STANFORD, Calif. - Utilizing a four-run sixth inning to back a strong pitching effort from Jackson Parthasarathy and Zach Grech in relief, Stanford (4-8) topped No. 16 Michigan (6-5) by a count of 5-4 on Tuesday night from Sunken Diamond.
With the win, the Cardinal has now won three straight games.
After freshman Max Meier gave Stanford two scoreless innings of work, Michigan got to the Cardinal bullpen in the third, plating three runs on three hits to take a 3-0 lead into the home half of the frame.
Stanford responded nicely in the bottom of the third, scoring a two-out run on back-to-back hits from Tim Tawa and Austin Kretzschmar. With Tawa aboard at first via a single, Kretzschmar lined a pitch into left-center field where it was cut off and bobbled – allowing Tawa to scamper home.
Parthasarathy, who recorded the final out of the third inning, went on to pitch 3.1 scoreless frames with two strikeouts in the middle innings, keeping the Cardinal within striking distance headed into the bottom of the sixth.
Still trailing 3-1 in the sixth, one-out singles from Nickolas Oar and Christian Molfetta got the sixth-inning rally started for the Cardinal. Nick Brueser followed with a hit-by-pitch to load the bases before Brett Barrera drew a walk to force in the first run of the inning and cut the lead to 3-2. A strikeout resulted in the second out of the inning, but Nick Bellafronto followed with a one-hopper to shortstop Jack Blomgren who could not handle the chance. After bobbling the ball, Blomgren threw errantly to first, allowing all three Stanford runners to scamper home and hand the Cardinal the 5-3 advantage.
Now playing with the lead, Stanford handed the ball over to Carson Rudd. The right-hander dealt two-thirds of a frame, but passed the baton to Grech with two on and two out in the seventh. The senior got out of the jam and eventually secured his second save of the year by working the final 2.1 innings on the hill.
With the win, Parthasarathy improved to 1-0 on the season. Michigan's Angelo Smith was saddled with the loss and fell to 0-2 on the year.
Stanford will now prepare for a three-game home series with Kansas State this weekend. Friday's opener is set for 6 p.m. from Sunken Diamond.
