STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford went 46-12 in its first season under Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer, finishing with a national ranking of No. 17 from D1 Baseball.
The Cardinal's win percentage (.793) was the second highest in program history, while its 46 wins tied for 10th most. Below are more statistics and totals indicative of Stanford's season, which ended in the NCAA regional round at the hands of Cal State Fullerton on June 3.
.353 – Senior infielder Beau Branton led Stanford in batting average at .353. Branton stepped in to start 44 games at second base in the absence of Duke Kinamon, also leading the team in on-base average (.431) while serving as the Cardinal leadoff man. Branton was picked 838th overall in the 28th round by the Seattle Mariners.
.793 – Stanford's winning percentage at 46-12 was the second-highest of all time behind the 1990 season when Stanford posted a 59-12 (.831) clip.
.9782 – The Cardinal fielded at a third-best rate in program history, behind only the 2017 (.9793) and 2016 (.9827) teams.
1 – 2018 was the first season under Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer, who was appointed Mark Marquess' successor after 41 seasons on The Farm. Esquer's career coaching record stands at 571-479-2 after guiding Stanford to 46 wins in 2018.
1.083 – Nick Oar's slugging percentage came by way of three home runs in 14 at-bats, mostly pinch hits. Oar's pinch-hit home run in the top of the ninth inning at No. 3 Oregon State on May 13 tied the game, 6-6, before Stanford won in extra innings.
1.72 – Jacob Palisch earned freshman All-America honors from Perfect Game, NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper after posting a 1.72 ERA in 26 relief appearances.
2.83 – Stanford finished the season ranked second in Division I in ERA to along with a 1.14 WHIP, which ranked third. It was the 11th-lowest team ERA in program history and lowest since the 1973 season when the Cardinal posted a 2.64 ERA.
3.75 – Sophomore Maverick Handley (bioengineering) was one of 14 Cardinal named to the Pac-12 All-Academic teams. Handley's 3.75 grade-point average is a team high, earning him first-team honors.
7 – Will Matthiessen hit seven home runs in the month of May, including the tying, two-run home run in the ninth inning of Stanford's Pac-12 title-clinching, 6-5 win at Washington on May 26. On May 8, Matthiessen struck out the side in the top half of the eighth before homering in the home half.
12 – Freshman Brendan Beck issued just 12 walks in 17 appearances, including 12 starts, across 66.2 innings. Beck, the younger brother of Tristan Beck, was named Freshman All-America by D1 Baseball, Perfect Game, NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
16 – Sophomore closer Jack Little's 16 saves tied a program record set by Colton Hock in 2017. Little was named first-team All-America by D1 Baseball, Baseball America, Perfect Game, NCBWA and ABCA after posting a 0.60 ERA with 58 strikeouts and eight walks across 45.1 innings. He was also named NCBWA District 9 Player of the Year.
17 – Andrew Daschbach's 17 home runs were the most in a season since Sean Ratliff hit 22 in the 2008 campaign. Daschbach led the team in home runs, RBI (63), slugging percentage (.579) and total bases (125) while starting all 58 games.
18 – Tim Tawa's 18 doubles led the team – Tawa was named freshman All-America by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfect Game, as well as All-Pac-12.
19 – Stanford allowed just 19 stolen bases in 2018 – catcher Maverick Handley threw out 17-of-26 stolen base attempts against him.
23 – Stanford's 23 saves tied a program record (2017, 2001).
24 – Shortstop Nico Hoerner was picked 24th overall in the 2018 MLB Draft. Hoerner led the team in hits (80), multi-hit games (23), runs (45), triples (6), and stolen bases (15) while ranking second in doubles (17) and total bases (115).
28 – Zach Grech's 28 appearances, all in relief, led the team and rank 11th, all-time.
34 – Stanford appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the 34th time, hosting an NCAA regional site at Sunken Diamond for the 17th time.
46 – Stanford's 46 wins were the 10th most in program history and most since 2004 (46 wins).
48 – The Cardinal committed 48 errors on the season, third-fewest in program history.
58 – Three Cardinal – Tim Tawa, Andrew Daschbach and Kyle Stowers – started and appeared in all 58 games.
90.2 – Friday-night starter Tristan Beck led the pitching staff with 90.2 innings, posting a 2.98 ERA and a .233 batting average against. Beck missed 630 days of action between his freshman and junior seasons due to injury and was picked 112th overall by the Atlanta Braves in the 2018 MLB Draft.
101 – Kris Bubic led the team with 101 strikeouts – the left hander finished 8-1 with a 2.62 ERA in 86.0 innings, holding opponents to a .199 batting average before being selected 40th overall in the Competitive Balance Round-A of the MLB Draft.
453 – Cardinal pitchers struck out 453 batters in 2018, the 10th-most all-time and the most since 2003 (479).
