STANFORD, Calif. – Trailing 3-2 headed to the bottom of the ninth on Saturday from Sunken Diamond, Stanford tied the game on an RBI-double from Luke Lavin before sophomore Rintaro Sasaki delivered a walk-off single with the bases loaded to hand the Cardinal a 4-3 win over visiting Utah Valley.
With the win, Stanford improves to 8-12 on the season, while Utah Valley drops to 10-10.
The bottom of the ninth started innocently enough as Utah Valley reliever Cooper Littledike recorded a strikeout for the first out. Eric Jeon followed with a double to put the tying run in scoring position. The Cardinal elected to pinch run for Jeon, summoning the speedy Philip Cheong to take his place. Lavin came up clutch with a double that hit off the outstretched glove of centerfielder Jayden Smith just as he hit the wall, allowing Cheong to score with the game-tying run. A hit-by-pitch and a walk loaded the bases with one out, setting the table for Sasaki’s game-winner on the first pitch of his at bat.
Sasaki, hitting out of the leadoff spot in the order, finished the game 2-for-5 with a home run – a line drive blast in the bottom of the eighth that cut the deficit to 3-2. The round-tripper was Sasaki’s sixth of the season.
The Cardinal pieced together a strong outing on the mound, using five arms to navigate the nine innings. Freshman Quinten Marsh got the start and allowed an unearned run over two innings before handing the ball to senior Toran O’Harran for the next two scoreless. Parker Warner followed for the fifth and sixth innings before Colt Peterson took the baton in the seventh. Utah Valley managed to connect for a pair of solo homers off the freshman, but Peterson limited the damage to just those two long balls over 1 1/3 inning. Senior Kassius Thomas worked the final 1 2/3 innings, striking out one and keeping the Wolverines off the board.
Following the offensive heroics in the bottom of the ninth, Thomas was credited with the victory and moved to 1-1 on the year. Littledike, the only UVU reliever used on Saturday, was saddled with the loss and dropped to 1-1 after allowing two runs on three hits over the 1 1/3 inning pitched.
Utah Valley starter Jacob Heppner saw his quality start spoiled after he worked seven innings and allowed just two runs on five hits and three walks in a no-decision.
The Cardinal and Wolverines will continue the four-game series on Sunday with a doubleheader beginning at 1:05 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
- Stanford and Utah Valley met for the first time in program history on Saturday … recorded its third walk-off win of the year (also: 2/21 vs. Cal State Fullerton & 2/27 vs. Fresno State) … managed its fifth comeback win of the year, including its second in the seventh inning or later … won a game when trailing entering the ninth inning for the first time since trailing 15-14 entering the ninth only to win 16-15 in 10 innings vs. Grand Canyon on May 11, 2025
- Charlie Bates (1-for-3, BB) has hit safely in 11 of his last 13
- Ethan Hott (0-for-2, RBI, SF, HBP) has reached in nine of his 10 games with an at bat this year
- Luke Lavin (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) has hit safely in five of his last six games and 10 of his last 12 overall
- JJ Moran (1-for-4) has a hit in 17 of the first 20 overall
- Jimmy Nati (0-for-4) had a seven-game hit streak and an 11-game reached base streak snapped on Saturday
- Rintaro Sasaki (2-for-5, R, HR, 2 RBIs) has hit safely in 10 of his last 12, compiling five multi-hit games over the span, and has reached in 12 straight
- Teddy Tokheim (1-for-4) has hit safely in 11 of his 14 games played and has reached in 13 straight contests