CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Needing a win to split the first two games of a road series on Friday night, No. 20 Stanford (16-8, 5-6 ACC) got off to a hot start, but could not hold the momentum late en route to dropping a 13-7 decision to Virginia (14-11, 5-6 ACC) from Disharooon Park.
The Cardinal scored three runs in the first inning, all coming on a three-run homer from Jimmy Nati, and two more in the third on RBI-singles from Brady Reynolds and freshman JJ Moran to carry a 5-0 advantage into the home half of the third inning.
The home run was Nati’s sixth of the season and helped him finish 2-for-5. He has now hit safely in 10 straight games and all but two contests this season.
Virginia managed to cut the deficit to 5-4 with a run in the third and three in the fourth before Brady Reynolds homered in the fifth inning to make it 6-4. Reynolds’ blast out to left-center field, part of a 3-for-4 day at the plate, was his seventh round-tripper of the year.
Reynolds’ homer was followed by a double from Moran, who finished 2-for-4, but Stanford managed just one more hit over the final 4 1/3 innings in the loss.
The three-run fourth for Virginia was keyed by a two-out bunt single from Luke Hanson that drove in a run and kept the inning alive for a two-RBI double from Aidan Teel one batter later.
Trailing by a pair headed to the bottom of the fifth, Virginia drew even at six on a pair of two-out run-scoring singles from Jacob Ference and Chone James.
Carrying all the momentum, Virginia exploded for six runs on five hits in the seventh inning to blow the game open at 12-6. A leadoff homer from Chris Arroyo handed Virginia the lead before a three-run blast from Eric Becker capped the six-run frame. Five of the Cavaliers’ six runs in the seventh came with two outs.
Ference would add another RBI-single in the bottom of the eighth to run the tally to 13-6 before Trevor Haskins led off the top of the ninth with a solo homer – his team-best eighth long ball of the year – to finish the scoring on Friday.
Stanford starter Christian Lim did not factor into the decision after tossing four innings and allowing five runs on five hits. The Cardinal bullpen was once again roughed up in Virginia, combining to allow eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits, including the two homers, over the final four innings.
Senior Ty Uber was saddled with the loss and dropped to 1-1 on the season after allowing two runs on three hits with three walks over two innings.
Matthew Buchanan struck out the only batter he faced to end the seventh inning, putting himself in line for his first victory of the year when Virginia’s scored the six runs in the seventh.
Stanford will look to salvage the series and end a five-game losing streak in ACC play on Saturday when it hands the ball to right-hander Joey Volchko and the two teams conclude the three-game set with a 10 a.m. PT first pitch.