Streak SnappedStreak Snapped
Glen Mitchell / Stanford Athletics
Baseball

Streak Snapped

Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. – No. 4 Stanford's comeback bid came up short in an 8-6 loss to UC Davis on Tuesday night at Sunken Diamond.

Stanford had won its 25 previous midweek contests, a streak dating to April 26, 2016. Tim Tawa's three-run home run in the eighth inning briefly gave Stanford hope, but UC Davis shut the door in the ninth to hand the Cardinal the loss. Will Matthiessen also homered and Nick Brueser finished 2-for-4 with a double, but Stanford dug itself a hole from which it could not recover.

"We just didn't play well, we let a lot of things happen that we don't normally let happen and we just had one of those days we haven't had in a long time on a Tuesday," said the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "Oregon is a quality opponent this weekend and today is a good reminder to our guys that we need to bring all parts of our game to be the type of team we want to be."

The Cardinal (24-6-0, 10-2-0 Pac-12) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning as Matthiessen took the first pitch he saw beyond the fence in left field. Starting pitcher Alex Williams pitched through minor trouble in each of the first three innings, stranding a runner in each frame before the Aggies (11-18-0, 3-6-0 Big West) plated four runs, two of which were unearned, in the fourth.

UC Davis tied it at 1-1 with Conner Longrie's RBI single before taking the lead on a fielding error by the Cardinal. The Aggies made it 3-1 with a sacrifice fly before adding a fourth run in the inning on an infield single, a bouncing ball just beyond the reach of Williams leaving the Cardinal infield no play at first. Stanford had a chance to cut into the lead in the home half but Nick Brueser, who reached with a two-out double, was thrown out trying to score.

After the lead-off batter reached on an error in the fifth, Carson Rudd relieved Williams, whose final line included two earned runs in 4.0+ innings with a pair of strikeouts. Stanford chipped away in the fifth when Kyle Stowers scored from second on a wild pitch, but the Aggies took a five-run lead in the seventh after a two-out, three-run home run off the bat of Alejandro Lara.

Stanford's offense awakened in the eighth, starting with a walk, a single and a hit-by-pitch to load the bases for Tim Tawa. A wild pitch allowed Brandon Wulff to score from third and Tawa's three-run blast made it a two-run game at 8-6, Aggies. The Cardinal failed to threaten again, however, as UC Davis put Stanford away, one-two-three, in the ninth to end it.

No. 4 Stanford returns to Pac-12 play on Thursday when it opens a three-game series at Oregon. Thursday's series opener is set for 7 p.m., Friday's contest will take place at 4 p.m. and Saturday's finale starts at Noon – the first two games of the series will broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks while live streaming for Saturday's game will be available at GoStanford.com. Live statistics for all games are available at GoStanford.com.

Cardinal Notes

  • Stanford's streak of wins in midweek games came to an end at 25 – Tuesday was the first midweek loss since April 26, 2016.
  • It was the first game this season in which Maverick Handley did not start. Freshman Vincent Martinez started in his place at catcher, the first start of his career.
  • Matthiessen's home run was his fifth of the season.