Huskies Hold Off StanfordHuskies Hold Off Stanford
Bob Drebin / isiphotos.com
Baseball

Huskies Hold Off Stanford

Box Score

SEATTLE – No. 3 Stanford fell behind early and never recovered in a 4-2 loss to Washington on Friday night at Husky Ballpark.

"This is all part of it – we've answered the bell all year long, and I have the trust and faith in this team to come back ready tomorrow." said Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "We need to keep our effort level high and remain positive heading into Saturday."

The Cardinal (43-10 overall, 21-8 Pac-12) outhit the Huskies (30-22, 20-9), 7-6, but couldn't capitalize on opportunities to tie or take the lead late in the contest, stranding a runner in scoring position in the sixth before leaving the bases loaded in the eighth. Christian Molfetta hit his first career home run and Nico Hoerner finished with three hits, but Stanford couldn't recover after Washington took a 3-1 lead in the opening frame.

Stanford took the lead in the top of the first with Andrew Daschbach driving home Beau Branton, who led off the game with a single. Washington responded in the home half with a three-run home run off the bat of Nick Kahle before Molfetta's first career home run in the second cut the deficit in half.

Both starting pitchers settled in, with no runs plated again until the eighth. For the second time in as many games, Stanford robbed a home run – Kyle Stowers tracked a ball to the wall in left in the sixth inning, bringing one back that would have made it 5-2, Washington.

There's been another robbery reported in Seattle... @kjstowers3 ??: Pac-12 Networks #GoStanford

A post shared by Stanford Baseball?? (@stanfordbsb) on May 25, 2018 at 8:51pm PDT

Beck pitched into the eighth inning, scattering five hits and five walks while striking out three. He allowed four runs, tossing six innings of shutout ball from the second inning on before one came across in the eighth with younger brother Brendan Beck (1.0 innings) on the mound.

Stanford had a chance to tie or take the lead in the top half, with Tim Tawa doubling and Hoerner legging out an infield single, but Will Matthiessen struck out swinging to end the inning and leave the bases loaded. The Cardinal went down in order in the ninth with Alex Hardy earning the save for Washington.

The Cardinal sits 0.5 games ahead of Oregon State and 1.0 ahead of Washington with one game to play in the regular season. With a win on Saturday, Stanford can clinch its first conference championship since 2004.

No. 3 Stanford and Washington return to Husky Ballpark tomorrow for series and regular season finale at 3 p.m. PT. The game will air on Pac-12 Networks with live statistics available at GoStanford.com.  

Cardinal Notes

  • Washington's Jordan Jones (7.1 innings) earned the win,
  • Brendan Beck relieved Tristan Beck after the latter walked the leadoff hitter in the eighth.
  • Stanford played error-free for the 24th time this season.
  • Beck finishes the regular season with an ERA of 3.15.
  • It was just the second time this season Stanford has lost consecutive games.