Coming off an emotional series against Texas that featured two consecutive walk-off wins, No. 16 Stanford baseball (11-5) split a four-game set against Rice (6-11) in Houston over the weekend.

Thursday’s game did not lack offense as Stanford defeated Rice 16-6. Cardinal batters racked up 15 runs in the first four innings in their offensive outburst. 

Junior Quinn Brodey carried the momentum from the series against Texas, where he had two walk-off RBIs. Brodey went 3-for-6 with seven RBIs and two runs and, with the bases loaded in the fourth inning, hit a grand slam as part of eight runs scored in the inning. Brodey’s seven RBIs and grand slam were the most by a Stanford player since Brian Ragira at Washington State in 2011.

Also joining in on the offensive showcase was junior infielder Mikey Diekroeger, who tied his career-high in hits with four in six at-bats.

Sophomore pitcher Kris Bubic started on the mound for the Cardinal. He threw six innings, gave up five earned runs and struck out six batters. 

Stanford pounced on the Owls early in the first inning when RBI singles by Brodey and Diekroeger gave Stanford a 2-0 lead. Stanford would keep its offense going and double its lead in the second, when Brodey singled again to score two Stanford runners.

After Rice broke through in the second and third innings to cut the lead to 7-5, the Cardinal responded in a big way in the fourth. Brodey’s grand slam blew the game open, and junior catcher Alex Dunlap followed up that long ball with a solo home run of his own, stretching the lead to 15-5.

Another run in the seventh inning locked the game down for the Cardinal, as the team soundly defeated the Owls 16-6.

Cardinal bats cooled off on Friday night, and Stanford’s four-game win streak was snapped as it was blanked 4-0.

Junior lefty Andrew Summerville pitched five innings for Stanford. He had three punch-outs and gave up three earned runs. Despite a strong outing, the Stanford defense did not do Summerville any favors. In the second inning, a pop-up fell uncaught between two Cardinal players, allowing an unearned Rice double. The batter would later score to put Rice on the board when Summerville allowed a two-out single.

In the third, the Cardinal defense allowed the leadoff man to get on base because of an error, and he would later score on a sacrifice fly to double Rice’s lead to 2-0.

Stanford had its best chance to score when in the sixth, after Rice had a 3-0 lead, Brodey cracked a deep fly ball to the left with two runners on. Based on Brodey’s previous outings, the hit looked good, but the ball was just short of the wall and was caught to record the out.

Rice would add a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth to give it a 4-0 lead over Stanford.

Saturday featured a doubleheader between the Cardinal and the Owls, and Stanford struggled again in the first game, losing 12-2.

Stanford earned an early 1-0 lead in the second when a bunt by junior Matt Winaker scored Diekroeger. The Cardinal would not hold the lead for very long, as Rice tied the game on an unearned run in the fourth and would score three more runs in the fifth. The rest of the game was all Owls offense, as Rice notched 16 hits in the game. Freshman pitcher Erik Miller pitched 4.1 innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out six, eventually receiving the loss.

The game ended when, after scoring three in the seventh inning, Rice put up five more in the eighth to earn a 10-run lead and the victory.

The night game saw senior pitcher Chris Castellanos dominate Rice to help Stanford to a 2-0 win and a series split.

Castellanos pitched 5.2 innings and gave up no runs with three strikeouts.  This game lowered Castellanos’s ERA to under 2.00 for the season, an impressive feat even this early in the season.

Stanford did not record a run until the sixth inning, when sophomore Duke Kinamon and freshman Daniel Bakst recorded consecutive RBI singles to put Stanford up 2-0. These would be the only runs Stanford would need, as junior closer Colton Hock shut the door in relief, blanking Rice for 1.3 innings to record his fourth save of the season.

Stanford head coach Mark Marquess is now only four wins away from 1,600 career victories. Marquess would be just the fourth head coach in Division I history to achieve that mark.

The Cardinal will have a one-week break before taking on defending conference champions Utah in a three-game set at Sunken Diamond starting on March 24.

Contact Jose Saldana at jsaldana ‘at’ stanford.edu.