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Baseball

Stanford Heads South

STANFORD, Calif. – No. 2 Stanford travels to Los Angeles for a three-game series against UCLA at Jackie Robinson Stadium starting Friday at 6 p.m. PT.

The Cardinal (22-3 overall, 5-1 Pac-12) enters the series having won four in a row, most recently claiming wins over Gonzaga and Santa Clara. Saturday's contest will start at 2 p.m. with Sunday's series finale set for 1 p.m. Live statistics for all three contests will be available at GoStanford.com.

Series History
• Stanford owns a 160-110-0 all-time record against the Bruins, with the first meeting coming in 1959. Last season, UCLA won the three-game series at Sunken Diamond, 2-1.
• The programs own two of the top ERAs in the country – Stanford (2.21) ranks second while UCLA (2.37) ranks fourth.
• Most recently, the Bruins (17-7, 6-3) beat Loyola Marymount, 13-1, on Tuesday after dropping a 2-1 series decision at Cal.
• Jeremy Ydens leads UCLA in batting average (.359) while Chase Strumpf leads the club in home runs (5) and RBI (23). On the mound, Jake Bird (2-2, 1.39 ERA) and Zach Pettway (5-0, 2.23 ERA) pace the starting staff.
 
Last Time Out
• Stanford improved to 5-1 in Pac-12 play with a 2-1 series win over Oregon at Sunken Diamond last weekend. The Ducks won Game 1, 10-1, but Stanford responded with wins by scores of 5-1 and 4-0.
• The Cardinal wrapped up its eight-game home stand with a 4-3 win over Gonzaga on Monday – Tim Tawa's two-run home run in the fifth inning tied the game at 3-3 before Nico Hoerner's go-ahead RBI single in the seventh.
• Stanford made it four in a row with a 16-8 win at Santa Clara on Tuesday – Brendan Beck pitched six strong innings, and Andrew Daschbach and Kyle Stowers each homered.

Looking Ahead
• Stanford returns to play UC Davis on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT at Sunken Diamond before opening a three-game series against Arizona State on April 13-15.
• Starting with Stanford's game against UC Davis, all four games next week will stream live at GoStanford.com.
• Eighteen of Stanford's remaining contests will air on Pac-12 Networks, including 18 of the final 21.


Cardinal in the Polls
• Stanford moved up to No. 2 in five major polls – D1 Baseball, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, NCBWA and Perfect Game.
• The Cardinal was one of three Pac-12 schools to rank in the D1 Baseball top-25, joining Oregon State (4) and UCLA (21).
• Entering the week, Stanford sits atop D1 Baseball's "Nitty Gritty RPI" report, with Texas Tech, Florida, Clemson and Wichita State making up the rest of the top five.

Pac-12-Leading Pitching Staff
• Stanford's pitching staff enters the week atop the Pac-12 in ERA (2.21), opposing batting average (.200) and saves (12). Nationally, Stanford ranks second in ERA and WHIP (1.02).
• Maverick Handley has caught a majority of Stanford's games, fielding at a .984 rate. Handley has thrown out eight of 13 stolen base attempts against him this season.
• Jack Little has established himself as one of the premier closers in the country, ranking fifth in the country with nine saves. In 20.1 innings, Little has surrendered just 12 base runners (eight hits, four walks) while striking out 24. Opposing batters are hitting .123 off Little, who has yet to allow a run in 2018.
• Kris Bubic (5-0) leads Stanford's starting staff with a 0.96 ERA in 37.2 innings of work. Opponents are hitting just .150 off Bubic, who leads the team with 42 strikeouts. Stanford has won each of Bubic's last 14 starts, a streak dating to April 13, 2017.
• Friday night starter Tristan Beck (3-1) has returned from injury after missing all of 2017. Beck owns a 3.55 ERA in 33.0 innings pitched, striking out 34 compared to eight walks.
• Younger brother Brendan Beck, a freshman, is 4-0 with a 1.63 ERA in 27.2 innings pitched. Opposing hitters are batting just .202 off Beck, who took a perfect game into the sixth inning of Stanford's 11-1 win at Texas on March 11.
• Erik Miller rounds out the rotation – in six starts, Miller is 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA. He has 29 strikeouts in 23.1 innings pitched.
• Freshman Jacob Palisch has been dominant out of the bullpen, owning a 0.44 ERA in 20.1 innings across 12 appearances. Palisch has not allowed a run since his first career appearance (Feb. 17) with opposing hitters batting just .167.
• Other notable arms out of the bullpen include Zach Grech (1.84 ERA in 13 appearances), Daniel Bakst (3.27 ERA in nine appearances) and Will Matthiessen (0.00 ERA in three appearances).

