DSC09879DSC09879
Baseball

Tight Title Race Continues

STANFORD, Calif. – No. 3 Stanford wraps up its regular-season home schedule this weekend when it plays host to No. 11 Oregon State, starting Friday at 6 p.m. at Sunken Diamond.

The Cardinal (38-9-0, 19-5-0) enters the week in a three-way tie atop the Pac-12 standings with the Beavers (34-15-1, 19-5-0) and No. 1 UCLA (42-8-0, 19-5-0) with six games remaining in conference play. Game 2 on Saturday starts at 4 p.m. with Sunday's series finale set for Noon. All three games will broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks with live statistics available at GoStanford.com.

Prior to Friday's contest, Stanford will honor Mike Mussina, who is the first former Cardinal to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Stanford will honor its eight graduating seniors – Ben Baggett, Nick Bellafronto, Michael Boden, Duke Kinamon, Christian Molfetta, Nick Oar, Alec Wilson and Brandon Wulff – prior to Sunday's game.

Weekend Opponent, No. 11 Oregon State
• The Beavers (34-15-1, 19-5-0 Pac-12) recently picking up a 2-1 series win at Oregon (May 10-12) but enter the weekend having lost five-of-8, including being swept, 3-0, at home by Oklahoma State (May 3-5).
• The Beavers are led by catcher Adley Rutschman, widely considered the top prospect for the upcoming MLB Draft. Rutschman is slashing .428/.783/.581 while leading the team in runs (54), hits (71), home runs (16), RBI (53), walks (66) and total bases (130). Oregon State's pitching staff ranks third, nationally, and second in the Pac-12 with a 3.03 earned-run average.
• Stanford owns a 41-42-0 all-time record against the Beavers (records dating to 1959). Last season, Oregon State won the series, 2-1, against Stanford at Goss Stadium, but the Cardinal salvaged a comeback win on Sunday which ultimately went a long way in deciding the Pac-12 championship, won by Stanford.

Tuesday's Opponent, Pacific
• Pacific enters the weekend with a 22-25-0 overall record with a 9-15-0 mark in West Coast Conference play. Stanford is 64-10-1, all-time, against the Tigers, most recently earning a 4-1 win over Pacific at Sunken Diamond in 2018 (April 24).
• The Tigers are led by former Cardinal Ryan Garko (2000-03), who ranks ninth in program history in batting average (.350), fifth in doubles (60), ninth in home runs (39) and seventh in RBI (191) with a 20-game hit streak in 2001, the eighth-longest in program history.

Where Do We Stand?
• The Cardinal sits in a three-way tie with Oregon State and UCLA atop the Pac-12 standings at 19-5-0 entering the weekend. Stanford wraps up Pac-12 play next week with a three-game series at Arizona State while Oregon State finishes against USC in Corvallis, Oregon. UCLA plays host to Washington this weekend before wrapping up the regular season at Oregon.
• There are no tiebreakers to decide the Pac-12 champion, so teams with an identical record at the end of the regular season would share the championship. Tiebreakers are, however, used to determine who receives the automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
• Stanford dropped one spot to No. 3 in this week's D1 Baseball Top 25. The Cardinal also ranks No. 3 in the Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, NCBWA and Perfect Game polls.
• The Cardinal sits at No. 14 in the NCAA RPI (ratings power index) – four of Stanford's 2019 opponents rank top-50 – No. 2 UCLA, No. 17 Oregon State, No. 34 Arizona State, No. 35 California and No. 47 Fresno State.

View this post on Instagram

Not 1??. Not 2??. Not 3??...but 4?? home runs from @andy_dash! He's the first Cardinal in program history to exit the yard 4?? times in a game! ???????? #GoStanford

A post shared by Stanford Baseball?? (@stanfordbsb) on May 14, 2019 at 8:47pm PDT

Daschbach Makes History
• Andrew Daschbach became the first player in program history to hit four home runs in a game on Tuesday, going 4-for-4 with five RBI in a 7-1 win over Cal Poly.
• Daschbach is the first player in the NCAA to hit four home runs in a game this season and the eighth to do so since 2013. He is the second-ever Pac-12 player to hit four homers in a game, joining UCLA's Bill Scott (vs. Washington on March 30, 1999).
• Daschbach's 16 total bases are the most of any player in the NCAA this season and the most in the Pac-12 by five – Daschbach (at Oregon, April 19) and Duke Kinamon (at Cal, May 10) previously shared the season high with 11.
• It was the first time a Stanford player had hit three home runs in a game since June 15, 2000 – Edmund Muth hit three in a College World Series matchup against Louisiana-Lafayette.
• Daschbach's four homers tie for the third-most in a single game in NCAA history – Marshall McDougall hit six for Florida State on May 9, 1999 and Henry Rochelle hit five for Campbell on March 30, 1985.

