STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford trailed 11-2 headed to the bottom of the fourth inning on Sunday, but managed to bring the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, before eventually dropping an 11-8 decision and a three-game series to Fresno State.
The Cardinal fell to 5-6 on the season, while Fresno State improved to 6-4.
While Stanford answered a three-run top of the first with two runs of its own in the bottom of the inning, Fresno State managed to build up the healthy lead with a run in the second, one in the third and six in the fourth.
Junior catcher Luke Lavin got three of the runs back with one swing in the bottom of the fourth inning, lining his second home run of the season out to right field to push the tally to 11-5 after four.
Freshman Teddy Tokheim also connected for a home run, belting his second in as many games out to left field for a two-run shot that made it 11-7. Tokheim is the first Cardinal to homer in back-to-back games since Jimmy Nati homered in four straight form May 10-16 of last year.
The Cardinal continued to push for the comeback in the eighth, putting the first two aboard on a walk and a single, but a double play ball thwarted the momentum while limiting the damage to just one run.
Stanford’s first-inning production was also stymied by the double play, as Tatum Marsh hit into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded after the Cardinal had already put two on the board.
Trailing 11-8 and needing a rally in the ninth, Stanford received a leadoff single from Charlie Bates. After a fly out for the first out of the inning, JJ Moran singled in front of a walk to Nati to load the bases and bring the winning run to the plate. Fresno State elected to call to the bullpen and summon left-hander BJ Rodriguez to face sophomore slugger Rintaro Sasaki. Rodriguez got Sasaki to pop out to second base before he struck out pinch hitter Eric Jeon on four pitches to end the game and strand the bases loaded.
For his efforts in closing the door, Rodriguez was credited with his first save, while reliever Jordan Haver earned the victory and moved to 1-0. Haver worked 2 2/3 innings while allowing one run on a hit with one strikeout as the first of five arms out of the Bulldog bullpen.
Stanford starter Parker Warner was charged with the loss and dropped to 0-1 on the season after allowing five runs on five hits and three walks over two-plus innings.
Cardinal relievers Ben Reimers and Sam Garewal proved to be bright spots in the setback, combining for 4 1/3 scoreless innings. Garewal struck out four over his two frames before freshman Colt Peterson recorded the final three outs in the top of the ninth.
The first three hitters in Stanford’s order each collected multiple hits, with Bates finishing 2-for-5, Tokheim going 2-for-5 with two runs scored, the homer and two RBIs, and Moran notching four hits, including a double and a triple, in five trips to set a new career high in hits.
Stanford will have little time to dwell on the loss, returning to Sunken Diamond on Monday to host Nevada at 1:05 p.m. Freshman Brock Ketelsen will get the start on the mound for the Cardinal.