STANFORD, Calif. – No. 2 Stanford sits atop the Pac-12 conference standings entering this weekend's three-game series at USC, starting Friday at 7 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks.
The Cardinal (31-7-0, 15-3-0 Pac-12) enters having one eight-of-nine in Pac-12 play, most recently earning a 2-1 series win over Arizona (April 26-28) at Sunken Diamond.
All three games will air on Pac-12 Networks. Game 2 on Saturday will begin at 6 p.m. with Sunday's finale set for 2 p.m. Live statistics for all games will be available at GoStanford.com. The Cardinal also faces Santa Clara in the home leg of the season series on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Live streaming and live statistics will be available at GoStanford.com.
Kyle Stowers wears No. 37 to remember a friend—and the power of courage through struggle. pic.twitter.com/mShuY4VmN9
— Stanford University (@Stanford) April 29, 2019
Weekend Opponent, USC
• Stanford enters the series with a 158-145-2 all-time record against the Trojans (19-22-1, 8-9-1), who most recently earned a 2-1 series win over Cal poly (April 26-28).
• Last season, Stanford swept USC, 3-0, at Sunken Diamond, outscoring USC, 34-2, including 29-1 over the final two contests.
• Offensively, C.J. Stubbs leads or co-leads the Trojans in home runs (5), slugging percentage (.503), total bases (76) and doubles (10) while Matthew Acosta paces the team in batting average (.315), on-base percentage (.417) and RBI (30).
• USC carries a 4.58 team earned-run average into the series, led by starting pitcher Connor Lunn (6-1, 2.23 ERA), who has tossed a team-high 60.2 innings with a .172 batting average against.
Tuesday's Opponent, Santa Clara
• Stanford heads south on Tuesday to square off with Santa Clara, which enters the weekend 10-32-0 overall with a 3-15 mark in West Coast Conference play.
• On Tuesday, Stanford picked up a 7-1 win at Santa Clara behind 7.0 innings of one-run ball from Alex Williams and two-run home runs by Brandon Wulff and Kyle Stowers. Last season, Stanford earned 16-8 and 9-0 wins over the Broncos.
• Santa Clara is coached by former Stanford associate head coach Rusty Filter.
Where Do We Stand?
• The Cardinal maintains its position atop the Pac-12 conference standings with a 15-3-0 record ahead of Oregon State (17-4-0), UCLA (14-4-0) and Arizona State (13-8-0). Stanford continues Pac-12 play next week when it visits Cal (May 10-12) followed by a home series against Oregon State (May 17-19) with league action wrapping up at Arizona State (May 23-25).
• Stanford climbed to No. 2 in the latest D1 Baseball top-25 poll, tied for its highest ranking of the season – three Pac-12 teams occupy the top three spots (No. 1 UCLA, No. Oregon State) with Arizona State sitting at No. 22.
• The Cardinal enters the weekend at No. 19 in the latest NCAA RPI (ratings power index) report. Seven of Stanford's 2019 opponents rank in the top 50 – No. 1 UCLA, No. 11 Oregon State, No. 39 Oregon, No. 40 California, No. 42 Arizona State and No. 47 Gonzaga.
Stanford ups its 15-game home run total to 39 with @KyleStowers' 5th of the season. The Cardinal has hit multiple homers in 13 of those games. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/X874nd2Iu3
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) May 1, 2019
Long Ball Leads the Way
• Stanford's 1.41 home runs per game rank 11th in the nation. The Cardinal's 55 total homers rank 19th in the country and third in the Pac-12. Stanford's 32 home runs in league play rank only behind Arizona State (33), which has played three more Pac-12 games than the Cardinal.
• In the last 15 games, Stanford has hit 39 home runs with multiple homers in 13 of those contests.
• Over the last eight games, the Cardinal has hit 25 home runs with 92 runs – Stanford has plated double-digit runs in six of those games.
