SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Pitching in a must-win game for Stanford against No. 6 Oregon State at the 2024 Pac-12 Baseball Tournament on Wednesday morning, freshman Joey Volchko twirled six shutout innings and struck out nine while allowing just two hits to lead Stanford (22-32) to a 2-1 victory over the Beavers (41-14).
With the win, Stanford won Pool B with a 2-0 record and will advance to play in the semifinals on Friday against a team to be determined.
Volchko, who improved to 2-1 on the year, allowed a two-out triple to Gavin Turley in the first inning, but did not allow another hit until a chopper over the mound for an infield single with two outs in the sixth. The right-hander worked through some command issues, as he walked four and threw just 55 of his 107 pitches for strikes, but the strikeout proved to be an effective weapon. The native of Visalia, Calif. finished three of his six frames via the strikeout, including striking out Brady Kasper to punch out the side with the bases loaded and keep the game scoreless in the third.
After homering twice in an eight-run fourth inning on Tuesday morning to lead Stanford to an 8-7 victory over Arizona State, sophomore Malcolm Moore again came up with the big hit on Wednesday – launching a solo homer leading off the fourth to make it 1-0 Stanford.
Moore came to the plate once again with a runner at second and two outs in the fifth, but Oregon State elected to walk the slugging catcher. That move backfired when Ethan Hott shot an RBI-double inside the bag at third to run Stanford's advantage to 2-0.
An error starting the top of the seventh ended Volchko's day as the Cardinal elected to call to the bullpen and summon right-hander Trevor Moore. Moore retired the side in the seventh and eighth innings, and trotted back out for the ninth, but a one-out walk and a single put men at the corners as Oregon State gathered some ninth-inning momentum.
Going back to the bullpen, Stanford called on Toran O'Harran to try to close the door. O'Harran traded an out for a run by inducing a ground ball to first and then got Jabin Trosky to fly out to left field on a 3-1 pitch to seal the victory.
For his efforts, O'Harran was credited with his seventh save of the year.
Stanford will now await results from games on Wednesday and Thursday before continuing the tournament on Friday.
GAME NOTES:
- Stanford has won back-to-back games after dropping the previous 10 straight … has lost 10 of the last 12, 11 of its last 14, and 26 of the last 40 overall.
- The Cardinal has now advanced to the semifinal round in each of the three Pac-12 Baseball Tournaments (won the Pac-12 Tournament in the inaugural season of 2022) … is 7-2 all-time in games played at the Pac-12 Tournament.
- Malcolm Moore (1-for-2, R, HR, RBI) has homered in back-to-games for the third time this season and sixth time in his career … has now connected for 16 round-trippers this year and has hit 31 in two seasons on The Farm.
- Temo Becerra (1-for-4) has hit safely in nine straight, 25 of his last 33 games and 31 of his last 39 overall.
- Owen Cobb (1-for-5) has hit safely in five straight, 19 of his last 21 games and 26 of his last 32 overall.
- Ethan Hott (1-for-4, 2B, RBI) has hit safely in 11 of his last 14 and 16 of his last 20 overall.
- Cort MacDonald (3-for-4, R) has hit safely in 18 of his last 22, 26 of his last 31 and 32 of his last 38, and has reached in all but six of his games played ... has hit safely in all but eight contests he's played on the season and has not been held hitless in back-to-back games ... has amassed 21 multi-hit games, including multiple hits in 10 of his last 20.
- Jimmy Nati (1-for-4) has hit safely in all but 15 games this season, including three straight, 13 of his last 18, and 19 of his last 26 overall, and has reached in all but 13.
- Joey Volchko (W, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 9 K, 107 Pitches) matched a career high with six innings pitched (4/30 vs. Santa Clara) … nine strikeouts were his second-most in an outing this year after striking out 11 vs. Santa Clara on April 30.