STANFORD, Calif. – No. 12 Stanford opens its 2019 home schedule this weekend when it plays host to UNLV for a three-game series, starting Saturday at 1 p.m.
Game 1 of the three-game series, originally scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, was pushed to Saturday due to complications with UNLV's travel plans. Game 1 will begin at 1 p.m. followed by Game 2, which will begin 45 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1. Game 3 is still scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.
?? SCHEDULE UPDATE ??
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) February 22, 2019
Friday night's game against @unlvbaseball has been POSTPONED to Saturday. We will play a double header then, starting at 1 pm - Game 2 will begin 45 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/WcSke9IHFz
The Cardinal (4-0-0) started the season with a perfect road trip at the Angels College Classic, earning wins against Ball State (Feb. 15), Wichita State (Feb. 16), Pepperdine (Feb. 17) and Grand Canyon (Feb. 18). Stanford also plays host to San Francisco on Tuesday before a three-game series at No. 25 Cal State Fullerton (March 1-3).
Live streaming and live statistics for all games will be available at GoStanford.com.
Series History
• Stanford owns a 3-7-0 all-time record against the Rebels (3-2-0), most recently facing off in 2013. The Cardinal was swept by UNLV, 3-0, at Sunken Diamond.
• UNLV opened the season with a 2-1 series win against Seattle at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas. The Rebels then split a two-game, midweek series against UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Bryson Stott leads the team in batting average (.471) and slugging percentage (.941) after five games while Friday-night starter Cameron Jabara struck out seven in 6.0 innings pitched in the season opener.
• Stanford welcomes San Francisco (1-2-0) to The Farm on Tuesday. The Cardinal is 93-18-2, all-time, against the Dons, most recently earning a 5-2 win on May 1, 2018.
• Last season, the Cardinal went 9-0 in midweek games. Stanford has won its last 22 midweek games, a streak dating to April 26, 2017, when the Cardinal lost a 4-2 decision at Santa Clara.
A post shared by Stanford Baseball?? (@stanfordbsb) on Feb 20, 2019 at 12:29pm PST
A Look Back
• Stanford completed its season-opening road trip 4-0 with wins over Ball State, Wichita State, Pepperdine and Grand Canyon. As a team, the Cardinal reached base at a .385 clip while carrying a 2.00 earned-run average. Six Stanford pitchers (Brendan Beck – 11; Cody Jensen – 3; Erik Miller – 9; Will Matthiessen – 6; Jacob Palisch – 7; Alex Williams – 5) tied or set his career high in strikeouts with the staff striking out 13 or more in three games.
• Will Matthiessen finished the weekend 6-for-14 with three doubles, six RBI and a 1.143 OPS – Matthiessen drove in the winning run and earned the win with a career-high six strikeouts in the win against Pepperdine.
• Brandon Wulff finished with a 1.200 OPS, reaching base nine times in 15 plate appearances.
• Stanford's pitching staff finished the week with a 1.00 WHIP in 36.0 innings pitched, striking out 48 total batters. 2018 All-American and Golden Spikes watch list member Jack Little earned saves in each of the Cardinal's first two contests, including a six-out save against Wichita State (Feb. 16).
• Stanford finished the week with a .986 fielding percentage – the Cardinal's three highest team fielding percentages have come in the last three seasons.
Stanford remains #12 in this week's @d1baseball top 25. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/FwHHxLDCLZ
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) February 21, 2019
Cardinal in the Polls
• Stanford held its No. 12 ranking in D1 Baseball's top-25 poll. Four of the Cardinal's 2019 opponents ranked in the poll – No. 4 UCLA, No. 7 Oregon State, No. 23 Texas and No. 25 Cal State Fullerton.
• Stanford also held its places in the Baseball America (7), Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (5), NCWBA (8) and Perfect Game (7) polls.
• Stanford was picked to finish second in the Pac-12 in the annual preseason coaches poll. UCLA earned the top spot with Oregon State, Arizona and Washington rounding out the top five – UCLA (April 5-7), Oregon State (May 17-19), Arizona (April 26-28) and Washington (April 12-14) each visit Sunken Diamond this season.