Two-Way Talisman
• Junior Will Matthiessen has been a standout performer on both sides of the ball as a designated hitter and pitcher, having started in each of Stanford's last five Pac-12 series.
• Offensively, Matthiessen leads the team in batting average (.320), on-base percentage (.402), hits (55), multi-hit games (16), multi-RBI games (11) and RBI (41).
• In his six starts, Matthiessen is 4-1 with a 4.05 ERA, a .232 batting average against and 29 strikeouts in 26.2 innings. In those games, Matthiessen is slashing .500/.773/.542 at the plate with a home run, six RBI, six runs, three doubles and 17 total bases.
• In 12 total appearances, Matthiessen is 5-2 with a 4.29 earned-run average and a .226 batting average against across 42.0 innings.

A Balanced Attack
• Six Cardinal enter the week with a slugging percentage of .478 or higher – Nick Bellafronto (.478), Duke Kinamon (.511), Kyle Stowers (.512), Will Matthiessen (.535), Brandon Wulff (.615) and Andrew Daschbach (.639).
• Seven have at least 24 RBI – Bellafronto (24), Kinamon (26), Stowers (30), Tim Tawa (32), Wulff (37), Daschbach (40) and Matthiessen (41).
• Six have hit at least six home runs – Kinamon (6), Tawa (7), Stowers (7), Matthiessen (9), Daschbach (15) and Wulff (16).
• Eight have scored at least 25 runs – Bellafronto (25), Tawa (26), Kinamon (32), Stowers (32), Matthiessen (35), Maverick Handley (37), Wulff (45) and Daschbach (47).
• In Pac-12 play, seven Cardinal are batting at least .275 – Kinamon (.275), Tawa (.292), Handley (.303), Wulff (.303), Matthiessen (.313), Stowers (.326) and Daschbach (.360) – while five have at least 19 RBI – (Kinamon (19), Wulff (21), Tawa (21), Daschbach (22) and Matthiessen (24) – and five have at least five home runs – Tawa (5), Kinamon (5), Stowers (5), Daschbach (8) and Wulff (10).

Miller Leads the Staff
• Stanford's 3.37 earned-run average ranks 12th in the NCAA and third in the Pac-12. The Cardinal has surrendered the fewest walks (137) and home runs (27) in the Pac-12.
• The Cardinal has allowed two or less earned runs in 26 games and one or less earned run in 13 games.
• Stanford is 29-1 when leading after five innings, 30-1 when leading after six, 32-0 when leading after seven and 35-0 when leading after eight.
• Left-handed pitcher Erik Miller leads or co-leads the starting rotation in ERA (2.40), opposing batting average (.211), wins (7) and strikeouts (73). He ranks fifth in the Pac-12 in ERA and sixth in opposing batting average. Miller, considered one of the top prospects for the upcoming MLB Draft, has struck out eight or more in five appearances this season, including a career-high 11 in a win at Oregon (April 20).
• Alex Williams, Stanford's midweek starter, has impressed with a 2.50 ERA in 54.0 innings, tossing a career-high 7.2 innings in Stanford's win over Cal Poly on Tuesday (May 14).
• Brendan Beck, Stanford's Friday-night starter, carries a 3.23 ERA in a team-high 69.2 innings – Beck has thrown at least 6.0 innings in six starts this season.
• All-American Jack Little leads a bullpen which ranks second in the Pac-12 with 12 saves. Eight of those saves belong to Little, whose 24 career saves rank third in program history behind Colton Hock (25) and Steve Chitren (26).
• Zach Grech (2-0, 3.69 ERA) leads the team in appearances (23).
• Austin Weiermiller owns the lowest ERA on the team (1.52) in 29.2 innings pitched across 21 appearances.
• Since moving from the starting rotation to the bullpen, Jacob Palisch owns a 2.81 ERA across 16.0 innings pitched.