Daschbach Dingers
• Sophomore Andrew Daschbach leads the team in home runs (5), RBI (24) and slugging percentage (.548).
• Daschbach had a career-high three hits and four RBI in Stanford's 16-8 win at Santa Clara on Tuesday, hitting his fifth home run of the season.
• Daschbach also owns a .994 fielding percentage, having started every game at either first base or left field.

Stowers Stepping Up
• Sophomore Kyle Stowers has enjoyed a breakout season, batting .293 with four home runs, 21 RBI and a .524 slugging percentage.
• Stowers hit his fourth home run of the season in Stanford's 16-8 win over Santa Clara on Tuesday, an opposite-field line shot to left for his second home run in three contests.
• Stowers has also made three relief pitching appearances, allowing one base runner via walk in three one-inning appearances.

?? @kjstowers3 #GoStanford

A post shared by Stanford Baseball?? (@stanfordbsb) on Apr 1, 2018 at 3:16pm PDT

As Good as Advertised
• Junior shortstop Nico Hoerner has lived up to his billing as a preseason All-American, batting .316 while leading the team in runs (22), at-bats (95) and stolen bases (6). Hoerner rides a 13-game hit streak into the weekend series, the longest of the season for any Cardinal.
• Hoerner was named a preseason All-American by Perfect Game (third team), Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (third team), Baseball America (third team) and D1 Baseball (second team).

Tawa Time
• Freshman Tim Tawa leads the team with a .548 slugging percentage, batting .323 with 20 runs, 22 RBI and four home runs, including a walk-off, three-run home run against Michigan on March 3.
• Tawa has found a home in center field and in the leadoff spot, starting each of the past 14 contests there. Tawa's nine multi-hit games leads the team, and he is currently on a 14-game reached base streak.

EVERYONE digs the long ball. @tim.tawa #GoStanford

A post shared by Stanford Baseball?? (@stanfordbsb) on Apr 3, 2018 at 11:12am PDT

Midseason Awards
• Stanford garnered several selections on Perfect Game's midseason All-America list, led by Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer, who was named midseason Coach of the Year.
• Kris Bubic and Jack Little were each named first-team midseason All-Americans.

2018 Season Recap
• Stanford defeated Santa Clara, 16-8, on April 3 to improve to 22-3. Brendan Beck (4-0) earned the win in six solid innings, and Andrew Daschbach and Kyle Stowers each homered.
• After falling behind, 3-1, the Cardinal surged back with a two-run home run from Tim Tawa and a go-ahead RBI single from Nico Hoerner to defeat Gonzaga, 4-3, on April 2.
• Stanford improved to 5-1 in Pac-12 play with a 2-1 series win over Oregon. The Cardinal won the final two games after dropping the opener.
• The Cardinal kept its momentum going with a 3-0 win over San Diego on March 27 – Brendan Beck, Jacob Palisch, Will Matthiessen and Jack Little combined to allow three hits.
• Stanford outscored USC, 34-2, across a three-game sweep on March 23-25. Tristan Beck, Kris Bubic and Erik Miller were each fantastic in wins, and Stanford's pitching staff surrendered 15 hits all weekend.
• The Cardinal claimed an emphatic 3-1 series win at No. 23 Texas on March 8-11. Stanford dropped the opener, 8-6, before dominating the final three games by scores of 7-1, 9-3 and 11-1.
• Stanford continued its winning start to the season with a 3-1 series win over Michigan, highlighted by Tim Tawa's walk-off, three-run home run in Game 2, a 3-2 win. The Cardinal lost its first contest of the season, 5-0, bouncing back with a 7-4 win in Sunday's finale.
• Stanford improved to 8-0 on the season with a four-game sweep of Rice on Feb. 22-25.
• The Cardinal made it four in a row to start the year with a 3-2 win at UC Davis on Feb. 19.
• No. 13 Stanford opened the season with a three-game sweep over No. 17 Cal State Fullerton. Tristan Beck earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors in his first start in 630 days after missing his sophomore season through injury.

Fresh Faces
• Stanford welcomed eight freshman to The Farm for 2018 – three California natives and one student-athlete each 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 525-465-2 (.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.