Double the FunDouble the Fun
Baseball

Double the Fun

  • Game 1
  • Game 2
Box Score

FULLERTON, Calif. – No. 11 Stanford improved to 9-1 on the season with a pair of wins at No. 24 Cal State Fullerton on Friday night at Goodwin Field.

"Game 1 was definitely a battle against a pitcher who hadn't given up an earned run this season, so I credit our guys for staying patient and coming through with some big hits late in the game," said the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "You could see our guys getting more comfortable as the night went on, and they're well prepared for situations like this. Maverick Handley is really starting to swing the bat well, obviously Wulff and Matthiessen have been carrying a load offensively and you love to see Tim Tawa come through with the game-winning hit."

In Game 1, a 4-3 win for Stanford, Tawa had the game-winning RBI, a two-strike, two-out single in the eighth inning to score Maverick Handley, who reached with a two-out triple. Handley finished 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI, Brandon Wulff hit a monstrous home run over the batters' eye in center field and Nick Bellafronto was 2-for-4 with a double.

The Titans (9-1-0) jumped on the Cardinal (4-4-0) early, taking a 2-0 lead after four innings. Hank LaForte led off the home half of the first with a triple and scored on a single by Brett Borgogno. Jordan Hernandez scored in the fourth on Jackson Lyon's groundout to Nick Bellafronto.

Starter Brendan Beck was superb, surrendering two earned runs with six strikeouts, tying a career high with 6.2 innings pitched. Beck pitched through jams in the second and third and retired the side in order in the fifth and sixth innings to keep the Cardinal in the game.

Stanford finally got its offense going in the sixth inning when Christian Robinson scored on a fielders' choice off the bat of Brandon Dieter, who steered the ball far enough into the hole to bring home Robinson. Handley's double into the right-field gap then scored Dieter to level the score at 2-2.

In the seventh, Brandon Wulff crushed his fourth home run in three games over the batters' eye in center field to give the Cardinal its first lead of the series. The Titans responded in the home half with an unearned run but Stanford seized the lead right back in the eighth.

With two out, Handley tripled into the left-field alley, eventually scoring on Tim Tawa's two-strike, two-out line drive to left. Zach Grech pitched a scoreless home half before making way for Jack Little in the bottom of the ninth. Little walked the lead-off batter but punched out two Titans before inducing a weak grounder to Tawa at short to shut the door and clinch the series opener. Grech earned the win and Little picked up his third save of the season.

The Cardinal made it two wins on Friday in Game 2 with a clinical display. Wilson finished with a career-high four RBI, Handley drove in three and Bellafronto scored three times in an 8-1 win. Robinson scored twice and Bellafronto was on base three times with one RBI and a pair of walks.

Stanford scored three runs in the second and two in the fourth to give starting pitcher Jacob Palisch a healthy lead. Bellafronto singled home Robinson to start the scoring before Handley and Alec Wilson drew bases-loaded walks to make it 3-0. In the fifth, Handley singled home Robinson and Wilson lined a single into right field to score Bellafronto and make it 5-0.

Palisch did not allow a hit through his first 3.1 innings pitched. The sophomore helped his cause in the fourth with a fantastic unassisted putout at first – Palisch fielded a bunt and raced to the bag, diving and tagging LaForte. Palisch allowed his only run of the night in the fifth but stranded runners on the corners to escape further damage.

Stanford restored its five-run lead and more in the sixth, plating three runs, all with two outs. Handley's single up the middle scored Bellafronto and Wilson's single through the right side scored Dieter and Handley to make it 8-1.

Palisch, who earned the win, exited after 5.0 innings pitched, finishing with four strikeouts while allowing one run on three hits. Austin Weiermiller worked a scoreless sixth before Carson Rudd took over for the seventh.

The series finale is set for Sunday 1 p.m. Live streaming and statistics will be available at GoStanford.com.

Cardinal Notes

  • Outfielder Kyle Stowers exited the game in the bottom of the first inning with an injury after a collision on a fly ball to left center.
  • Bellafronto had his first career multi-hit game in Game 1 with a single and a double. Bellafronto has started Stanford's last three games at third base.
  • It was Stanford's second doubleheader in seven days after playing two games against UNLV on Feb. 23 at Sunken Diamond.