Quick Hitters
• Stanford's .977 fielding percentage ranks third in the Pac-12 and 37th, nationally – Stanford has played error-free defense in 18 games this season.
• The Cardinal is 18-3 in games played away from Sunken Diamond – 15-3 in road games and 3-0 in games played at a neutral site.
• Stanford ranks third in the Pac-12 in home runs (70) – the Cardinal has hit at least one home run in 18-of-19 games with 54 in its last 23 games. Stanford has hit multiple home runs in 18 games this season and in 15 of the last 23 games. The Cardinal's 1.49 home runs per game ranks eight in the NCAA.
• In Pac-12 play, Stanford ranks first in home runs (43), third in batting average (.291), second in slugging percentage (.508), second in runs (180), second in RBI (163) and second in total bases (427).
• Forty one of Stanford's 70 home runs on the season came in the month of April – during the month, Stanford slashed .297/.565/.385, scoring 8.22 runs per game with a 14-4 record.
• Since a 20-5 win at Oregon (April 19), Stanford has homered 40 times in 16 games with 138 runs (8.6 per game). In those 16 games, Stanford is slashing .314/.600/.392 as a team.
• Brandon Wulff ties for 20th in the NCAA with a team-high 16 home runs, which ties for third in the Pac-12. In Pac-12 play, Wulff ranks second in home runs (10), second in runs (29), fifth in slugging percentage (.685) and fifth in total bases (61). 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.
• Andrew Daschbach ranks fifth in the Pac-12 in home runs (15), fifth in slugging percentage (.639) and 10th in runs (47). In Pac-12 play, Daschbach ranks eighth in batting average (.360), fourth in slugging percentage (.719), fifth in home runs (8), third in runs (28) and fourth in total bases (64). In 16 games since April 19, Daschbach is slashing .375/1.018/.463 while leading the team in runs (23), home runs (11), RBI (23) and total bases (57).
• Maverick Handley has thrown out 10-of-25 stolen base attempts against him this season with just three passed balls and a league-high five runners picked off. Since his arrival on The Farm in 2017, Stanford's record stands at 94-21 (.817) when Handley starts behind home plate. A bioengineering major, Handley aspires to be an orthopedic surgeon following his baseball career.
• Since moving to the lead-off spot on April 9, Kyle Stowers is slashing .337/.620/.408 with six home runs, 19 runs, eight doubles and 18 RBI in 22 games. 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.
• Prior to April 18, Duke Kinamon had not hit a home run this season – he has hit six since then with a slash line of .343/.716/.357. Kinamon hit two home runs in a 10-7 win at California (May 10), totaling 11 total bases, the second-most in a game by a Pac-12 player this season behind teammate Daschbach (16 vs. Cal Poly, May 14). Kinamon's 11 stolen bases lead the team and rank seventh in the Pac-12.
• Prior to April 18, Kinamon, Nick Brueser and Nick Bellafronto had not homered this season – the trio has combined for 11 since then. All three of Bellafronto's career homers have come since then, including a grand slam against Arizona (April 27) and one at California (May 10).
• 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 85-21 (.802).

2019 Season Recap
• Andrew Daschbach made history as the first player in program history to hit four home runs in a game, lifting Stanford to a 7-1 win over Cal Poly (May 14). Starting pitcher Alex Williams was brilliant, allowing one run on four hits in a career-high 7.2 innings pitched.
• Stanford took the rubber match on Sunday in a 2-1 series win at California (May 10-12). The Golden Bears stunned Stanford with an 18-2 win in Game 2 on Saturday to level the series, but Erik Miller's quality start and Tim Tawa's three-run home run led Stanford to the deciding win on Sunday.
• The Cardinal's record in midweek games improved to 8-1 with a 5-1 win over Santa Clara (May 7). Christian Robinson set career highs in hits (4) and RBI (3) and Stanford's pitching staff combined to allow just six hits in 9.0 innings of one-run ball.
• After jumping out to a 2-0 series lead, Stanford dropped the series finale at USC (May 3-5) to fall into a tie with Oregon State atop the Pac-12 conference standings.
• 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.