STANFORD, Calif. – Will Matthiessen hit a pair of home runs and No. 2 Stanford claimed a three-game sweep of Utah with a 6-4 win on Sunday at Smith's Ballpark.
"Today was what you expect in baseball," said Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "It took us a while to get our feet on the ground after two big wins to start the series, and today was a definitely a dogfight."
The Cardinal (37-6 overall, 17-4 Pac-12) picked up its second consecutive Pac-12 road sweep with Jack Little (1-0) earning the win after retiring the final nine outs. Matthiessen, making his fourth start in a row, finished the week with four home runs after hitting his first career long ball on Tuesday, and Nico Hoerner finished 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Starting pitcher Erik Miller struck out six over 5.0 innings – he scattered eight hits, allowing two earned runs before making way for Jacob Palisch. Palisch lasted 1.0+ innings, surrendering the tying run before making way for Little. Little struck out three, allowing one unearned run on three hits while throwing a career-high 50 pitches.
Hoerner drove in Stanford's opening run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning before doubling the lead with an RBI single in the third. Matthiessen launched his first of the day in the fifth before the Utes (12-32, 6-15) tied the game with two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth.
Trenton Stoltz (1-3) took the loss, allowing Matthiessen's second home run of the day in the eighth before the Cardinal tacked on two more. Tim Tawa singled to score Alec Wilson from second before scoring on a double by Hoerner.
T8 | @willmatthiessen's second long ball of the day gives Stanford a 1-run lead! Catch the finish on @Pac12Network.
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) May 6, 2018
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"I give our guys credit for learning how to win in many different ways," added Esquer. "Will Matthiessen really gave us a shot in the arm this week, coming up huge in the designated hitter spot. It's great to see players taking their opportunities like that."
Little recorded the final nine outs for the third time this season, striking out the final batter who represented the winning run with two runners on.
No. 2 Stanford returns home on Tuesday to host Santa Clara at 6 p.m. PT before embarking on a three-game road trip to Corvallis, Oregon, to face No. 3 Oregon State. Tuesday's game will stream at GoStanford.com, while the weekend series will air on Pac-12 Networks. Live statistics for all games will be available at GoStanford.com.
Cardinal Notes
- Stanford's win streak extends to six games – the Cardinal has won 14 of its last 15 contests.
- Hoerner's multi-hit game was his team-high 17th of the season – Hoerner had multiple hits in all three contests at Utah, upping his average to .337.
- As a team, Stanford batted .408, slugged .708 and reached base at a .464 rate in the three games at Smith's Stadium.