SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Stanford's late-inning momentum fell short in a 3-2 nonconference loss at Santa Clara on Tuesday night.
Pinch hitter Cole Hinkelman delivered a two-out, two-run double in his first career at-bat in the top of the eighth inning, plating Nick Bellafronto and Kody Huff following back-to-back walks.
However, Nick Oar was retired for the final out in the eighth and the Cardinal was set down in order in the ninth.
Held scoreless for the first seven innings, Stanford (1-3) struggled offensively, with singles from Brock Jones and Christian Molfetta accounting for the Cardinal's other two hits.
Santa Clara (5-0), which won despite producing only two hits, took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second following a two-run homer from Dawson Brigman. The Broncos tacked on an insurance run following Austin Reyes' sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Stanford's pitching kept the game within reach, highlighted by six hitless innings of relief which included five strikeouts.
Starter Max Meier suffered the hard-luck loss, covering the first two innings in his second appearance of the season.
Stanford next competes in the Round Rock Classic this weekend for three neutral-site matchups at Dell Diamond. The Cardinal plays Houston on Friday (1 p.m. PT), Texas Tech on Saturday (4 p.m. PT) and Tennessee on Sunday (9 a.m. PT).