Series LeveledSeries Leveled
Bob Drebin / isiphotos.com
Baseball

Series Leveled

Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. – No. 6 Stanford leveled the series against No. 12 Texas with an 8-1 win on Friday night at Sunken Diamond.
 
"I thought our guys came out with great focus tonight. They had to answer after getting punched in the mouth yesterday, and tonight was a great show of character from them," said the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "Our guys have done a great job of rebounding over the last couple years, and our pitching staff has given us great chances to win so far in this series. Credit them and coach Eager for being so well-prepared to face a very strong lineup."
 
Maverick Handley led the Cardinal (10-3-0) with three RBI, finishing 2-for-5 with one stolen base and one run scored, and Christian Robinson and Duke Kinamon reached base three times with two runs apiece. Stanford's pitching staff combined to allow just one run on five hits with two walks and nine strikeouts and Tim Tawa hit his first home run of the season.
 
Starting pitcher Jacob Palisch (2-0) earned the win, tossing 6.0 innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts. Palisch put away his first nine batters in order before allowing his only run of the game in the fourth. Palisch stranded runners in the fifth and sixth innings before making way for Austin Weiermiller, who allowed one hit and one walk in 2.0 innings. Carson Rudd relieved Weiermiller, putting the Longhorns away in order to close the game in the ninth.

Stanford chased starter Bryce Elder (2-1) after 2.2 innings pitched, starting in the first inning when Brandon Wulff doubled home Handley. Tawa's blast to left field doubled the lead in the second before Handley's fielders' choice score Robinson. Stanford blew the game open in the third, scoring four runs, all unearned.
 
Robinson hit a double to left center to score Andrew Daschbach, eventually scoring on a wild pitch, and Handley's two-out single up the middle scored Brandon Dieter and Kinamon to make it 7-0. The Longhorns (12-4-0) plated a run in the fourth, but that would be the only scoring Stanford allowed on the night.
 
The four-game series continues Saturday at 2 p.m. with Game 3 against Texas. Live streaming and statistics will be available at GoStanford.com.
 
Cardinal Notes

  • Stanford had nine or more strikeouts for the ninth time this season.
  • Wulff has reached base safely in all 13 games this season.
  • Kinamon stole two bases, scoring on a wild pitch in the eighth inning to make it 8-1.  
  • Palisch's 98 pitches were a career high.