Home FinaleHome Finale
Baseball

Home Finale

STANFORD, Calif. – No. 3 Stanford wraps up its regular-season home schedule when it plays host to Washington State in a three-game series this weekend at Sunken Diamond.

All three contests will air on Pac-12 Networks with live statistics available at GoStanford.com. Friday's opener will begin at 6 p.m. PT and will be followed by Stanford's annual fireworks night. Saturday's contest starts at 1:30 p.m. with Sunday's finale set for Noon – senior day ceremonies will precede Sunday's game.

Weekend Opponent, Washington State
• The Cardinal (40-8 overall, 18-6 Pac-12) is 55-26-0 (.671) all-time against the Cougars (15-28-1, 7-16-1), who enter the week in 10th place in the Pac-12 standings.
• Blake Clanton leads the team in batting average (.328), slugging percentage (.628) and RBI (28). Scotty Sunitsch leads the starting staff with a 6-2 record and 2.95 ERA.
• Last season, Stanford swept the Cougars, 3-0, in Pullman, Washington, by scores of 13-2, 5-3 and 15-1.

Where We Stand
• Stanford sits atop the Pac-12 conference standings with six league games to play. The Cardinal is 1.5 games ahead of No. 2 Oregon State and 3.0 ahead of UCLA and Washington.
• The Cardinal checked in at No. 3 in the latest D1 Baseball top-25 poll – Stanford fell one spot after dropping 2-of-3 at Oregon State last weekend. Stanford also checked at No. 3 in the Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, NCBWA and Perfect Game polls.
• Stanford remains No. 2 in the NCAA RPI rankings, behind No. 1 Florida and ahead of No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 North Carolina.
• Stanford wraps up the regular season May 24-26 when it plays a three-game series against Washington in Seattle – all contests will air on Pac-12 Networks.

Matthiessen's Major Impact
• Since being inserted in the starting lineup on May 1, Will Matthiessen has six home runs, 17 RBI, 13 hits and 11 runs – he had the game-winning, three-run double in the 10th inning of a thrilling 9-6 comeback win at No. 3 Oregon State on May 13.
• Matthiessen had two home runs in a 6-4 win at Utah on May 6, and went 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI and one home run in Stanford's record-setting 25-5 win at Utah on May 5.
• In Stanford's 9-0 win against Santa Clara on May 8, Matthiessen struck out the side in the top of the eighth before hitting a three-run home run in the bottom half.
• Matthiessen was named Pac-12 Player of the Week and Perfect Game National Player of the Week on May 7.

As Good as Advertised
• Junior shortstop Nico Hoerner has lived up to his billing as a preseason All-American, leading Stanford in hits (64), doubles (13), triples (5), multi-hit games (19), stolen bases (13, third in the Pac-12), at-bats (189) and sacrifice flies (5).
• Hoerner's 13-game hit streak was the longest of any Cardinal this season, owning a .327 batting average in Pac-12 play. A critical leader on and off the field for Stanford, Hoerner is widely considered a top infield prospect of the MLB Draft, checking in at No. 16 in D1 Baseball's player rankings.

Pac-12-Leading Pitching Staff
• Stanford's 2.75 ERA ranks third, nationally, and leads the Pac-12 – the Cardinal also leads the Pac-12 in opposing batting average (.220), WHIP (1.14), hits allowed (345), walks allowed (141) and runs allowed (159).
• Kris Bubic (7-1, 2.77 ERA) and Tristan Beck (7-3, 2.90 ERA) lead the starting staff. Bubic, Stanford's Friday night starter in 2017, is a member of the Golden Spikes midseason watch list and ranks third in the Pac-12 with 77 strikeouts. Beck, who missed all of 2017 through injury, leads the Cardinal in Pac-12 play with a 2.92 ERA in 49.1 innings.
• Brendan Beck, the younger brother of Tristan, ranks second in the Pac-12 in ERA (2.35) and has served as Stanford's midweek starter. Erik Miller (4-2, 3.48 ERA) has started a majority of Stanford's Sunday contests – in Pac-12 play, Miller is 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA.

Enter Sandman
• Sophomore Jack Little leads Stanford's bullpen with a 0.75 ERA in 20 relief appearances across 36.0 innings. Little's 13 saves rank second in the Pac-12 and second on Stanford's single-season, all-time list. He has allowed 27 base runners (20 hits, 7 walks) with 45 strikeouts and a .163 batting average against. Little earned the win in Sunday's comeback, 9-6 win at No. 3 Oregon State, setting career highs in innings pitched (3.1) and pitches (52).
• Freshman Jacob Palisch has established himself as a top reliever in the conference – Palisch is 2-1 out of the pen with a 1.83 ERA and .207 batting average against in 39.1 innings pitched.
• Other important arms in the bullpen include Zach Grech (3-0, 2.64 ERA in 24 appearances), Will Matthiessen (2.03 ERA, .157 batting average against) and Austin Weiermiller (3.00 ERA in 20 appearances).