• Stanford has hit five home runs in two of the last eight games (at Oregon, April 19 and vs. San Jose State, April 23) – no other Pac-12 team has hit five home runs in a game this season.
A Balanced Attack
• Six Cardinal enter the weekend with a slugging percentage of .450 or higher – Brandon Wulff (.721), Will Matthiessen (.599), Andrew Daschbach (.576), Kyle Stowers (.477), Nick Bellafronto (.473) and Maverick Handley (.450).
• Six have at least 20 RBI – Matthiessen (37), Wulff (35), Daschbach (30), Tim Tawa (27), Stowers (24) and Duke Kinamon (21).
• Eight Cardinal have scored at least 20 runs – Wulff (41), Daschbach (38), Handley (34), Matthiessen (33), Stowers (26), Kinamon (24), Tawa (20) and Nick Bellafronto (20).
• In Pac-12 play, five Cardinal are batting above .300 – Daschbach (.414), Matthiessen (.370), Wulff (.344), Tawa (.324) and Handley (.312).
• Matthiessen leads the Cardinal in batting average (.366), on-base percentage (.449), hits (52), RBI (37) and multi-hit games (16) with twice as many three-hit games as any teammate (6). Matthiessen, who recently entered the Cardinal's starting pitching rotation, is 4-1 with a 3.62 earned-run average while holding opposing hitters to a .210 batting average.
• Wulff's 16 home runs, which rank second in the Pac-12 and 10th in the country, are one behind Andrew Daschbach's team lead in 2018 (17) – Daschbach's home run total was the most since Sean Ratliff hit 22 in 2008. Wulff also leads the team in slugging percentage (.721), runs (41) and walks (31). In his last nine games, Wulff is slashing .467/1.333/.595 with a team-high eight home runs, 18 runs, 16 RBI, 40 total bases and nine walks. In Pac-12 play, Wulff leads the league in slugging percentage (.859) and runs scored (26) while ranking seventh in RBI (19) and second in total bases (55).
• In the last eight games, Daschbach is slashing .448/1.069/.514 with five homers, 13 RBI, 31 total bases and 14 runs. In Pac-12 play, Daschbach ranks fourth in the league in batting average (.414), second in slugging percentage (.786), sixth in on-base percentage (.474), second in runs (24), tied for first in doubles (8), second in total bases (55) and fifth in home runs (6). Daschbach rides an 11-game reached-base streak into the weekend.
• Since moving to the lead-off spot 14 games ago on April 9, Stowers is slashing .328/.603/.418 with four home runs and 12 RBI. All five of Stowers' five homers on the season have come since March 31.
Trio Leading the Staff
• Three pitchers, starters Brendan Beck and Erik Miller along with All-American reliever Jack Little, lead a pitching staff that ranks third in the Pac-12 and seventh in the NCAA in earned-run average (3.10).
• The pitching staff has allowed the fewest walks (114) and home runs (16) in the Pac-12, ranking second in saves (11).
• Little, a 2018 and 2019 preseason All-American, ranks second in the Pac-12 with eight saves – his 24 career saves rank third in program history behind Steve Chitren (26) and Colton Hock (25). In 27.2 relief innings across 16 appearances, Little owns a 37-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio with a 1.63 ERA and a .196 opposing batting average.
• Miller enters the week 6-0, ranking sixth in the Pac-12 in ERA (2.60), eighth in opposing batting average (.212) and 10th in strikeouts (59). Miller struck out a career-high 11 in his start at Oregon (April 20).
• Beck, Stanford's Friday-night starter, ranks fifth in the Pac-12 in ERA (2.52) and leads the team in innings pitched (60.2). Beck has pitched at least 5.0 innings in all but one start with 6.0 or more frames in six.
• Austin Weiermiller (5-0, 1.82 ERA) and Zach Grech (2-0, 4.56 ERA) co-lead the team with 17 appearances, all in relief
The ?? just keeps rollinnnnnn. ?? #GoStanford
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Quick Hitters
• Stanford is 25-1 when leading after six innings, 26-0 when leading after seven and 29-0 when leading after eight.
