In an opening home weekend dedicated to legendary head coach Mark Marquess, No. 22 Stanford baseball (5-2) honored its coach well with a sweep of Kansas (2-5).
Cardinal pitching was dominant, giving up just two runs over the weekend and posting back-to-back shutouts on Friday and Saturday for the first time in 12 years. Stanford found hitting from all spots in the lineup, showcasing a well-rounded offense that pummeled Kansas pitching, racking up 15 runs in three games.
On Friday, Stanford recorded its fifth one-hitter in school history and first since 2003. Junior Andrew Summerville threw six hitless innings, eight strikeouts and 97 pitches. Summerville dominated throughout his start, his 10th career victory. Freshman Will Mattheissen came in as a reliever in the seventh, throwing a hitless frame before Kansas broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single in the eighth, its only hit of the evening. Mattheissen’s three scoreless innings earned him his first career save.
The game remained scoreless until a breakout fifth inning by the Cardinal. Stanford scored five runs on seven hits while batting around. The Cardinal got their offense going with a leadoff single by junior Mikey Diekroeger and a walk. With two runners on, junior Matt Winaker drove single to right-center to get Stanford on the board. A double play made the score 2-0, and the Cardinal would keep the line moving with two outs.
After a single by sophomore Nico Hoerner, freshman Kyle Stowers blasted his first career home run to right field. The display of power was followed up by some small ball, as junior Quinn Brodey singled, advanced to second on an error, and was driven in by senior Alex Dunlap.
With the game all but decided in the seventh, Hoerner put on a display of individual effort, beating out an infield single before stealing second. The sophomore shortstop would eventually score on an error to bring the final score to 6-0.
Cardinal bats stayed hot on Saturday after a pregame ceremony that recognized Marquess. In the ceremony, more than 100 alumni returned to celebrate Marquess, who will retire at the end of the 2017 season.
Stanford starter freshman Erik Miller continued the team’s stellar pitching by delivering seven scoreless innings of work, notching four strikeouts while giving up only three hits and a walk. Senior Tyler Thorne came on in relief in the eighth and added two scoreless innings, not allowing a hit or walk.
“We’ve got a lot of experience with a lot of older guys in the bullpen, especially some of our starters,” Miller said. “It’s been great to have them lead me into this and show me the ropes of the program. With the pitchers we have, there’s always a chance to win.”
The Cardinal got their offense going early, scoring in the second inning. Sophomore Duke Kinamon reached on a hit by pitch and advanced to second on a balk before being driven in by a two-out single through the right side from Diekroeger. Stanford continued hitting with two outs, as freshman Daniel Bakst came on as a pinch hitter and earned a single to right center for his first career hit. The Cardinal would load the bases before a strikeout by Kansas starter Jeider Rincon ended the inning.
Stanford kept the momentum going with a long rally in the third inning. Freshman Andrew Daschbach, making his first career start, led off the inning with a double and was driven in by a Dunlap single. With two outs and two men on, Diekroeger powered a double to left center to bring the overall score to 4-0. Diekroeger outhit Kansas by himself, going 4-for-4 with three RBIs and a double.
Daschbach followed up his success on offense with a diving catch to end the top of the fifth inning, laying out to secure the ball in left field. Stanford used that energy to add more runs in bottom of the fifth, where Bakst continued to make the most of his at-bats. The freshman hit a sacrifice fly to drive in a fifth Stanford run.
On the freshmen’s contributions in the game, Marquess stressed building game experience.
“You want to get them in there and get their feet wet,” he said. “We’ve been able to do that so far, and they’re going to really help us throughout the season.”
Stanford rounded out a winning weekend with a 4-2 victory over Kansas on Sunday. Starter senior Chris Castellanos earned his first win of the season with six innings of work with five strikeouts and only one run allowed. The lefty cruised through his start, retiring 12 straight batters between the second and sixth innings. Junior Colton Hock closed out the match with a scoreless eighth and ninth, his second save of the season.
With Dunlap and Diekroeger on base in the second inning, sophomore Brandon Wulff drove in a three-run home run to put Stanford ahead 3-0, a lead it would not relinquish in the game. A Kansas run in the seventh, its first of the three-game series, was quickly answered by a Hoerner RBI double down the left field line.
Kansas would tally another run in the top of the eighth, but the Stanford bullpen didn’t allow anything more, shutting down a Jayhawks comeback effort in the ninth with another stellar performance by Hock.
Stanford will not have much time to rest, playing UC Davis on Tuesday at Sunken Diamond. The team will need to carry the momentum from the opening weekend to its other home matchups, a packed set of five games in six days starting Tuesday. The UC Davis game will start at 5:30 p.m.
Contact Laura Anderson at lauraand ‘at’ stanford.edu.