STANFORD, Calif. – Knotted at 5-5 headed to the bottom of the seventh inning, Stanford (23-22) scored three runs in the seventh and four in the eighth to run away with a 12-5 victory over visiting San Francisco (22-24) on Wednesday night from Sunken Diamond.
The two teams found themselves even at four runs apiece through three innings, and that tally held until the bottom of the sixth when freshman Nolan Stoll unloaded on the second pitch he saw with one out and deposited it over the wall in left field for his first career home run.
Stanford nearly escaped a jam in the top of the seventh, but an overturned call at first base allowed the Dons to draw back even at 5-5. With the bases loaded and only one out, Stanford summoned right-hander Trevor Moore from its bullpen. Moore induced a chopper to second where Eric Jeon applied the tag to the runner moving from first to second base, but a double-clutch and a quick throw to first handcuffed Stanford first baseman Rintaro Sasaki. Sasaki bobbled the throw and eventually secured the baseball, but it was determined upon review that it was too late for the force out.
Claiming all the momentum, Stanford scored three runs on four hits in the seventh to pave the path to victory. Charlie Bates got the ball rolling with a walk before JJ Moran laced a ball off the wall in center field for a triple that scored the eventual game-winning run. Freshman Brock Sell followed the three-bagger up with a double down the left field line – the second RBI-double of the night for Sell as he batted 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three driven in. Sasaki capped the three-run frame with an RBI-single into right-center to hand Stanford the 8-5 lead.
San Francisco, which used 11 different pitchers on Wednesday, used three in the eighth inning alone as the trio surrendered four runs on two hits and five walks – including three with the bases loaded. In addition to the three run-scoring walks, Stanford also benefitted from an RBI-single from Stoll as the Cardinal backstop finished 2-for-4 on the night.
After recording the final two outs in the seventh, Moore would work a scoreless eighth inning to put himself in line for the victory and improve to 6-2 on the season.
A trio of Cardinal players posted three-hit nights, with Moran leading the way with a 3-for-4 effort that included the triple, three runs scored and two RBIs. Cort MacDonald finished 3-for-5 with an RBI, while Eric Jeon went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a sac fly.
Stanford will conclude the home portion of the ACC schedule this weekend when it welcomes NC State to Sunken Diamond for a three-game set beginning Friday at 6:05 p.m.