STANFORD, Calif. – Playing its fifth game in the last six days on Monday night, Stanford recorded its third consecutive walk-off win, this time leaving UC Davis (19-24) on the field following a JJ Moran RBI-single in the bottom of the 12th that handed the Cardinal (22-19) a 6-5 victory from Sunken Diamond.
Knotted at 3-3 after nine innings, Stanford and UC Davis elected to put runners at second to start each of the extra-inning frames.
The Aggies scored the go-ahead in the top of the 10th on a two-base wild pitch, while Stanford drew back even at 4-4 in the home half on a two-out RBI-single from Moran.
Neither team managed to score in the 11th, but UC Davis once again went ahead on a Jaxon Murphy RBI-double that brought home the automatic runner in the 12th.
Trailing 5-4 headed to the bottom of the 12th, Stanford placed Rashad Hayes at second to start the home half. Cort MacDonald followed with a single that pushed Hayes to third before Eric Jeon, who finished 3-for-5, laced a single into left field to chase home Hayes and the tying run. Ater Teddy Tokheim was retired for the first out, Moran lined the first pitch he saw into the gap in right-center field to bring home MacDonald from second for the walk-off victory.
The two teams combined for 24 hits in the game, but both sides did well to limit the damage overall. Stanford managed two doubles and UC Davis had just one as the two teams posted only three extra-base hits in the 12 frames.
Freshman Quinten Marsh got the start for Stanford, allowing one run on five hits and a walk while striking out three over 3 2/3 innings.
Left-hander Austin Steeves worked the next 2 1/3 innings, allowing a run on two hits, before passing the ball to senior Kassius Thomas. The right-hander pitched the seventh and eighth innings and was charged with an unearned run after making a throwing error in the eighth inning that ultimately led to UC Davis taking a 3-2 lead after eight.
Making his first appearance since April 3, junior Ben Reimers contributed 2 2/3 innings before Andrew Shaw got the final out of the 11th to strand a pair of baserunners. Shaw, who recorded his first career win, would return to the mound and retire the side in the 12th, giving Stanford an opportunity to walk it off in the bottom of the inning.
MacDonald delivered the first two Cardinal runs on Monday, contributing an RBI-groundout in the third to start the scoring before giving Stanford a 2-1 lead with a single into left-center field in the fifth.
Stanford’s 2-1 lead held into the seventh, but UC Davis scored the equalizer on a wild pitch with a runner at third in the seventh inning. The Aggies would take their first lead of the game in the eighth as Braydon Wooldridge grounded a ball to second base to chase home Ryan Lee.
Needing a spark to stay alive in the bottom of the ninth, Stanford got just that when Brady Reynolds punched a double inside the bag at third with one out. Philip Cheong wasted no time delivering the game-tying hit, lining an RBI-double into the left field corner to ultimately force extra innings.
In addition to being the third consecutive walk-off win for the Cardinal, it was also the sixth time overall this season that Stanford has walked off with a victory, and the eighth time it has won a game in its final at bat this year.
The Cardinal, which has won six games in a row, will look to keep the momentum going this week when it travels to Notre Dame for a three-game ACC series beginning Friday at 3:30 p.m. PT.