On Saturday, Stanford (0-0, 0-0 ACC) dropped 7-6 to Cal Poly (0-0, 0-0 Big West) in their penultimate fall baseball game. Despite carrying a slim lead late into the game, the Cardinal surrendered a three-run home run in the seventh and final inning to ultimately seal the loss. 

Cal Poly, ranked No. 19 at last season’s end, enters this year seeking to improve on their defeat in super regional finals the previous season. Stanford, on the other hand, struggled last spring, finishing 12th in the ACC and suffering a second-round thumping by Miami for their elimination from the ACC tournament. 

The offense was highlighted by multi-hit performances from sophomore infielder Teddy Tokheim, recording three hits, and freshman infielder Alika Ahu, with two hits and a walk. Despite a lack of home run power from the Cardinal side, the offense was still able to sustain multiple long rallies, scoring three runs each in the fourth and fifth innings.

Tokheim’s offense was a revelation for the Stanford side during his collegiate debut season last spring, leading the team in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base plus slugging (OPS) and earning him a third team All-American selection. His 17 home runs in 2026 counted for just one shy of the all-time Cardinal freshman record.

On the pitching side, sophomore left-handed pitcher Mike Erspamer opened up the game with two innings of one-run ball, recording a strikeout and no walks. After him, freshman pitcher Graham Schlicht had a strong performance, striking out two in two scoreless innings. Before his time with the Card, he pitched 62 innings without giving up a run, setting a California state record. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Brock Ketelsen also impressed, pitching two innings while also reaching base on a single and an error, demonstrating his two-way talent. 

Although fall ball games are similar to in-season games, there are notable differences, exemplified in Saturday afternoon’s matchup. Both teams used a variety of pitchers, and while this is consistent with Stanford’s “Committee Pitching” rotation used last season, it’s useful for pinpointing strengths and areas of improvement for pitching in the regular season.

There were also notable batting order changes that differed from a regular season game. Cal Poly had just eight players in the lineup for most of the game, and one of their batters hit twice in a row. On the Cardinal side, Tokheim floated between hitting sixth and seventh, and at one point, sophomore catcher Nolan Stoll hit multiple times in a row. These events are unusual for regular-season baseball, but are useful for determining players’ roles come winter. 

Cardinal baseball will return to play at Cal Poly on Nov. 7 at 12:05 for the final fall ball game.