Fall Ball Notebook: Stanford baseball narrowly defeats Cal Poly

Published Nov. 9, 2024, 10:40 p.m., last updated Nov. 9, 2024, 10:40 p.m.

Stanford baseball played its second fall ball matchup on Saturday, narrowly edging out Cal Poly with a final score of 3–2. The Cardinal showcased its pitching depth and offensive versatility, pulling ahead with a one-run lead late in this preseason matchup.

Four Cardinal pitchers take the mound

Starting the game for Stanford was junior pitcher Matt Scott, who is preparing to become the ace of his team’s rotation. He was characteristically sharp through two innings of work, despite some early trouble. After striking out the leadoff batter in the first inning, Scott gave up a double to right field and allowed the runner to advance to third base on a sacrifice fly. That would be his only mistake, as Scott struck out the next batter to end the inning and permitted no batter to reach first base in the second inning.

Following Scott was left-handed sophomore Christian Lim, who also allowed one hit across two innings, and junior Toran O’Harran, who surrendered one run on a walk and a triple but gave up nothing else. Junior right-hander Trevor Moore closed out the game and faced the most pressure, giving up a walk that turned into a run on a subsequent single in the seventh inning. Moore, however, managed to prevent further damage with men on first and second base with one out, relying on the defense behind him to induce a lineout to center field and a groundout to second base.

Small ball and long ball drive offense

The Cardinal scored zero runs in the first four innings and was trailing Cal Poly in the bottom of the fifth, but sophomore Brady Reynolds provided a much-needed spark for the offense. The young hitter knocked a leadoff single into the outfield, and then stole second base to put himself in scoring position. Senior Jake Sapien moved Reynolds to third with a sacrifice fly, and senior Temo Becerra brought him home with yet another sacrifice fly. With just one hit, and some assistance from his veteran teammates, Reynolds had evened up the score for Stanford.

Fortunately, not every Cardinal run needed to be manufactured. The other two came courtesy of leadoff home runs, both to deep left field, from senior shortstop Trevor Haskins in the sixth inning and senior Saborn Campbell in the eighth inning. Haskins wasted no time, lifting the first pitch he saw — a 91 mph fastball — out of Sunken Diamond to take a 2-1 lead.

Stanford defense has yet to slip up

One of the standout aspects of Stanford’s fall ball matchups is what hasn’t happened: defensive errors. In each of the last two seasons, the Cardinal’s defense started out shaky before eventually stabilizing. But on Saturday, as was the case last weekend, the fielding was nearly flawless.

That is not to say there weren’t tough plays to be made. Shortstop Haskins had to turn a double play on a chopped ground ball to kill a potential Cal Poly rally in the third inning, but he got the job done. Senior catcher Charlie Saum did let a ball get past him in the seventh inning — allowing an opposing runner to move to second base — but he made up for it by catching another runner on a steal attempt for the final out of the eighth inning.

Other Notes

  • Starting Lineup: 1) Cort MacDonald CF, 2) Trevor Haskins SS, 3) Jimmy Nati 1B, 4) Brandon Larson DH, 5) Charlie Saum C, 6) Brady Reynolds RF, 7) Jake Sapien LF, 8) Temo Becerra 2B, 9) JJ Moran 3B
  • Once again, freshman power hitter Rintaro Sasaki did not make an appearance in the game. Stanford fans continue to eagerly await the young first baseman’s collegiate debut.
  • Junior Cort MacDonald, who was originally in the leadoff spot for Stanford, was quickly substituted out in the lineup for Campbell after he was caught trying to steal second base in the first inning. May that serve as a lesson to all Stanford base runners who get caught stealing this season.
  • Junior Ethan Hott also made an appearance, pinch running for junior Brandon Larson in the second inning after Larson led off with a double to left field. Larson later reentered the game, a flexibility allowed by the modified rules of fall ball.

John R. Puri is an undergraduate Opinions staff writer studying Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations and Political Economy.

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