Season Begins at Fullerton

SERIES NOTABLES

Since 1959, Stanford has opened the season with a series of three-or-more games against Cal State Fullerton 12 times (1994, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024) … the Cardinal has won seven of the 12 series and has amassed a 21-15 record over the 36 games in those sets

LEADING OFF

• Stanford will open the season against Cal State Fullerton for the fourth straight season and 12th time since 2000 (13th time overall) ... the Cardinal dropped two-of-three to the Titans to open the 2024 season and is now 7-4 in the 11 season-opening series (20-13 overall record) since 2000 ... was picked to finish eighth in the ACC standings according to the league’s coaches ... has made 19 College World Series appearances, including having reached Omaha in three of the last four seasons ... 19 appearances are seventh-most in the nation ... went 22-33 overall and 11-19 in the Pac-12 to finish eighth in the Pac-12 standings last year - it’s final season in the conference before joining the ACC ... hit .283 as a team (fifth in the Pac-12) with 296 runs scored, 110 doubles (fifth in the Pac-12), seven triples and 55 home runs in 2024 ... averaged 5.38 runs per game and 2.00 doubles per game (fourth in the Pac-12) a year ago ... pitched to a 6.53 ERA with 517 strikeouts in 481 innings pitched last season ... finished the 2024 season +90 in strikeouts after striking out 427 times offensively ... averaged 9.67 strikeouts per nine innings to rank second in the Pac-12 and 34th nationally last season ... returns 1,476 of 1,899 at bats (78%) and 469.2 of 481 innings (97.6%) from last year
• Temo Becerra carries over a 10-game hitting streak into the 2025 season (.297, 11-for-37, 3 R, 2 2B, 3B, 4 RBIs)
• Brett Blair reached in his final game of the 2024 season and will look to extend his streak into the 2025 campaign
• Brandon Larson reached in his final three games of the 2024 season and will look to extend his streak into the 2025 campaign
• Luke Lavin reached in his final game of the 2024 season and will look to extend his streak into the 2025 campaign
• Cort MacDonald hit safely in his final two games of the 2024 season (.444, 4-for-9, R) and will look to extend his streak into the 2025 campaign ... has reached in four straight dating back to 2024
• Jimmy Nati carries over a four-game hitting streak into the 2025 season (.294, 5-for-17, R, 3 2B, 5 RBIs)
• Jake Sapien carries over a three-game hitting streak into the 2025 season (.375, 3-for-8, R) ... has reached in five straight dating back to 2024
• Rintaro Sasaki will make his highly-anticipated collegiate debut this weekend ... has been named Preseason National Freshman of the Year according to Baseball America and is the favorite to win ACC Freshman of the Year according to Baseball America and D1Baseball
• Charlie Saum hit safely in his final game of the 2024 season (1-for-3) and will look to extend his streak into the 2025 campaign ... has reached in seven straight dating back to 2024
• Matt Scott is a preseason All-American according to Baseball America (second team) and Perfect Game (third team)
• Joey Volchko is a preseason All-American according to Baseball America (second team) and Perfect Game (third team)

THIS WEEK 

• Stanford will open the 2025 season when it travels to Cal State Fullerton for a four-game series from Goodwin Field
• First pitch for Opening Night on Friday is set for 6:35 p.m., followed by Saturday's 5:05 p.m. first pitch and 1:05 p.m. starts on Sunday and Monday
• All four games will be streamed live on ESPN+, and the first three will also be broadcast live on KZSU 90.1 FM

UP NEXT

• After the four games with Cal State Fullerton, Stanford will return home to host former Pac-12 foe Washington in a home-opening four-game weekend series
• The first two games of the set with the Huskies, including Friday's home opener, will begin at 2:05 p.m., while games three and four are scheduled for 1:05 p.m. first pitches on Sunday and Monday

