No. 3 Stanford baseball (41-14, 21-9 Pac-12) defeated No. 4 Oregon State (44-15, 20-10 Pac-12) 9-5 to win the inaugural Pac-12 Baseball Tournament on Sunday. The win extends Stanford’s winning streak to 16 games, which is the second-longest active winning streak in college baseball.
On Sunday evening, Stanford got off to a hot start against the Beavers. Junior DH Brett Barrera, the Pac-12 leader in batting average, hit an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning to give the Cardinal a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, outfielder Braden Montgomery, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, hit a two-run home run to center field to extend Stanford’s lead to 3-0.
In the fourth inning, Oregon State put up a rally to cut into the lead. The Beavers loaded the bases after sophomore pitcher Drew Dowd gave up a walk, an out, a single and another walk in order. Then, Dowd threw a wild pitch to put the Beavers on the scoreboard. Shortly thereafter, Beavers’ left fielder Greg Fuchs grounded out to first base, which plated another run for Oregon State. Dowd, however, was able to get a strikeout that ended the inning and limited the Beavers’ damage to just two runs.
In the bottom of the fourth, Stanford got those two runs back, as sophomore infielder Carter Graham hit a single through the right side, which scored junior outfielder Brock Jones and junior shortstop Adam Crampton.
The Beavers responded again in the fifth inning when DH Jacob Melton, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, hit an RBI single past the shortstop. The single scored two runs and kept the Beavers in striking distance with just a one-run deficit.
Melton assisted his team again in the seventh inning, when he hit a single to first base that helped score right fielder Wade Meckler from second. The run tied the game at five apiece.
But once again, Stanford showcased its prolific power-hitting in clutch situations. In the bottom of the seventh inning, sophomore third baseman Drew Bowser hit a solo home run to right center, which put the Cardinal on top once again, 6-5. The blast marked Bowser’s fourth home run in four games at the Pac-12 tournament.
Later in the inning, Crampton hit a double to left center, which brought sophomore infielder Tommy Troy home from first base. In the eighth, Troy hit a two-run home run to add extra insurance to Stanford’s lead.
These were the final runs of the game, as Stanford held on to win 9-5.
After the game, Bowser and Crampton were named to the All-Tournament Team due to their outstanding play throughout the tournament. In four games, Bowser went 8-18 with four home runs and two doubles, while Crampton went 7-15 with a double and played strong defense.
Since their regular season resumed, the Cardinal will now host a Regional at Sunken Diamond, and they will be guaranteed to host a Super Regional if they advance. Stanford is the No. 1 seed in the Regional and the No. 2 overall seed in the entire tournament.
In addition, Stanford will host No. 2 seed Texas State (43-12, 26-4 Sun Belt), No. 3 seed UC Santa Barbara (43-12, 27-3 Big West) and No. 4 seed Binghamton (22-28, 15-15 America East) in the Palo Alto Regional.
In college baseball, the Regional round features a double-elimination tournament format, while Super Regionals have a series format. The Cardinal will play Binghamton in their first game of the Regional. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. PT on Friday, June 3.