Offensive explosion carries Stanford to win

March 3, 2015, 10:58 p.m.

Stanford (7-6) jumped back over .500 on the season with a dominating win over San Jose State (4-8). The Cardinal showed no signs of fatigue coming off a four-game series vs. Rice this past weekend, and exploded for 13 runs on 18 hits. A balanced offensive attack resulted in a 13-8 win, as all nine starters recorded at least one hit. Stanford posted season highs in runs, hits, RBI, and doubles.

Third baseman Mikey Diekroeger, who led the way for the Cardinal with four hits and two RBIs, attributed the strong offensive performance to simply “putting the ball in play and making [the defense] work.” He also noted that such a high-scoring game is “good for hitters to get their confidence up and their timing down heading into the weekend.”

Junior outfielder Jonny Locher (above) is part of the Cardinal's balanced attack that managed to put away the Spartans before tackling Texas. (DON FERIA/Stanford Photo).
Junior outfielder Jonny Locher (above) is part of the Cardinal’s balanced attack that managed to put away the Spartans before tackling Texas. (DON FERIA/Stanford Photo).

Stanford was in control of the game from the beginning, jumping out to an early 4-0 lead and bringing eight batters to the plate in the top of the second inning. Shortstop Tommy Edman and second baseman Beau Branton recorded back-to-back doubles, driving in three of the four runs, before a San Jose State pitching change brought the inning to a close. The Stanford offense picked up right where it left off the following inning and broke the game wide open, tacking on 3 more runs. Stanford, holding a commanding 7-0 lead, was poised to record even more damage with the bases loaded and two outs, but a miraculous diving catch by SJSU center fielder Andre Mercurio in deep left-center ended the rally.

The Spartans finally showed signs of life in the bottom of the fourth inning, putting three runs on the board, but Stanford put to rest any thoughts of a comeback by responding with three runs of their own in the fifth. The Spartans would continue to chip away at the Stanford lead throughout the game, but never posed a serious threat for a comeback, as the Cardinal were always quick to answer offensively. Stanford used six pitchers in total, but it was relief pitcher Griffin Weir who picked up the win, going four innings and allowing two runs.

Stanford next faces a tough Texas (8-4) opponent in a four-game series here at Sunken Diamond. First pitch is Thursday at 6 p.m.

Contact Michael Woo at mtwoo ‘at’ stanford.edu.

Michael works on men's baseball coverage for The Daily. He is an economics major and plans on minoring in communication. He hopes to work in the sports industry, either with a team or in a league office. Having lived in Massachusetts his whole life, Michael is a diehard Boston sports fan, supporting the Patriots, Celtics, Bruins and Red Sox.

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