. Tim Tawa is the only other Cardinal with multiple home runs and leads the team with 11 RBI.
• Nico Hoerner cooled off after his hot start, ranking second on the team with eight runs and first with four stolen bases on as many attempts.
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.