STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford (25-23) celebrated its seven senior players on Senior Day Sunday by coming from behind to earn a 16-15 walk-off victory over Grand Canyon (30-21) in 10 innings.
The Cardinal scored the game-winner without a hit in the 10th as Grand Canyon reliever Gray Bailey walked Ethan Hott before hitting Tatum Marsh, Jimmy Nati and Rintaro Sasaki to force in the winning run.
Needing a victory to avoid a series sweep, the Cardinal fell behind 8-0 as GCU scored two in the first, five in the second and one in the third.
Refusing to go down without a fight, Stanford plated three runs in the bottom of the third inning, jumpstarted by a home run from Hott on the first pitch of the frame. Senior Temo Becerra capped the scoring run with a two-out, two-RBI single through the left side to run the tally to 8-3 through three.
Stanford drew within a run at 8-7 in the fifth, plating four runs on four hits. A Luke Lavin single was followed by an RBI-double from Marsh to chase home the first run of the inning. Nati followed with a two-run blast – his third in the last two games and 13th on the season – to cut the deficit to two at 8-6. Sasaki got the rally going again with a single before Becerra and Brett Blair drew walks to load the bases. After a strikeout for the second out, Hott drew a walk of his own to force in the run.
Marsh finished the game 4-for-5 with two doubles, four runs scored and one RBI.
Grand Canyon managed to respond with a run in the sixth to make it 9-7, but the Cardinal bats once again exploded for a big inning in the bottom of the sixth – this time scoring six runs on five hits and one error to take a 13-9 lead. Marsh singled to start the inning and Sasaki drew a walk to put two aboard. Becerra, who finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs, once again delivered – dribbling a single down the third base line that was thrown away at first and allowed both runners to score and tie the game. Senior Jake Sapien put the Cardinal on top with his first hit of the season before Hott doubled to left-center field to chase home Sapien. Fellow senior Trevor Haskins put the cap on the scoring run with a two-run home run to left-center field – his 13th long ball of the season.
The two teams traded a run in the seventh, with Becerra lacing a double into left field for his third hit and fourth RBI.
With the game favoring Stanford at 14-10 in the eighth, GCU scored once in the frame to make it a three-run game headed to the ninth. The Cardinal summoned closer Aidan Keenan, but the right-hander was unable to close out the Lopes as GCU put four runs on the board to take a 15-14 lead. The visitors managed to load the bases with nobody out, scoring the first run on a hit-by-pitch. A sac fly cut the deficit to 14-13 and Keenan got another fly ball for the second out, but the runner from second managed to tag and move to third. A stolen base and a hit-by-pitch reloaded the bases and Cannon Peery took advantage of the opportunity by shooting a go-ahead two-RBI single into left field.
Now chasing a run in the bottom of the ninth, Stanford got some senior magic to draw back even. Marsh started the inning and moved to second on a single from Nati, but Gray got the next two hitters on infield pop ups as the Cardinal was left with runners at first and second and two outs. Blair strolled to the plate as Stanford’s last chance, shooting a game-tying single through the right side to keep the game alive and ultimately push the contest into the 10th, setting the table for the walk-off heroics.
Freshman Cohen Gomez, who relieved Keenan and recorded the final out in the ninth, was credited with his first career victory after tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
The two teams combined for 31 runs on 39 hits, 12 walks and seven hit-by-pitches. The Cardinal used seven pitchers on Sunday, beginning with senior right-hander Ty Uber.
With the home slate behind it, Stanford will hit the road next week for a three-game ACC series at NC State. The Cardinal will then stay in North Carolina for the ACC Baseball Championship tournament in Durham.