SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Having already secured a series win by way of victories in each of the first three games of the set, Stanford (3-1) stumbled on Sunday at Santa Clara, dropping a 13-0 decision to the Broncos (2-5) from Stephen Schott Stadium.
The Cardinal managed just one hit in the setback, with sophomore Kody Huff legging out an infield single to third base to lead off the second inning. Stanford drew one walk and was hit by three pitches as four Santa Clara pitchers combined for the one-hit shutout.
Right-hander Brandon Buckley dealt the first four scoreless innings, striking out six, to pick up the win and move to 1-0. Holden Bernhardt, Skylar Hayes and Nick Sando combined to log the final five frames.
Six Stanford hurlers took the hill on Sunday, with freshman Ryan Bruno making his first career start. The left-hander allowed one run in an inning of work and was eventually saddled with the loss. Fellow fresman southpaw Drew Dowd made his collegiate debut as the first reliever out of the bullpen, tossing 1 2/3 innings and striking out three.
Santa Clara put at least one run on the board in each of the first eight innings, and five Bronco hitters finished with multiple hits.
Stanford will now look ahead to a four-game series with San Francisco this week, beginning with a 2:05 p.m. first pitch from Sunken Diamond on Thursday.
