FULLERTON, Calif. - Senior Owen Cobb's diving grab with two out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning sealed a 7-5 victory for No. 3 Stanford over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday night from Goodwin Field.
. @Cobb2Owen. ??
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) February 19, 2023
That's the tweet.#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/bpD3SWdiYI
With the win, Stanford evened a three-game series between the two teams.
The web gem was the second of the night for Cobb after diving up the middle with two out in the third, getting to his feet and throwing out a runner at the plate trying to score from second. The stellar defensive effort kept the Cardinal lead at 4-2 to that point.
Freshman Matt Scott (1-0) got the win out of the bullpen for Stanford (1-1). The right-hander, making his collegiate debut, went two shutout innings without giving up a hit and striking out three.
Junior Drew Dowd got the start and went 4 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and three runs (two earned) while walking four and striking out three.
Junior Drew Bowser led the way offensively for the Cardinal, going 3-for-5 in the ballgame with a double, his first homer of the season and two RBIs. Junior Tommy Troy also turned in a solid day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with his first home run of the year, two walks and two RBIs. Troy's go-ahead RBI-single in the top of the eighth inning proved to be the game-winner.
Gavin Meyer (0-1), who allowed the Troy single in the eighth, was charged with the loss for the Titans.
Hitting out of the cleanup spot in the order, sophomore Braden Montgomery went 3-for-3 with a home run, two walks and an RBI. The round-tripper was the first of the season for the native of Madison, Miss.
With the series even, the two teams will play a rubber game on Sunday at 1 p.m. Freshman Nick Dugan is slated to make his collegiate debut as the Stanford starter. He'll be opposed by Evan Yates for Cal State Fullerton.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Trailing 1-0, the Cardinal first put runs on the board in the second inning. Stanford plated two runs when Bowser left the yard with Montgomery aboard.
After the Titans rallied to tie the ballgame at two, the Cardinal came back to retake the lead in the third inning. Stanford scored twice on solo home runs from Troy and Montgomery, which brought the Cardinal lead to 4-2.
CSU Fullerton came back to tie the ballgame at four in the fifth before Stanford reclaimed a 5-4 advantage in the seventh inning.
After the Titans once again drew even in the bottom of the seventh, Troy delivered the RBI-single to chase home Eddie Park from second base. Park would add an insurance run in the top of the ninth, shooting a two-out single into center field to chase home Alberto Rios and Stanford's seventh run of the game.
Cal State Fullerton did manage to load the bases with two outs in the ninth as junior left-hander Ryan Bruno struck out two and walked three in the inning before Cobb's heroics ensured the victory. Bruno's scoreless inning earned him his first save of the season.
GAME NOTES
» Stanford got three-hit games from both Montgomery and Bowser.
» The Cardinal power output was led by Bowser, who had two extra base hits in the ballgame.
» Six Cardinal had multiple hits in the ballgame, including two each from Park, Troy, Rios and Owen Cobb.
» The Cardinal out-hit the Titans at a 14-7 clip.
» The Cardinal drew six walks from CSU Fullerton pitching while issuing 12 of its own.
» With a three-hit day, Montgomery has reached in 28 consecutive games dating back to last season.
» Park (2-for-5, R, RBI) extended his hit streak to 15 games (.492, 29x59, 12 R, 4 2B, 5 RBIs).