#StowyPowy is back... @KyleStowers #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/mEq2cTzm9K

— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) May 16, 2018

Super Sophomores
• Sophomores Andrew Daschbach and Kyle Stowers have established themselves as leading offensive players for the Cardinal, starting all 48 games.
• Daschbach ranks fourth in the league with 14 home runs and fifth in RBI (54), leading the team in slugging percentage (.579) and total bases (103).
• Stowers rides a 23-game reached base streak into the weekend. He leads the team in walks (27) with a .411 on-base percentage, and ranks second on the team in home runs (9), RBI (40) and total bases (93) behind Daschbach.

Next Man Up
• Stanford has relied heavily on supporting roles all season long with several injuries to key players throughout the year.
• Beau Branton stepped in for Duke Kinamon at second base, leading the team in batting average (.364) and on-base percentage (.443). Branton set a career high with five hits in Stanford's win at Oregon State on Sunday, tying a career high with three runs scored.
• Alec Wilson has stepped up in the absence of Brandon Wulff, batting .308 in Pac-12 play with a .462 slugging percentage – Wilson has started 14-of-21 games in right field in league contests.
• Christian Robinson has started the past 14 games in outfield – he is batting .275 in Pac-12 play, and had the game-winning hit in a thrilling 8-7 comeback win at Arizona on April 21.
• Nick Oar has taken advantage of his opportunities in recent weeks – he has pinch-hit home runs in his three such at-bats, including the game-tying, solo home run in the ninth inning of Stanford's comeback 9-6 win at No. 3 Oregon State on May 13.
• In place of injured catcher Maverick Handley, Christian Molfetta threw out all three stolen base attempts against him at Oregon State last weekend.

It ain't over until it's ov -- OH MY WORD @NICKOAR DID IT AGAIN. #GoStanford

A post shared by Stanford Baseball?? (@stanfordbsb) on May 13, 2018 at 3:37pm PDT

2018 Season Recap
• Stanford finished the season 9-0 in midweek games after a 5-1 win against BYU on May 15 – the Cardinal pitching staff allowed no earned runs on four hits and Kyle Stowers finished with a home run, three hits and three RBI.
• The Cardinal salvaged a win in its three-game series at No. 3 Oregon State, overcoming a 6-1 deficit in Sunday's thrilling 9-6 comeback win. Nick Oar's third consecutive pinch-hit home run tied it in the ninth before Will Matthiessen's three-run double in the 10th set up a Stanford win.
• Will Matthiessen struck out the side in the top of the eighth before hitting a home run in the bottom half of a 9-0 win over Santa Clara (May 8).
• Stanford claimed a 3-0 series win at Utah on May 4-6 – the Cardinal set a program record with 28 hits in a 25-5 win in Game 2, taking over first place in the Pac-12 with UCLA being swept by Arizona.
• The Cardinal struck out a season-high 15 in a 5-2 win over San Francisco on May 1.
• After dropping the series opener, 4-3, Stanford captured the final two games against California for a 2-1 series win on April 26-28. The Cardinal erupted for 14 runs in Game 2, including 10 in the third inning, moving into a tie with UCLA at 14-4 atop the Pac-12 standings.
• Stanford extended its win streak to eight with a 5-2 win over Pacific on April 24.
• No. 2 Stanford made it seven in a row with a three-game sweep of Arizona last week in Tucson. The Cardinal came from behind in all three games, starting with Game 1 – The Cardinal erupted for five runs in the seventh inning after trailing, 2-0 for most of the contest. In Game 2, Stanford twice came from behind, ultimately overcoming a 6-3 deficit in the bottom of the ninth with five runs – the Wildcats plated a run in the bottom half but Brendan Beck shut the door with his first career save before Stanford's emphatic 7-2 win on Sunday.
• The Cardinal made it four in a row with a three-game sweep of Arizona State on April 13-15. The Cardinal won by scores of 3-1, 11-6 and 10-3 – Andrew Daschbach led the Cardinal with two home runs, and Nico Hoerner had six hits in the series.
• Stanford returned to Sunken Diamond after a four-game road trip with a 7-2 win over UC Davis on April 10. It was the Cardinal's 18th straight Tuesday win, a streak that dates to 2014.
• The Cardinal dropped its first series of the season, 2-1, at UCLA on April 6-8. Andrew Daschbach led Stanford with three home runs on the series, including two in Game 2.
• 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.

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 525-467-2 (.528) record at Cal, mentoring 81 Major League draft picks and 13 All-Americans.