STANFORD, Calif. – Wrapping up the home portion of the 2026 slate on Tuesday, Stanford scored six runs over the first two innings and eventually held on to defeat Saint Mary’s 7-6 in a nonconference game from Sunken Diamond.
The victory moved Stanford to 26-23 overall, while Saint Mary’s dropped to 29-22.
After a scoreless first inning on both sides, Stanford jumped out to the early advantage by scoring three runs in both the second and third innings. Junior Eric Jeon got the scoring started with a solo home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the second before a Brock Sell sacrifice fly and a bases-loaded walk made it 3-0.
For Jeon, who batted 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, the home run was his ninth of the season.
The Cardinal was back to work in the third, extending the lead to 4-0 on an infield single from Jimmy Nati. Luke Lavin followed with an RBI-single of his own – the first of two hits on the day from Lavin - before Sell split the gap in right-center field for a run-scoring double one play later.
Sell, a freshman from Stockton, Calif., finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
After Brock Ketelsen tossed two scoreless innings in the start for Stanford, senior Sam Garewal took over in the third and carried the torch through the fifth without allowing a run. Garewal trotted out for the sixth inning, but allowed a double and an RBI-single to start the frame as Saint Mary’s broke up the shutout bid. After Parker Warner replaced Garewal and retired the first batter he faced, Jacob Johnson connected for a two-run home run to left to close the book on the Cardinal starter.
Garewal was ultimately credited with the win after allowing two runs on four hits with two strikeouts over three-plus innings of work.
The Cardinal managed to scratch across what proved to be a crucial run in the bottom of the seventh when Sell lined a two-out single back up the box to bring home JJ Moran and the seventh Stanford run of the game.
Moran, who finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and three runs scored, had reached on a hit-by-pitch earlier in the inning.
Still trailing 7-3 headed to the ninth inning, Saint Mary’s managed to make things interesting in the final stanza. Batting against reliever Kassius Thomas, who relieved freshman Colt Peterson after 1 2/3 scoreless innings, the Gaels strung together four straight hits – including a two-RBI double from Tanner Griffith and a run-scoring single from Diego Castellanos to cut the deficit to one at 7-6. Thomas induced a ground ball to shortstop that forced out the lead runner at second for the first out of the inning before getting Ian Armstrong to hit a sharp ground ball right at Jeon at second base for a game-ending double play.
The Cardinal will conclude the regular season this week when it travels to cross-town rival California for a three-game ACC series beginning Thursday at 7:05 p.m.