With its final Pac-10 series last weekend, the Stanford baseball team looked to move up in the conference standings and make an emphatic case for a high seeding in the NCAA Tournament. Though the Cardinal (31-23, 14-13 Pac-10) was only able to take one game out of three from No. 3 Arizona State (47-8, 20-7), it kept all three games close — each was decided by three runs or less.
After Thursday’s 4-2 loss, Stanford came out on Friday trying to even the series. On the back of an incredible pitching performance from sophomore starter Jordan Pries, it was able to do just that, taking a 5-2 win.
While its offense bounced back nicely after being shut down by Arizona State pitching, Pries was the true catalyst for Stanford’s victory. He pitched eight shutout innings against an Arizona State offense that leads the Pac-10 in almost every offensive category. He also notched six strikeouts while throwing 129 pitches, and was only charged with two runs in the ninth.
With the win, Pries improves his record to 4-3.
On the other side, Stanford’s offense provided its pitcher with some decent run support against Sun Devil starter Merrill Kelly. The Cardinal got 11 hits and five runs off Kelly, mostly through driving balls into the gaps in the infield and between the outfielders.
Stanford got big offensive performances from freshman right fielder Tyler Gaffney, junior catcher Ben Clowe and freshman designated hitter Eric Smith. Gaffney and Clowe both went 2-4 with two RBIs each, while Smith went 3-4 and was the catalyst for a couple of Cardinal rallies, scoring two runs in the game.
Clowe’s performance was especially impressive — he got the start at catcher because Stanford’s regular starter, junior Zach Jones, was unavailable due to an injury sustained in Thursday’s game.
Defense also played a big role for both teams. In Arizona State’s case, defensive lapses didn’t help in containing Stanford. A critical error by shortstop Drew Maggi in the second inning led directly to two Stanford runs, allowing the Card to jump out to an early 2-0 lead.
Meanwhile, the Cardinal defense was stellar and played a huge role in shutting down a speedy Arizona State team that had a tendency to steal bases. Pries made a great move and picked off a batter at second base midway through the game, while Clowe threw out two potential base stealers out of four attempts (one of which went uncontested). The left side of the infield — junior shortstop Jake Schlander and freshman third baseman Kenny Diekroeger — also made a couple of remarkable plays to make outs or keep Sun Devil batters from taking extra bases.
In Saturday’s rubber game, the pitchers’ duels that characterized the first two games of the series gave way to more of an offensive game. This time, Stanford’s pitching staff was unable to hold back Arizona State’s offense, leading to an 8-6 win for the Sun Devils.
For much of the game, the Card looked like it could come away with the win. Heading into the seventh inning, Stanford held a slim 5-4 lead. However, Stanford’s relievers were unable to hold back the Sun Devils over the last three innings, as they scored four runs to notch the win.
Stanford used seven pitchers in the game, with freshman starter Dean McArdle lasting five innings after giving up four runs on five hits. Junior Danny Sandbrink, who came on in relief of McArdle, gave up two runs (both unearned) in his 1.2 innings and took the loss, dropping his record to 2-2.
Arizona State starter Jake Borup did not fare much better, going only four innings and giving up five runs before being replaced by Brady Rodgers. The relief staff was fairly effective for ASU, with three pitchers giving up just one run over the last five innings.
Defense proved to be a key factor again for each team. An error by Schlander gave the Sun Devils two unearned runs and the late lead, while two errors by Arizona State second baseman Zack MacPhee led to three unearned runs in total for Stanford.
With the conference season now complete, Stanford finishes its season in fourth place in the Pac-10, behind Arizona State, UCLA and Washington State. Overall, eight teams from the Pac-10 qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
Next up for the Cardinal is the opening round of the tournament. It earned the second seed in the Fullerton Regional, hosted by Big West Conference champion Cal State Fullerton. The four-team regional is played in a double-elimination format, with the winner moving on to the Super Regionals. New Mexico and Minnesota round out the rest of the regional’s field.
Stanford’s first game pits the Cardinal against the Lobos. New Mexico (37-20) placed second in the Mountain West Conference and is making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1962. The two teams did not play each other during the regular season.
The regional’s top seed, Cal State Fullerton, would pose a formidable challenge if the two teams end up facing each other. The Titans (41-15) won the Big West Conference with a combination of solid offense and defense. As a team, Fullerton has hit .348 for the season with 56 home runs. It also has two pitchers — Noe Ramirez and Daniel Renken — who each won at least 10 games this season, as well as a team ERA of 3.76.
Stanford will play New Mexico on Friday in Fullerton, Calif. The Fullerton Regional will conclude on Monday.