STANFORD, Calif. – No. 6 Stanford came from behind to earn a 4-2 win against No. 12 Texas behind a stellar showing from the bullpen on Saturday at Sunken Diamond.
"It was a struggle for us for a while, not cashing in on our opportunities for most of the game," said the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "Later in the game, we came through in similar situations so I credit our guys for making adjustments and getting the job done. The key, though, was the bullpen. Cody Jensen was outstanding, Will Matthiessen gave us a strong showing and Jack Little looked the best he's looked all year by the end of his outing."
Maverick Handley led the Cardinal (11-3-0) with a pair of doubles and some stellar defense behind home plate – Handley picked off the lead runner on second base with no outs in the seventh, ultimately limiting the damage to one run. Matthiessen scored twice while Andrew Daschbach and Tim Tawa's sacrifice flies in the home half of the seventh made it 4-2 before Little slammed the door in the ninth.
T7 | Don't fly in the danger zone before getting the OK from @MaverickHandley!!! He fires a laser to 2nd, gets the lead runner with 0 out. HUGE.
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) March 10, 2019
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Little (2-1) earned the win, striking out a pair while allowing one hit and one walk in 2.2 innings of relief. Jensen relieved starting pitcher Alex Williams, who allowed one run on three hits in 2.1 innings, striking out five and allowing zero hits in 3.1 shutout innings.
The Longhorns (12-4-0) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a two-out RBI single off the bat of Zach Zubia, who would eventually drive in Texas' second run in the seventh. Stanford stranded a pair of runners in the second and third innings – Daschbach just missed a three-run shot with two out in the third, sending a ball to the wall in left center.
In the fifth, Daschbach's ground ball to shortstop was muffed, allowing two runs to come across and give Stanford a 2-1 lead. Jensen dominated in his 3.1 innings, striking out the side in the fifth before making way for Matthiessen with two out in the sixth. Matthiessen induced a bases-loaded grounder to Duke Kinamon to escape the jam.
After Texas tied the game in the top of the seventh, Daschbach and Tawa each brought home runs with sacrifice flies after the Cardinal loaded the bases with no outs. Little cruised through the final two frames to earn the win and at least a share of the four-game series.
The series finale is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday. Lefty Erik Miller takes the hill for the Cardinal – live streaming and statistics will be available at GoStanford.com.
Cardinal Notes
- Handley has reached base safely in all 14 games this season. He has thrown out both stolen base attempts against him and has made just one error on the season.
- Jensen's 50 pitches, five strikeouts and 3.1 innings pitched were career highs.
- Matthiessen and Brandon Wulff each reached base twice with one hit and one walk apiece.