• The Cardinal is 11-3 when the opponent scores first, 23-0 when outhitting the opposition and 10-2 in one-run games.
• Stanford leads conference play in batting average (.302) and slugging percentage (.518).
• Stanford's 44 stolen bases rank third in the Pac-12 behind Oregon (49) and UCLA (46).
• Duke Kinamon, who has homered in three of his last nine games, leads the team with 10 stolen bases, which ranks seventh in the Pac-12. Kinamon's six stolen bases rank fourth in Pac-12 play.
• Prior to April 18, Kinamon, Nick Brueser and Nick Bellafronto had not homered this season – the trio has combined for eight since then, a span of nine games.
• Bellafronto hit the first two homers of his career last week against San Jose State (April 23) and Arizona (April 27), the latter of which was a grand slam. Kinamon made it two grand slams in as many games for the Cardinal with a four-run four bagger in Stanford's 13-5 win over Arizona (April 28).
• Maverick Handley has thrown out eight of 18 stolen base attempts him on the season and leads Pac-12 catchers in pickoffs (4). Since his arrival on The Farm in 2017, Stanford's record stands at 88-19 with Handley starts behind home plate. A bioengineering major, Handley aspires to be an orthopedic surgeon following his baseball career.
• Kyle Stowers switched numbers to 37 prior to the season to honor teammate and close friend Jason Lyon, who died of brain cancer when the pair were teammates in high school.
• Brandon Wulff played the national anthem on the piano prior to Stanford's 13-3 win over Arizona (April 27). It was the third-consecutive season Wulff has played the national anthem – Stanford is 3-0 in those games with a 25-9 run differential.
• In Stanford's three-game sweep of Oregon (April 18-20), the Cardinal batted .351 with a .684 slugging percentage, a .440 on-base average, 10 home runs and 78 total bases.
• Stanford is 15-1 in the month of February, 21-5 in March and 27-7 in April under the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer, whose overall record at Stanford stands at 77-19 (.802).
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2019 Season Recap
• Stanford improved to 7-1 in midweek games with a 7-1 win over Santa Clara (April 30). Alex Williams struck out a career-high in a career-high 7.0 innings while allowing one run on two hits while Brandon Wulff and Kyle Stowers each hit two-run home runs.
• After dropping Game 1, Stanford surged back with wins on Saturday and Sunday to earn a 2-1 series win over Arizona and maintain its position atop the Pac-12 standings with 13 runs each in Games 2-3.
• Stanford hit another five home runs in a 15-7 win over San Jose State, improving to 15-1 in midweek games under David Esquer (April 23).
• Trailing 10-6 entering the bottom of the eighth against Gonzaga (April 22), the Cardinal stormed back with five unanswered runs, including three in the bottom of the ninth, capped by Nick Bellafronto's walk-off single – Bellafronto and Nick Brueser also hit their first career home runs in the win.
• Stanford got back on track with a three-game sweep at Oregon, outscoring the Ducks 35-9 in the series. Brandon Wulff hit four home runs of Stanford's 10 home runs in the series while Andrew Daschbach added three of his own.
• The Cardinal's win streak in midweek games, which spanned 25 games and dated to April 26, 2016, ended on Tuesday with an 8-6 loss against UC Davis (April 16).
• Stanford maintained its position atop the Pac-12 standings with a three-game sweep of Washington (April 12-14) – the Cardinal pitching staff surrendered just five runs for the weekend.
• The Cardinal rebounded with an 11-1 win at San Francisco (April 9), its 25th consecutive midweek win. Kyle Stowers and Will Matthiessen homered and Alex Williams earned the win with 5.0 innings of one-run ball.
