Roaring Into RegionalsRoaring Into Regionals
Bob Drebin / isiphotos.com
Baseball

Roaring Into Regionals

STANFORD, Calif. – No. 5 Stanford plays host to NCAA Regional competition for the 17th time, welcoming Baylor, Cal State Fullerton and Wright State to Klein Field at Sunken Diamond on June 1-4.

The Cardinal (44-10 overall, 22-8 Pac-12) clinched its first Pac-12 championship since 2004 on Saturday with a 6-5 comeback win at Washington. Stanford enters the postseason with a 30-3 record at Sunken Diamond, having won its final eight home games.

Stanford opens the tournament at 7 p.m. PT on Friday against fourth-seeded Wright State following a 2 p.m. contest between Cal State Fullerton and Baylor. Stanford's game will air on ESPN2, with all games available at ESPN3.com.

The regional is a double-elimination format, with the winners and losers of each Friday game squaring off on Saturday – game times for Saturday are 3 p.m. for Friday's losing teams and 8 p.m. for Friday's winning teams. Matchups will be available at the Tournament Central page on GoStanford.com and on Twitter (@StanfordBSB).

Wright State Raiders
• This is the first meeting between Stanford and the Raiders (39-15, 22-6 Horizon).
• The Raiders enter the week on an eight-game win streak, capturing both the regular season crown and conference tournament with a win over Youngstown State (May 24) and two over Illinois at Chicago (May 25-26).
• Gabe Snyder leads the club with a .363 batting average, 15 home runs and 72 RBI. Ryan Weiss (9-2, 3.40 ERA) leads the pitching staff with a team-high 15 starts.

Baylor Bears
• Stanford has faced Baylor once in program history. The Bears (36-19, 13-11 Big 12) defeated Stanford, 4-3, in a dramatic, 12-inning contest to eliminate Stanford from the Waco 2005 NCAA Regional.
• Baylor enters the week having won its last six games, including four at the Big 12 Conference Tournament to claim the title ahead of TCU on Sunday.
• Richard Cunningham leads the Bears in batting average (.344) and total bases (117), while Davis Wendzel is the team leader in RBI (45). Starter Cody Bradford (7-5, 2.38 ERA) paces the starting staff while Troy Montemayor (2.49 ERA) leads the bullpen with 11 saves.  

Cal State Fullerton Titans
• A familiar foe, the Titans (32-23, 18-6 Big West) visited Sunken Diamond in the season-opening series on Feb. 16-18 with the Cardinal earning the sweep. Stanford owns a 63-48 record against Cal State Fullerton – the Titans eliminated Stanford from the postseason at last year's NCAA Stanford Regional.
• The Titans enter the week having won five of six after winning the Big West regular-season championship.
• Hank LaForte leads the team in batting average (.341) while Daniel Cope leads the team in RBI (40). Colton Eastman leads the pitching staff with 15 starts, entering the postseason 9-3 with a 2.26 ERA in 103.2 innings.

Cardinal Captures Conference
• Stanford claimed its first Pac-12 Conference Championship since 2004 with a dramatic, 6-5 win at Washington on the final day of the regular season (May 26).
• With the Cardinal trailing, 5-3, in the top of the ninth inning, Will Matthiessen's two-run home run tied the game before Nico Hoerner beat out an infield single to score Alec Wilson. Jack Little remained in the game, striking out the side on 11 pitches to seal the win.
• The Cardinal finished 22-8 (.733) in the Pac-12, 1.5 games ahead of Oregon State (20-9-1) and two ahead of Washington (20-10). It is Stanford's 18th conference championship in the first season under Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer.

As Good As Advertised
• Junior shortstop Nico Hoerner has lived up to his billing as a preseason All-American, owning a .349 batting average while leading the team in hits (75), multi-hit games (22) doubles (16), triples (5), stolen bases (14) and at-bats (215) while ranking second in runs (43) and total bases (107).
• Hoerner's 13-game hit streak was the longest of any Cardinal this season – his single in the ninth inning of a 6-5 win at Washington scored the game-winning run for Stanford's first conference title in 14 seasons.
• Hoerner plays an important leadership role for the Cardinal on and off the field – he is widely considered one of the top infield prospects for the upcoming MLB Draft.

Pac-12-Leading Pitching Staff
• Stanford enters the postseason with the second-lowest ERA (2.85) and third-lowest WHIP (1.17) in the nation. The Cardinal leads the Pac-12 in opposing batting average (.223) and hits allowed (394).
• Jack Little led the Pac-12 in saves with 15, ranking second on Stanford's all-time list behind Colton Hock (16 in 2017). Little (3-0) carries a 0.66 ERA and .170 batting average against in 41.0 innings entering the postseason, including 54 strikeouts versus seven walks.
• Kris Bubic ranks third in the Pac-12 with 91 strikeouts in 79.0 innings. Bubic (8-1) owns a 2.73 ERA and a .204 opposing batting average, which also ranks second in the league.
• Friday night starter Tristan Beck returned to the rotation after a 630-day absence from injury. Beck finished the regular season 8-4 with a 2.99 ERA in a team-high 84.1 innings. Beck and Bubic are both considered top prospects for the upcoming MLB Draft.
• Freshman Brendan Beck, the younger brother of Tristan, is 6-0 with a 2.44 ERA in 59.0 innings, having started most of Stanford's midweek games. Erik Miller (4-3, 4.03 ERA) rounds out the starting staff, having started 12 contests.
• Other valuable arms out of the bullpen include Will Matthiessen (1.65 ERA in 12 appearances), Jacob Palisch (1.87 ERA in 24 appearances), Zach Grech (2.78 ERA in 27 appearances) and Austin Weiermiller (2.75 ERA in 22 appearances).

Super Sophomores
• Andrew Daschbach has enjoyed a breakout season, leading the team in home runs (16), RBI (61), slugging percentage (.571) and total bases (116). Daschbach's 16 home runs are the most of any Cardinal since Sean Ratliff homered 22 times in 2008.
• Kyle Stowers has started all 54 games along with Daschbach, ranking second on the team with 10 home runs, 42 RBI, three triples, and a .545 slugging percentage while leading the team in walks (30).
• Will Matthiessen, Stanford's designated hitter since May 1, surged through May with seven home runs, 19 RBI and 12 runs in Stanford's 15 games.

Next Man Up
• Stanford has relied heavily on supporting roles all season with several injuries to key players.
• Beau Branton stepped in for Duke Kinamon at second base, leading the team in batting average (.379) and on-base percentage (.458) in the leadoff spot. Branton set a career high with five hits in Stanford's win at Oregon State on May 13, tying a career high with three runs scored.
• Christian Molfetta has started Stanford's last nine games at catcher in place of Maverick Handley, who remains sidelined with an arm injury. He scored a career-high three times, tying a career high with three hits in Stanford's 10-1 win over Washington State on May 18, and hit his first career home run in Stanford's series at Washington.

2018 Season Recap
• Stanford clinched its first Pac-12 championship since 2004 with a dramatic 6-5, comeback win at Washington on May 26. The Cardinal, needing to win one of its final three games to claim the conference, trailed for 26 innings before mounting a three-run ninth inning in the final frame of the regular season. Jack Little shut the door by striking out the side to earn the title.
• The Cardinal wrapped up its home schedule at 30-3 after a three-game sweep of Washington State on May 18-20. Andrew Daschbach finished the series with two home runs, while his spectacular bare-handed catch in Friday's 10-1 win was the No. 1 play on SportsCenter.
• 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.