STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford trailed 4-1 headed to the bottom of the eighth inning, but rallied for four runs on three hits in the eighth to come back and earn a 5-4 victory over visiting Clemson on Saturday afternoon from Sunken Diamond.
The win evened a three-game series being played between the two teams, and moved Stanford to 14-14 on the season, including 4-7 in the ACC. Clemson dropped to 20-12 overall, including 3-8 in the ACC.
After Luke Gaffney homered in the top of the eighth inning to hand Clemson a 4-1 lead, Stanford got to work in the bottom of the frame. Ethan Hott got the rally started with a double down the left field line before back-to-back walks to pinch hitters Brady Reynolds and Rashad Hayes loaded the bases. Rintaro Sasaki drove in the first run of the inning with a sac fly to make it 4-2 before Teddy Tokheim split the gap in left-center for an RBI-double that cut the lead to one and left runners at second and third. Sophomore Charlie Bates won a nine-pitch at bat and earned a walk on the ensuing play, reloading the bases for JJ Moran. With the Clemson defense shifted to the pull side, Moran punched a go-ahead, two-RBI single through the right side for what proved to be the game-winning hit.
Tokheim, who finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs, put the Cardinal on the board first in the fourth inning, crushing his ninth homer of the year out to straight-away center field.
That 1-0 advantage held through the sixth inning, but Clemson finally broke through with two runs in the seventh to take a 2-1 lead.
Moran nearly tied the game with a leadoff blast to left field in the bottom of the seventh, but Clemson left fielder Jack Crighton leaped at the wall and robbed the potential game-tying homer.
Senior Sam Garewal was outstanding in his spot start for the Cardinal, tossing the first three scoreless innings while allowing just two hits with three strikeouts. Parker Warner worked the next 3 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, striking out four while allowing two runs, before Cohen Gomez struck out four over 1 2/3 innings. Gomez, who got the Cardinal through the top of the eighth, was catapulted into the win column and moved to 3-0 after Stanford’s offense came alive in the bottom of the inning.
Leading by a run headed to the ninth, Stanford turned the ball over to senior Trevor Moore to close the door. The right-hander allowed a leadoff double to Tyler Lichtenberger, but following a sacrifice bunt that moved the runner to third, Moore struck out Tryston McCladdie and induced a fly ball to right field for the final out to secure his second save of the season.
Stanford and Clemson will decide the series in the rubber game of the three-game set on Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
- Stanford has homered in 20 consecutive games (50 home runs over the span) … recorded its ninth comeback win of the season, including its fourth in the seventh inning or later ... Cardinal pitching combined for 12 strikeouts while issuing just two walks
- Eric Jeon went 1-for-4 to extend his reached base streak to nine games … is hitting .353 (12-for-34) with nine runs scored, a double, four home runs and six RBIs in ACC play
- JJ Moran batted 2-for-4 with two RBIs … has a hit in 22 of the 28 games this season
- Teddy Tokheim went 2-for-4 with two runs scored … has hit safely in 11 straight games and has multiple hits in seven of his last eight ... owns 11 multi-hit games, has hit safely in 19 of his 22 games played, has an extra-base hit in 13 of the 22, and has reached in 21 straight contests ... has homered in four of his last seven games overall … is hitting .391 (18-for-46) with 12 runs scored, seven doubles, five home runs and 15 RBIs in ACC play