• In the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup on The Farm since 2000, No. 2 Stanford dropped a 2-1 series decision to No. 1 UCLA (April 5-7). Stanford's lone win in the series came on Friday night behind 7.1 shutout innings from Brendan Beck and a walk-off single by Will Matthiessen in the bottom of the ninth inning.
• Stanford made it 10 in a row with a 2-0 triumph of Fresno State on Tuesday (April 2) – it was the Cardinal's 24th straight midweek win, a streak dating to April 26, 2017.
• Stanford improved to 6-0-0 in Pac-12 play with a 3-0 sweep at Washington State (March 29-31) – the Cardinal outscored the Cougars, 29-8, including a season-high 17 hits in Game 3.
• The Cardinal opened Pac-12 play with a 3-0 series sweep over Utah (March 22-24) with wins by the scores of 7-4, 7-6 and 7-3.
• Stanford emphatically wrapped up pre-Pac-12 play with a 3-1 series win over No. 12 Texas at Sunken Diamond (March 7-10). After dropping the series opener, despite a career performance from starting pitcher Brendan Beck, the Cardinal outscored the Longhorns 21-3 over the final three games to clinch the series win.
• After sweeping a doubleheader, 2-0, to clinch the series win at No. 24 Cal State Fullerton (March 1-3), Stanford dropped the series finale, 4-3, on a walk-off single at Goodwin Field in Fullerton, California.
• Stanford's streak of midweek wins stretched to 23 games with an 8-3 win over San Francisco (Feb. 27).
• The Cardinal came from behind to earn a 2-1 series win over UNLV in Stanford's first home action of the season (Feb. 22-24).
• Stanford opened the season with a 4-0 showing at the Angels College Classic in Phoenix, Arizona (Feb. 15-18). The Cardinal earned wins over Ball State (2-1), Wichita State (5-4), Pepperdine (6-1) and Grand Canyon (14-4).
Defending the Crown
• Stanford captured its first conference championship since 2004 in dramatic fashion last season, coming from behind on the road during the final day of the regular season.
• After losing Games 1-2 at Washington, Stanford trailed, 5-3, entering the ninth inning of Game 3 (May 26). Will Matthiessen's two-run home run in the ninth inning tied the game at 5-5 before Nico Hoerner beat out an infield single to score Alec Wilson. Jack Little struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to secure the Cardinal's 18th conference championship.
Who's Back from 2018?
• A significant portion of Stanford's offensive production returns for 2019, including 95 percent of the team's home runs, 79 percent of RBI and 74 percent of total bases from 2018.
• Three players who started all 58 games return – Tim Tawa, Andrew Daschbach and Kyle Stowers.
• Daschbach led the team in home runs (17), RBI (63) and total bases (125). Daschbach's 17 big flies were the most in a season since Sean Ratliff hit 22 home runs during the 2008 season.
• Stowers ranked second on the team in home runs (10) and RBI (42) while leading the team in walks (30).
• Tawa, who split time between center field and third base, earned freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfect Game after hitting seven home runs with 41 RBI, 44 runs and a team-high 18 doubles in 2018.
• Led by Little, Stanford returns most of its pitching staff from 2018, which ranked second in the nation with a 2.83 earned-run average.
• Brendan Beck finished his freshman season with an 8-0 record and 2.43 ERA across 66.2 innings pitched.
• Erik Miller, a preseason All-American and Stanford's Sunday starter in 2018, is one of the top prospects for the 2019 MLB Draft – Miller went 4-4 with a 4.07 ERA in 48.2 IP.
• Other key arms returning include Will Matthiessen (2.00 ERA in 13 relief appearances), Zach Grech (2.65 ERA in team-high 28 appearances) and Austin Weiermiller (5-1, 3.29 ERA in 38.1 IP across 23 appearances).
Esquer Era Underway
• 2019 marks the second season under the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer.
• Esquer, a 1987 graduate of Stanford and starting shortstop on the 1987 College World Series-winning team, returned to The Farm after serving the previous 18 seasons as the head coach at Cal.