Late Rally Dooms CardinalLate Rally Dooms Cardinal
Bob Drebin / isiphotos.com
Baseball

Late Rally Dooms Cardinal

Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. – No. 2 Stanford could not recover from a six-run seventh inning by No. 1 UCLA, dropping the rubber match of the series, 10-7, on Sunday at Sunken Diamond.

"This was a great weekend as a measuring stick and it proved to us that we are capable of playing at the very highest level," said the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "We're just a few ingredients and a little more experience away from winning that series. I think our goal is to flip the outcome of this series by the end of the year and if we do that, we're capable of beating anyone in the country."

Stanford hit a season-high four home runs, including two off the bat of Tim Tawa, who finished 2-for-4. The Cardinal took a 4-3 lead into the seventh inning but UCLA hung a six on the scoreboard and, despite a spirited response, Stanford could not erase the deficit.

The Bruins (23-6-0, 9-3-0 Pac-12) took an early lead, scoring an unearned run in the top of the first via a fielding error by the Cardinal (20-5-0, 7-2-0) and a sacrifice fly. Maverick Handley led off the home half with a double but was stranded at second.

Stanford leveled the score at 1-1 in the second with Tawa's first home run of the day, a two-out, solo shot with two strikes. UCLA regained the lead in the next frame, scoring on another sacrifice fly – starting pitcher Erik Miller did well to limit the damage, stranding runners on second and third.

Miller's hard work paid off as Stanford took its first lead of the day in the bottom of the third. With two outs, Matthiessen crushed a three-run shot into the trees beyond the left-field fence, putting the Cardinal on top, 4-2. UCLA responded in the fourth, cutting the deficit in half with its third sacrifice fly of the day.

Matthiessen relieved Miller to start the fifth – Miller's final line included one strikeout in 4.0 innings, allowing three runs, two of which were earned. Matthiessen needed just eight pitches to retire the side in order in the fifth and pitched through a one-out single in the sixth to put up another zero.

UCLA retook the lead in the seventh with Ryan Kreidler's double into the gap in right center scoring a pair, making it 5-4, Bruins. Cody Jensen entered, allowing an infield single to his only batter, and was replaced by Austin Weiermiller, who came in with the bases loaded and one out. Weiermiller allowed a sacrifice fly to make it 6-4 before Matt McLain's two-out, three-run triple to make it 9-4.

Tawa's second long ball of the day cut into the lead in the home half of the seventh, again taking starter Ryan Garcia (W, 3-0) deep for his first career multi-home run game, but UCLA restored its five-run lead with a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth. Carson Rudd, who entered with two outs in the seventh, struck out McLain for the final out in the eighth to leave the bases loaded.

Stanford did not go quietly with Brandon Wulff's two-run home run, a line shot to left field, cutting into the lead in the bottom of the eighth, making it 10-7. It was Wulff's second home run of the series and team-leading seventh of 2019. Jack Little pitched a scoreless ninth and Stanford went down in order in the home half to seal the 2-1 series win for the Bruins.

No. 2 Stanford returns to action on Tuesday when it travels north to face San Francisco at Dante Benedetti Diamond in San Francisco. Live statistics will be available at GoStanford.com.

Cardinal Notes

  • Stanford's four home runs were a season high – it was the Cardinal's most home runs in a game since a win at Utah on May 5, 2018.
  • Matthiessen extended his reached-base streak to 12 games.
  • Tawa has four home runs in his last six games and three in his career against UCLA.