OPENING WEEKEND NOTES

• Including a 4-0 setback last year, Stanford is 49-16-1 overall on Opening Day since 1959, but has won five of its last nine games to open a season
• The 4-0 shutout loss to open the season in 2024 was the first for the Cardinal since being blanked 1-0 at No. 8 Cal State Fullerton on February 16, 2017
• Having dropped the opener at Fullerton 8-1 in 2023, Stanford has lost the season opener in back-to-back years for the first time since losing three straight from 2013-15
• The Cardinal has played 26 opening weekend series of three-or-more games since 1959 and is 18-9 in those series ... Stanford has compiled a 54-28 record over the 82 games in those sets

2024 SEASON IN REVIEW

• Stanford went 22-33 overall and 11-19 in the Pac-12 to finish eighth in the Pac-12 standings last year - it’s final season in the conference before joining the ACC
• Having lost a handful of key contributors, including nine to the MLB Draft in 2023, Stanford had to rely heavily on new faces across the diamond in 2024 … the Cardinal returned just seven pitchers who had appeared in a game at Stanford entering 2024, with those hurlers combining for 173 1/3 of Stanford's 577 innings (30%) from 2023 … offensively, Stanford returned three position players with more than 15 starts from 2023 - Owen Cobb, Malcolm Moore and Jake Sapien … the Cardinal returned only 769 of its 2,354 (33%) at bats from 2023, and brought back just 27 of its 117 home runs (23%) … Stanford lost 392 runs, 527 hits, 107 doubles, nine triples, 90 home runs and 377 RBIs from the 2023 squad as the eight non-returning hitters batted a combined .332 during the 2023 season … on the mound, Stanford lost 403 2/3 innings, 36 wins, 40 starts, 16 saves and 493 strikeouts from the 2023 squad
• The Cardinal hit .283 as a team (fifth in the Pac-12) with 296 runs scored, 110 doubles (fifth in the Pac-12), seven triples and 55 home runs ... averaged 5.38 runs per game and 2.00 doubles per game (fourth in the Pac-12)
• Stanford pitched to a 6.53 ERA with 517 strikeouts in 481 innings pitched ... finished the season +90 in strikeouts after striking out 427 times offensively ... averaged 9.67 strikeouts per nine innings to rank second in the Pac-12 and 34th nationally
• The Cardinal lost 11 of the last 13, 12 of its last 15, and 27 of the last 41 overall, including a 10-game losing streak which proved the longest for the Cardinal since at least 1959
• Stanford went 21-17 when scoring at least three runs in a game, but 1-16 when falling short of three runs - the only victory being Stanford's 2-1 win over No. 6 Oregon State on May 22
• M. Moore was drafted 30th overall in first round of 2024 MLB Draft, while Cobb signed with the Yankees as a free agent ... with Moore’s selection, Stanford has had a first-round pick in each of the last two seasons after Tommy Troy was selected 12th overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023
• Following a standout freshman campaign, Christian Lim was named Freshman All-America second team according to D1Baseball, Baseball America and Perfect Game
• Cobb and Lim were named Pac-12 All-Conference, and Cobb was named to the All-Defensive Team, prior to the start of the 2024 Pac-12 Baseball Tournament
• In addition to the two on the All-Conference squad, M. Moore and Jimmy Nati were named honorable mention

ALL-AMERICANS ON THE FARM

• Right-handers Matt Scott and Joey Volchko were named Preseason All-Americans according to Baseball America and Perfect Game
• Both players landed on Baseball America's second team, while Perfect Game tabbed them third team
• Stanford’s Friday starter as a sophomore in 2024, Scott went 4-10 with a 5.96 ERA and a Pac-12-best 103 strikeouts (41st nationally) over 80 innings in 16 appearances ... Scott managed a 2.86 strikeout-to-walk ratio (103 strikeouts compared to 36 walks) while averaging 11.59 strikeouts per game to rank second in the Pac-12
• Volchko went 2-1 with a 5.70 ERA, one save and 53 strikeouts over 42 2/3 innings in 20 appearances, including six starts, as a freshman in 2024 ... he averaged 11.18 strikeouts per game and limited the opposition to a .256 average against
• Both players spent the summer of 2024 playing for the USA Collegiate National Team, with Volchko making one start and allowing one run on one hit with seven strikeouts over four innings in a 2-1 victory over select members of the Coastal Plain League on June 30 ... Scott made one start and allowed one hit with two strikeouts over four scoreless innings in a 6-0 victory over Chinese Taipei on July 3

