To watch Stanford's NCAA preview show, click the play button above or click the link to the right. Featured in the video is guest analyst Dean Stotz, as well as interviews with Mark Marquess, John Hochstatter and Zach Hoffpauir.
STANFORD, Calif. -- It was a hard road for the Stanford baseball team to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament field of 64, but that is exactly what Mark Marquess had planned.
“When you play the schedule we play; when you play at Texas and at Oregon State, those are tough environments to play in,” said Marquess, the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball. “That’s why we play those games.”
That tough slate, which also included regional hosts Vanderbilt and Rice, could pay big dividends for what will likely be a hostile environment at the Bloomington (Ind.) Regional. The Cardinal matches up against No. 2-seed Indiana State, whose fans will have a short drive to the tournament compared to Stanford’s voyage across the country, which begins Wednesday morning. With host and No. 4 national seed Indiana and its average crowd of 2,500+, along with underdog Youngstown State in the mix, the Cardinal is the outsider of the primarily Midwest regional.
Stanford not only prepared its team for extensive travel with its schedule, but also helped the club get into the tournament along the way. The Cardinal finished No. 45 in the RPI, a key component to postseason selection, while playing 24 games against other top-50 teams. The strength of scheduled is considered one of the strongest in the nation.
“We’re happy to get to the postseason,” expressed Marquess. “It was a struggle for us early but we played well there at the end to earn the spot.”
The Cardinal started slow and faced many doubters during the first half of the season. After an 11-16 start that included a .246 team batting average and .330 on-base percentage, Stanford flipped its fortune behind hot bats in the middle of the lineup and the addition of John Hochstatter to the weekend rotation.
Hochstatter has been Stanford’s most consistent starter after getting his first start April 12. The junior lefty beat then-Pac-12 leader Washington and went on to go 8-0 in league starts with a .188 batting average against. He will likely be joined in the regional rotation by Cal Quantrill, who is part of Stanford’s freshman class that started 42 games. Quantrill owns a deceiving 5-5 record, while leading the team in strikeouts and posting a 2.92 ERA.
Though the pitching staff has seen its changes over the season, the offense has been the real difference over the second half. Zach Hoffpauir, a two-sport star for Stanford, and Austin Slater are both hitting over .390 since Hochstatter’s first start, as the Cardinal is hitting nearly 50 points higher since April 12.
“Coming out from football, it’s a little hard getting acclimated,” said Hoffpauir, who hit just .172 in the first month of the year. “I hadn’t seen pitching for five or six months. I started out slow, but we had a break for spring break and I was able to get it together for Pac-12 play.”
Hoffpauir now sits 10 points behind Slater for the team batting average title, .349 to .339. The two have been one-upping each other of late, as Slater is riding a 17-game hitting streak and Hoffpauir is the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week after an 8-for-13 series at Utah.
Stanford hopes the two outfielders continue their upward trending averages in an unfamiliar territory. The program has never played any of the three teams in the Bloomington Regional.
The postseason is, however, a familiar setting for Stanford, as Marquess is making his 29th postseason trip in the last 34 years. He has guided the club to at least one postseason win in 26 of his previous 28 trips, including six straight victories in regional games.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Game Schedule
Game 1: Friday, May 30 at 2:00 p.m. E.T. - Stanford vs. Indiana State
Game 2: Friday, May 30 at 7 p.m. E.T. - Indiana vs. Youngstown State
Game 3: Saturday, May 31 at 2 p.m. E.T.
Game 4: Saturday, May 31 at 6 p.m. E.T.
Game 5: Sunday, June 1 at 1 p.m. E.T.
Game 6: Sunday, June 1 at 6 p.m. E.T.
Game 7 (if necessary): Monday, June 2 at 5:30 p.m. E.T.
Bart Kaufman Field
Location: Bloomington, Ind.
Opened: March 20, 2013
Surface: Astro Turf
Capacity: 5,500
Dimensions: 330/369/400/382/330
Tickets
To purchase tickets, visit the IU Ticket Office in Assembly Hall or call 1-866-IUSPORTS (487-7678).
All-Session Pricing
Reserved Red Seatbacks: SOLD OUT
Reserved Bleachers: $70 (Adult) • $35 (Student/Youth)
Outfield Bleachers/Lawn/Standing Room Only: $56 (Adult) • $21 (Student/Youth)
Single-Session Pricing (On Sale Friday, May 30)
Reserved Red Seatbacks: SOLD OUT
Reserved Bleachers: $13 (Adult) • $8 (Student/Youth)
Outfield Bleachers/Lawn/Standing Room Only: $11 (Adult) • $6 (Student/Youth)
Parking
Fan parking will be available at the cost of $10 per day in the gravel lot to the West of Bart Kaufman Field. Fans will enter through Gate 11 off the IN-45/IN-46 Bypass. There are other events going on at nearby facilities, therefore fans must be sure to park in the correct lot.