LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Stanford broke open a one-run game with 10 runs in a three-inning span to defeat No. 12 UCLA 11-0 on Saturday and secure the series victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Brock Jones was 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double and four RBI, Drew Bowser was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBI, and Quinn Mathews struck out eight in seven scoreless innings to lead Stanford to the victory.
For the Cardinal pitching staff, it was their D1-leading seventh shutout of the season, as Brandt Pancer came on in relief of Mathews for the final six outs.
For Jones, it was his third career multi-home run game. He had two home runs against San Francisco on March 7, 2021 and three home runs in the Super Regional at Texas Tech on June 12, 2021.
Stanford got on the board in the top of the third, as Carter Graham singled home Eddie Park with two outs. The Cardinal extended the lead in the top of the fifth on the power of Jones' first home run of the day, a two-strike, two-out moonshot over the scoreboard in center field to give Stanford a 3-0 lead.
Perhaps the defining moments of the game came over the next full inning. UCLA led off the bottom of the fifth with a single and double to put two runners in scoring position with nobody out. The next batter attempted a squeeze bunt, but Mathews fielded his position and flipped home for an easy first out. The ensuing hitter checked a swing back to Mathews, who once again fielded his position and made the out at first, holding the runner at third. After a walk loaded the bases, Mathews got a strikeout on a 3-2 count to end the inning and maintain the three-run lead.
The top of the sixth began innocently enough, as Kody Huff and Vincent Martinez were each hit by pitches with one out. With Bowser up to bat, the Cardinal attempted a double steal. As UCLA's catcher threw towards third, the ball ricocheted off Bowser's bat as he stood in the box and caromed towards the first-base dugout, allowing Huff to score all the way from second for a 4-0 Stanford lead.
After the umpires came together to sort that play out, Bowser deposited the very next pitch deep over the left field wall for a 6-0 Cardinal lead. The damage wasn't done, however, as Park walked, stole second and advanced to third, before Jones' second, two-out, two-run home run of the day put Stanford ahead 8-0 after five-and-a-half innings.
In the top of the seventh, the Cardinal tacked on three more, thanks to a two-RBI double by Bowser and an RBI single by Adam Crampton. Jones also doubled in the inning, but UCLA stranded the bases loaded to keep Stanford's lead at 11.
With the win, the Cardinal is now 20-11 on the season and 11-7 in Pac-12 play. Stanford will play five, road non-conference games this week before returning to conference play at Washington on April 29.