CALIFORNIA KINGS

• Stanford is the winningest Division I program in California since the 2011 season, compiling 488 victories
• UCLA has won 484 games since 2011, followed by UC Santa Barbara (479), UC Irvine (470) and Cal State Fullerton (433)

CARDINAL TABBED EIGHTH IN PRESEASON POLL

• Preparing for its first season in the ACC, Stanford was picked to finish eighth in the conference standings according to the league’s coaches
• The Cardinal, which has made a trip to the College World Series in three of the last four seasons, is looking for a bounce-back year after missing the NCAA Tournament in 2024
• Virginia, one of four ACC squads to reach the College World Series a year ago, was selected as the 2025 ACC preseason favorites after garnering 13 of the 16 possible first-place votes ... Florida State and North Carolina, both of which made the College World Series in 2024, were slotted in second and third places, respectively ... the Seminoles logged 230 total points and two first-place votes, while the Tar Heels earned 217 total points
• Clemson recorded the final first-place vote and totaled 214 points as they were projected as the fourth-place finisher ... reigning ACC Champion Duke was slotted as the fifth-place team, earning 182 total points
• Wake Forest was tabbed as the sixth-place finisher with 171 total points, while NC State was picked narrowly behind the Demon Deacons with 168 total points ... like Florida State, North Carolina and Virginia, NC State also made a trip to the 2024 Men’s College World Series
• Stanford (143 points), Louisville (128) and Georgia Tech (113) rounded out the top 10 of the ACC’s preseason poll
• Seven of the 16 ACC teams entered the 2025 season ranked in the D1Baseball and Baseball America Top 25 polls, including Virginia checking in at No. 2 according to D1Baseball and No. 5 by Baseball America ... Clemson, Duke, Florida State, NC State, North Carolina and Wake Forest also entered the year ranked by the publications

GROWING TOP TALENT ON THE FARM

• The Cardinal boasted a handful of players in the D1Baseball preseason player rankings entering the 2025 season
• Stanford was one of three programs, and the only ACC squad, that featured three starting pitchers in the top 150, with Matt Scott (No. 22), Joey Volchko (No. 36) and Christian Lim (No. 43) all earning selections
• Trevor Moore is one of the nation's top relievers, tabbed No. 18 on the D1Baseball preseason player rankings list
• Jimmy Nati checked in at No. 26 among third basemen, while Rintaro Sasaki was the No. 15 first baseman entering his first year on The Farm
• Sasaki was the Preseason National Freshman of the Year according to Baseball America, ranked No. 1 in the freshman class according to Baseball America and No. 3 according to Perfect Game, and was the favorite to win ACC Freshman of the Year according to D1Baseball
• Freshman Charlie Bates was also lauded in the preseason, ranking No. 7 in the class according to Perfect Game and No. 16 by Baseball America
• The Cardinal featured three players on Perfect Game's Preseason Top 101 Sophomores list, with Volchko (No. 5), Aidan Keenan (No. 70) and Lim (No. 78) selected
• Scott was the lone Cardinal to earn a spot on the Perfect Game Preseason Top 100 Juniors list, landing at No. 23

RETURNERS GALORE

• Having used new faces across the diamond in 2024, Stanford now features a 2025 squad rich with experience
• Stanford returns all but one start and 469.2 of 481 innings (97.6%) from last year, with the lone lost start being Nate Fleischli’s 1.0 IP vs. UNLV on February 19, 2024
• The Cardinal returns 1,476 of 1,899 at bats (78%) from last year, including 85 of its 110 doubles, five of its seven triples, and 32 of its 55 home runs

