STANFORD, Calif. – No. 5 Stanford's 2018 season came to a close with a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Cal State Fullerton on Sunday night at Sunken Diamond.
"This team was never short on heart and effort throughout the season," said Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "There were so many great wins and moments all year, moments that will never be taken away from us. I am excited to continue moving forward with this program and there is no doubt in my mind this group will be hungry for the future."
The Cardinal (46-12) struggled to produce at the plate all night, falling victim to 15 strikeouts. Brandon Wulff led Stanford with three hits, including two doubles, and the Cardinal outhit the Titans (35-23), 7-4, but ultimately fell short. Alec Wilson had a two-out, two-run single in the seventh, but that was all the Cardinal would plate in a tough night offensively.
Cal State Fullerton took a 2-0 lead after four innings on a pair of sacrifice flies. Hank LaForte scored on Daniel Cope's fly ball to center in the opening frame before Cope scored on a Jacob Pavletich sacrifice fly in the fourth. Starter Erik Miller took the loss, going 4.0 innings while allowing one hit and two walks.
Austin Weiermiller replaced Miller, pitching 2.1 innings and allowing three earned runs by way of a home run from Ruben Cardenas in the fifth. Zach Grech replaced him, striking out two in 1.2 innings while allowing two hits. Stanford pitchers surrendered just nine base runners on the evening.
"Congratulations to Cal State Fullerton," added Esquer. "I thought we played two very tough games against them, and they will represent our region well in the Super Regional round."
The Titans finished 4-0 in the region, defeating Stanford on back-to-back nights in the double-elimination format. The Cardinal fended off elimination earlier in the day with a 4-2 win over Baylor.
Cardinal Notes
- It is the second consecutive season Stanford was eliminated from the NCAA Regional round by Cal State Fullerton. The Cardinal was eliminated from the 2017 postseason after a 4-2 loss to the Titans on June 3 in Mark Marquess' final game in charge of the program.
- Stanford's 46 wins tie for the 10th-most in program history. The Cardinal's win percentage of .793 (46-12) is the second-highest clip in program history, while 12 losses ties the fewest losses in a season (min. 50 games).
- Four Cardinal – Andrew Daschbach, Nico Hoerner, Alec Wilson and Kris Bubic – were named to the All-Tournament team.