SAN FRANCISCO – No. 5 Stanford was dominant in an 11-1 win over San Francisco on Tuesday at Dante Benedetti Field.
"This was a great bounce-back win for our guys and a lot of people stepped up today," said the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball. "Will Matthiessen got us started with a home run, Kyle Stowers kept it going with another and we just never let up. Last weekend was a big test for us and today showed that our guys are ready for whatever's out there."
Matthiessen and Stowers, who drove in four, each homered, Duke Kinamon finished 3-for-4 with two runs and Nick Bellafronto went 1-for-2 with three RBI and a pair of walks. Alex Williams (W, 3-0) earned the win with 5.0 innings of one-run ball, Stanford's defense played error-free and the bullpen threw 4.0 shutout innings to seal the victory.
Took care of business. ???? #GoStanford
A post shared by Stanford Baseball?? (@stanfordbsb) on Apr 9, 2019 at 6:22pm PDT
The Cardinal (21-5-0, 7-2-0 Pac-12) got things going in the second inning, starting with a solo home run off the bat of Matthiessen, who blasted the first pitch of the inning well up the protective screen beyond the fence in left field. After two walks and a single, the bases were loaded for Bellafronto, whose sacrifice fly to deep centerfield scored Andrew Daschbach. Stowers made it a four-spot with a hard-hit, two-out single up the middle to score Kinamon and Nick Brueser, who reached base three times with three walks.
The Dons (18-14-0, 7-5-0 WCC) responded with a run in the bottom half, but Stanford got the run back and more in the top of the fourth after Williams stranded a runner in the third. Tim Tawa took home on a first-and-third steal by Brueser at first and, after a two-out walk from Bellafronto, Stowers drilled a two-out homer to the deepest part of centerfield to make it 7-1.
In the home half, Williams pitched through a jam for a shutdown inning. San Francisco put two runners aboard, but Williams forced a pop-out to Tawa at shortstop for the final out to strand both Dons.
The Cardinal pushed the lead to 10 in the fifth, plating four more runs. Matthiessen's huge day continued, singling home Brandon Wulff and eventually scoring on Kinamon's single through the right side. Bellafronto had the big hit of the inning, gapping a bases-loaded, two-run double to score Kinamon and Tawa, who reached base with a walk.
Williams again pitched through trouble in the fifth, stranding a pair of runners and inducing an inning-ending double play before making way for Jacob Palisch. Williams' final line included 5.0 innings, allowing one run on six hits while striking out three. Palisch struggled out of the gate, allowing runners to reach first and third with no outs. The sophomore escaped, picking up strikeouts on either side of a weak pop-up to Tawa.
After San Francisco stranded a pair of Cardinal in the top of the seventh, Stanford turned to Zach Grech, who needed just seven pitches to retire the side in order. The Cardinal left the bases loaded in the eighth and Grech pitched another one-two-three home half. Stanford stranded a pair in the top of the ninth and Cody Jensen worked a scoreless ninth to close it out.
No. 5 Stanford returns to action this weekend with a three-game series against Washington at Sunken Diamond, starting at 7 p.m. Saturday's game also starts at 7 p.m. with Sunday's finale set for 2 p.m. All three games will broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks with live statistics available at GoStanford.com. Eighteen of Stanford's final 28 regular-season games will air on Pac-12 Networks.
Cardinal Notes
- Stanford has won 25 straight midweek contests, a streak which dates to April 26, 2016.
- The Cardinal's 12 walks were a season high.
- Matthiessen's reached-base streak extends to 13 games.
- Pinch hitting in the eighth, Vincent Martinez registered his first career hit, a lead-off single.
- Christian Robinson doubled in his only at bat of the day in the eighth.
- It was Stanford's sixth game of the season hitting multiple home runs.
- Austin Kretschmar and Alec Wilson pinch-ran in the seventh, replacing Kinamon and Brueser, defensively.