EUGENE, Ore. – Trailing 5-0 after three innings, No. 15 Stanford (31-13, 15-9 Pac-12) rallied to score eight unanswered runs to eventually defeat No. 13 Oregon (35-13, 18-9) 8-5 in 12 innings on Sunday to earn a road series victory over the Ducks.
Stanford's bullpen was outstanding in the win, logging 11 2/3 innings. Senior Jacob Palisch contributed 3 2/3 scoreless, allowing just two hits with two strikeouts, before freshman Joey Dixon pitched the final 5 2/3 scoreless to highlight the effort.
Dixon, who improved to 2-0 with the victory, surrendered just two hits and two walks. The right-hander found himself in a bases-loaded and one out jam in the bottom of the ninth, but escaped unscathed after getting a line out to right and fielding a hard-hit comebacker to retire the side and force extra innings.
With the extra-inning victory, Stanford improves to 6-1 in extra-inning affairs this year. The Cardinal is now outscoring the opposition 31-6 in the ninth inning or later, including 12-2 in extras.
Tied at five headed into the 12th inning, Stanford got a leadoff single from Tim Tawa. Oregon managed to retire the lead runner on the ensuing bunt, but a pair of wild pitches pushed pinch runner Owen Cobb over to third with only one out. Oregon closer Kolby Somers struck out Brock Jones for the second out, but Kody Huff contributed the clutch two-out RBI-single to hand Stanford its first lead of the game at 6-5.
Adding more insurance in the 12th, senior Christian Robinson connected for an opposite-field two-run home run to push the tally to its eventual final at 8-5.
Somers, who was charged with three runs on five hits over 3 2/3 innings, dropped to 1-1 with the loss.
Oregon jumped out to the early 5-0 advantage after plating a run in the first, two in the second and two in the third.
Stanford's comeback began in the fourth as Jones led off with a single and moved to third on a Huff double. Robinson singled into center field to put the Cardinal on the board, and Drew Bowser added a second run with a sacrifice fly.
Clawing all the way back in the sixth, Stanford put up three runs on four hits to tie the game at 5-5. Huff and Robinson singled with one out before Nick Brueser punched a two-RBI double into the left field corner to cut the deficit to one at 5-4. A strikeout, wild pitch and a walk to Eddie Park put runners at the corners with two out, setting the table for Adam Crampton's game-tying RBI-single through the left side.
Huff finished the game 3 for 6 with three runs scored, a double and one RBI. Robinson also collected three hits, going 3 for 6 with two runs scored, his sixth home run and three RBIs.
Stanford's relievers faced just two over the minimum from the fourth through the eighth, benefiting from an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play in the seventh that kept Oregon off the board.
Working out of the bases-loaded jam in the ninth, Dixon retired the final 11 batters he faced down the stretch.
Stanford will conclude the regular season next week at home, welcoming Oregon State to Sunken Diamond for a three-game Pac-12 series. The series opener is scheduled for Thursday at 6:05 p.m. All three games in the series will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks.