BLACKSBURG, Va. – Sophomore Rintaro Sasaki homered for the second consecutive game, and the fourth game in his last six overall, but Stanford (12-13, 2-6 ACC) had a five-game win streak snapped by Virginia Tech on Saturday as the Hokies (13-12, 5-6 ACC) collected a 10-2 victory to even a three-game series being played at English Field.
The round-tripper, Stanford’s first hit of the game, was No. 9 on the season for Sasaki and came with one out in the second inning.
That home run proved to be the only real blemish on the line of Virginia Tech starter Brett Renfrow’s line, as the right-hander went 7 1/3 innings and allowed just the one run on two hits and two walks while striking out 12. The victory moved Renfrow to 1-3 on the season.
Sam Garewal got the start and took the loss after allowing four runs, including a three-run homer off the bat of Henry Cooke in the second inning, while striking out four over two innings. The decision dropped Garewal to 0-1 on the season.
Cooke’s homer was the first of two from Virginia Tech on Saturday, as Ethan Gibson connected for a two-run home run in the fourth to run the tally to 6-1 after four innings. The Hokies would add two in the fifth and one in the sixth before the two teams traded a run in the eighth.
Stanford and Virginia Tech will decide the three-game series on Sunday in the rubber game of the set beginning at 10 a.m. PT.
GAME NOTES:
- Stanford has homered in 17 consecutive games (47 home runs over the span) - the longest streak for the Cardinal since it hit 52 homers over 18 straight games from May 1 to June 3, 2022
- Ethan Hott has reached in eight straight and 14 of his 15 games with an at bat this year
- JJ Moran has reached in 11 straight games
- Rintaro Sasaki has hit safely in 14 of his last 17 games and has reached in 17 straight ... has homered in back-to-back games, four of his last six, and five of his last eight ... has scored at least one run in each of his last eight games
- Teddy Tokheim has hit safely in eight straight games ... has hit safely in 16 of his 19 games played and has reached in 18 straight contests