Preseason Honors
• Four Cardinal – Jack Little, Kyle Stowers, Brendan Beck and Erik Miller – received preseason All-America recognition.
• Little led the team with five preseason nods from D1 Baseball, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, NCBWA and Perfect Game. Little was also included on the NCBWA's preseason watch list for the Stopper of the Year award.
• Stowers was named a preseason first-team All-American by Baseball America.
• Miller earned preseason second-team honors from Baseball America.
• Beck was named preseason All-America by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and NCBWA.
The Road Ahead
• Stanford travels to Fullerton, California, for a three-game series at No. 25 Cal State Fullerton (March 1-3). The Cardinal wraps up its nonconference slate with a four-game series against No. 23 Texas (March 7-10) at Sunken Diamond.
• The Cardinal opens Pac-12 play at home against Utah (March 22-24). Stanford's conference home opponents also include No. 5 UCLA (April 5-7), Washington (April 12-14), Arizona (April 26-28) and defending national champion No. 8 Oregon State (May 17-19).
Stanford's bats exploded for 14 runs in Monday's win at Grand Canyon. ?? #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/YB2b4Fs3S0
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) February 19, 2019
Firepower Returning
• A significant portion of Stanford's offensive production returns for 2019, including 95 percent of the team's home runs, 79 percent of RBI and 74 percent of total bases from 2018.
• Three players who started all 58 games return – Tim Tawa, Andrew Daschbach and Kyle Stowers.
• Daschbach led the team in home runs (17), RBI (63) and total bases (125). Daschbach's 17 big flies were the most in a season since Sean Ratliff hit 22 home runs during the 2008 season.
• Stowers ranked second on the team in home runs (10) and RBI (42) while leading the team in walks (30).
• Tawa, who split time between center field and third base, earned freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfect Game after hitting seven home runs with 41 RBI, 44 runs and a team-high 18 doubles in 2018.
• Led by Little, Stanford returns most of its pitching staff from 2018, which ranked second in the nation with a 2.83 earned-run average.
• Brendan Beck finished his freshman season with an 8-0 record and 2.43 ERA across 66.2 innings pitched.
• Erik Miller, a preseason All-American and Stanford's Sunday starter in 2018, is one of the top prospects for the 2019 MLB Draft – Miller went 4-4 with a 4.07 ERA in 48.2 IP.
• Other key arms returning include Will Matthiessen (2.00 ERA in 13 relief appearances), Zach Grech (2.65 ERA in team-high 28 appearances) and Austin Weiermiller (5-1, 3.29 ERA in 38.1 IP across 23 appearances).
Welcome to The Farm
5 • Austin Kretzschmar • INF • 6-0 • 175 • La Mesa, Calif. (Helix Charter)
7 • Brandon Dieter • INF/RHP • 6-0 • 175 • Covina, Calif. (South Hills)
13 • Justin Moore • INF/RHP • 6-5 • 215 • Austin, Texas (Vandegrift)
15 • Grant Burton • OF • 6-2 • 195 • San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (Mater Dei)
16 • Vincent Martinez • C • 6-2 • 220 • San Marcos, Calif. (San Marcos)
18 • Cody Jensen • RHP • 6-3 • 185 • Roseville, Calif. (Jesuit)
28 • Alex Williams • RHP • 6-3 • 205 • Castro Valley, Calif. (Redwood Christian)
40 • Nicolas Lopez • LHP • 6-4 • 190 • Redwood City, Calif. (Serra)
Esquer Era Underway
• 2019 marks the second season under the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer.
• Esquer, a 1987 graduate of Stanford and starting shortstop on the 1987 College World Series-winning team, returned to The Farm after serving the previous 18 seasons as the head coach at Cal.
• Esquer's career record stands at 571-479-2 entering the 2019 season.
• Stanford's entire coaching staff, which includes Thomas Eager, Tommy Nicholson and Jack Marder, also enters its second season with the Cardinal.