Perfect Start to Pac-12 PlayPerfect Start to Pac-12 Play
John P. Lozano/isiphotos.com
Baseball

Perfect Start to Pac-12 Play

Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. – No. 3 Stanford's bullpen tossed 4.1 shutout innings and the Cardinal benefited from six Utah errors in a 7-3 win to earn the three-game sweep on Sunday at Sunken Diamond.

Maverick Handley, Andrew Daschbach and Tim Tawa each finished with two hits and one run, and Will Matthiessen picked up a 3.0-inning save (1) while allowing just one hit in relief. Tawa, Nick Bellafronto and Brandon Dieter accounted for the Cardinal's (15-3-0, 3-0-0 Pac-12) three RBI, and Austin Weiermiller (2-0) earned the win with 1.1 shutout innings out of the bullpen.

"I thought we beat a good team all week," said the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "It's hard to sweep every team in our league, you have to come out on Sundays, even after the series is won, and be prepare to battle. I thought our guys did a great job of that today."

The Utes (7-13-0, 1-5-0 Pac-12) took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. After a lead-off walk and a single, Shea Kramer's single scored Erick Migueles. Utah doubled the lead with a bases-loaded walk, but Miller induced an inning-ending, 5-4-3 double play to limit the damage.

Miller settled in, working back-to-back strong innings after the Utes took the lead – Stanford turned another double play to end the fourth inning.

Stanford's offense got on the board in the home half courtesy of a series of errors by Utah. Brandon Wulff reached on an error, eventually scoring on Tawa's single through the left side, and two more runs came across on a pair of errors to make it 3-2, Stanford.

The Cardinal's lead did not last long as Utah scored an unearned run in the fifth to tie it up, 3-3, but another error and a fielders' interference on a first-and-third double steal allowed Stanford to plate a pair of runs in the home half, one of which was earned.  

Austin Weiermiller relieved Miller with two outs in the fifth – Miller pitched 4.2 innings, striking out a pair while allowing four hits and three runs, only two of which were earned. Weiermiller pitched through a jam in the sixth, stranding two runners and striking out the final out for a shutdown inning.

Matthiessen relieved Weiermiller to start the seventh, striking out a pair and needing just 10 pitches to retire the side in his first frame. Stanford went down quickly in the home half and Matthiessen returned to work another 1-2-3 inning in the eighth. Stanford extended the lead to 7-3 in the home half courtesy of a Nick Bellafronto sacrifice fly to centerfield and a two-out RBI single by Brandon Dieter.
 
No. 3 Stanford returns to action next week with its first Pac-12 road series of the week at Washington State in Pullman, Washington, starting Friday at 5 p.m. Saturday's game starts at 2 p.m. with Sunday's finale set for Noon. Live streaming and statistics will be available at GoStanford.com.

Cardinal Notes

  • Maverick Handley picked off a runner in the first inning at first base – Handley has also thrown out all four stolen base attempts against him this season.
  • Handley's reached-base streak extends to 18 games to start the season and 19 games overall.
  • Stanford scored seven runs in all three games of the series.
  • Fifty five dogs were in attendance as part of Stanford's Pups in the Park promotion. Stanford's second Pups in the Park is set for April 28.