RINTARO HAS ARRIVED

• Rintaro Sasaki, the top-ranked high school baseball player in Japan, is preparing to play his first season on The Farm
• Sasaki has been tabbed the preseason National Freshman of the Year according to Baseball America and is the preseason Freshman of the Year pick in the ACC according to D1Baseball and Baseball America
• He entered the year ranked No. 1 among freshmen according to Baseball America and No. 3 according to Perfect Game
• Rintaro made his stateside debut last summer for the Trenton Thunder in the Draft League before finishing with an outstanding nine-game stint in the Appy League over which he slashed .391/.913/1.508 with three home runs and eight RBIs
• The power-hitting first baseman graduated from Hanamaki-Higashi High School in March of 2024, enrolled at Stanford for the spring quarter in April last year, and began practicing with the program upon his arrival
• While he practiced with the team during the 2024 campaign, Sasaki did not play in a game for the Cardinal
• "We are excited to welcome Rintaro into our Stanford family," David Esquer said following Sasaki's signing. "He may be the most high-profile international prospect to play college baseball in the United States in a long time. His power bat plays right into our style of play, and we look forward to him contributing immediately to help us achieve our goals of competing for and winning national titles."
• Sasaki hit a Japanese high school record 140 home runs, and was projected to be selected first overall in the Nippon Professional Baseball Draft, but forewent the Draft to attend Stanford
• According to scouts, in addition to boasting elite raw power, Sasaki has also shown an advanced approach at the plate - walking twice as many times as he struck out
• Training under his father, Hiroshi Sasaki, Sasaki posted an impressive slash line of .413/.514/.808 during his high school career
• Shohei Ohtani starred for Hanamaki-Higashi (while being coached by the elder Sasaki) before signing with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, while Yusei Kikuchi also prepped under Sasaki at Hanamaki-Higashi before playing for the Saitama Seibu Lions
• Helping to blaze a trail for Japanese high school players looking to play in the United States, Sasaki chose to attend Stanford for the quality of education and to take steps toward achieving his dream of playing in Major League Baseball

REPPING THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE

• Matt Scott and Joey Volchko were selected to play with the 2024 United States Collegiate National Team following the conclusion of the season
• Scott pitched for the U.S. in the International Friendship Series vs. Chinese Taipei while Volchko played for Team USA in a Summer League tour
• Scott's squad swept all five games against Chinese Taipei and Volchko and the U.S. went 3-1 in four games on the summer circuit
• The International squad also defeated the Summer Tour group 4-3 in a Fourth of July game
• Scott got the start in the finale against Chinese Taipei, working four scoreless innings and allowing just one hit and a walk with two strikeouts
• Volchko got the start against the Coastal Plain League's best, allowing one run on one hit with seven strikeouts over four innings in a 2-1 victory for the Collegiate National Team

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

• Often considered one of the most beautiful college baseball facilities in the country, Klein Field at Sunken Diamond is the home to Stanford baseball
• The “Sunken Diamond” name comes from the excavation to provide fill for the earthen berm within which Stanford Stadium was built in 1921, leaving a large, sunken field
• The fixed seating capacity of Klein Field at Sunken Diamond is 2,113 ... with the addition of disabled seating and general admission lawn seating, the total capacity of the facility is 4,000
• The original dimensions were 360 feet to left field, 350 to right field, and 500 feet to center field ... in 1978, a new seven-foot high fence was installed, bringing the dimensions to the current 335 to both left and right fields, and 400 to center field ... the outfield fence was increased to 10 feet in 1995
• Sunken Diamond features ample foul ground from first to third base, with home plate sitting approximately 70 feet from the backstop

GOODBYE PAC-12, HELLO ACC

• The 2024 season was Stanford's final in the Pac-12 conference, as the Cardinal joined Bay Area rival California as new members of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2025
• Stanford was one of the oldest members of the Pac-12 Conference, joining the then Pacific Coast Conference, founded in 1915, for the 1918 season
• The Cardinal won 21 Pac-12 titles, with the first coming in 1924 and the last in 2023
• The ACC sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2024, including an NCAA-record tying four teams to the Men’s College World Series
• Five ACC baseball programs competed in the Super Regional round with four teams earning the right to host a year ago
• The ACC has placed at least one team in each of the last 18 College World Series and at least six teams in each of the last 20 NCAA Tournaments

