STANFORD, Calif. – Brendan Beck continued the excellent start to his freshman year with another quality outing in a 7-2 win over UC Davis on Tuesday night at Sunken Diamond.
"Brendan was outstanding tonight, and he really showed his ability to make pitches in tough situations," said Clarke & Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "His ability with his secondary pitches and fastball location has really impressed us and we think he can continue to get better."
Beck (5-0) was nearly untouchable in 6.0 innings of work, striking out a career-high six batters while allowing three hits, no walks and no runs to earn the win. Kyle Stowers was 2-for-4 with his sixth home run of the season and one double, also pitching the ninth inning while allowing no earned runs.
Beau Branton added two hits in the leadoff spot, upping his batting average to .407. Christian Robinson had a double and scored a run in his first career start, and Nico Hoerner had two RBI.
Maverick Handley drove in the first run of the game in the second inning, bringing home Stowers with a single up the middle – Stowers reached second with a double off the wall in right. Christian Molfetta brought in Robinson with a fielder's choice before Hoerner's sacrifice fly brought home Branton to make it 3-0.
Stanford more than doubled its lead with a four-run fifth, capped by Stowers' two-run shot beyond the right-field wall. Hoerner's double scored Molfetta, and a sacrifice fly by Andrew Daschbach scored Alec Wilson before Stowers' sixth of the season, a lined shot that left Sunken Diamond in a hurry.
Austin Weiermiller and Zach Grech each pitched scoreless frames before Stowers and Daniel Bakst combined for the final three outs – the two runs UC Davis plated in the final frame were both unearned.
No. 2 Stanford returns to Pac-12 play on Friday when it opens a three-game series with Arizona State at 6 p.m. PT. Saturday's contest will start at 3 p.m. with Sunday's finale set for 1 p.m. Live streaming and statistics for all games will be available at GoStanford.com.
Cardinal Notes
- Beck's ERA dropped to 1.34 in 33.2 innings pitched. Opposing hitters are batting just .192 off him.
- Branton's on-base average jumped to .459 – he has 16 hits in his past 10 games.
- It was Stanford's 18th consecutive Tuesday win, a streak dating to 2014.
- Stowers reached base twice for the fourth time in five games.