ACC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

• Beginning this spring with the 2025 ACC Baseball Championship in Durham, N.C., all 16 teams in the ACC will compete in a single-elimination championship
• The championship will remain six days as it has in previous years, running from Tuesday, May 20, through Sunday, May 25, 2025, from Durham Bulls Athletic Park
• Since 2006, the ACC Baseball Championship has been played in a pool play or round-robin style format ... the tournament last expanded its field size in 2017, moving from 10 to 12 teams
• Under the new format, the top four seeds in the championship will be based off the performance in the regular season and will receive a double-bye into the quarterfinal round, which is scheduled to be held on Thursday and Friday ... seeds five through eight will earn a bye into Wednesday’s second round ... seeds 9-16 will begin play with four first-round games on Tuesday
• The single-elimination championship format will feature four games per day on Tuesday (first round) and Wednesday (second round) ... two quarterfinal games will take place on both Thursday and Friday, while Saturday will host the two semifinal contests ... Sunday will host the championship game
• The ACC Baseball Championship returns to Durham for the 14th time overall and the ninth time since 2009

FRESHMAN PHENOM SETS SIGHTS ON SOPHOMORE SEASON

• Following a standout freshman campaign, Christian Lim was named Freshman All-America second team according to D1Baseball, Baseball America and Perfect Game
• The native of Nashville, Tenn. made 14 starts and pitched to a 4-6 record with a team-best 4.32 ERA
• A 2024 Pac-12 All-Conference selection, Lim struck out 86 batters over 77 innings of work while compiling six quality starts and limiting opponents to a .234 average and three-or-fewer earned runs in 11 of his 14 turns in the rotation
• Lim was twice named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week last season, earning the honor on March 4 and March 25 – the latter coming following a career-best 11 strikeouts over 6 1/3 scoreless innings of work against Creighton on March 24

HOME OF CHAMPIONS

• Stanford is the all-time leader with 136 NCAA team championships (71 men, 65 women), and 167 national championships overall
• The Cardinal owns the most recognizable streak in college athletics, having won at least one NCAA team title during each of the last 48 seasons, dating back to the 1976-77 campaign
• The Cardinal has also produced 562 NCAA individual champions and 645 overall
• Stanford has won the Learfield Directors’ Cup in 26 of the possible 30 seasons, including a 25-year streak from 1995-2019

#OLYMPIANSMADEHERE

• Stanford concluded the 2024 Paris Olympic Games with a school-record 39 medals, shattering its previous best while cementing its reputation on the world’s biggest stage as the nation’s top collegiate program
• The 39 medals were 12 more than the previous record of 27 at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games
• Stanford’s haul of 39 medals (12 gold, 14 silver, 13 bronze) was the most by any school at one Olympics
• Cardinal student-athletes medaled in 13 of Stanford's 36 varsity sports: artistic swimming, women’s basketball, women’s fencing, men’s gymnastics, sailing, men’s rowing, women’s soccer, women’s swimming and diving, men’s track and field, men’s volleyball, women’s volleyball, men’s water polo, women’s water polo
• The Cardinal boasted 19 first-time medalists - a total that ranks second in school history behind the 21 at the 2008 Beijing Games
• If Stanford was a country in the 2024 Games, it would have finished tied with Canada for 11th place
• Boasting a school-record 59 Olympians with Cardinal ties, Stanford won at least 20 medals for the sixth time in school history (2020, 2016, 2008, 1996, 1924)
• The Cardinal’s 59 Olympians (20 male, 39 female) represented 14 countries across 20 varsity sports
• In addition to the 59 qualifiers, Stanford’s Olympic representation also included five alternates, one national team head coach and three national team assistant coaches
• For the third straight Olympics, Stanford totaled more Team USA selections (37) than any other school, reinforcing its status as the preeminent training ground for U.S. national team competition
• Stanford has won 128 medals combined over the last five Summer Games
• All told, Stanford’s affiliates have captured 335 overall medals (162 gold, 93 silver, 80 bronze) from 196 medalists, and the Cardinal has produced at least one medalist in every Olympics in which the U.S. has competed since 1912