Returning home from last weekend’s series against USC, No. 2 Stanford (34-8, 17-4 Pac-12) will face the Santa Clara Broncos (11-34) for the final time this season tonight at Sunken Diamond.

Stanford has won the previous six games against Santa Clara. The most recent matchup on April 30 resulted in a 7-1 Cardinal win.

The Cardinal have a strong pitching staff with an ERA of 3.10, striking out 362 opposing hitters while walking 123 in 377 and two-thirds innings.  In the last game against the Broncos, freshman RHP Alex Williams allowed only two hits, one run and no walks in the 7.0-inning game.

The offense has always relied on timely hitting, and this season it is led by junior RHP Will Matthiessen (.348) and junior first baseman Andrew Daschbach (.311). As a team, Stanford is batting .276. Senior outfielder Brandon Wulff is another player to watch. He leads the Cardinal offense with 16 home runs. In the April 30 game, Wulff and junior center fielder Kyle Stowers each crushed two-run homers. The Cardinal is always a threat to steal, having stolen 46 bases this year.

Santa Clara has a team batting average of .223 and a pitching ERA of 4.66. Ryan McCarthy gave the Broncos their only run with a solo homer in the previous game against Williams.

First pitch is tonight at 6:05 p.m. PST at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond.

Contact Cate Camara at ccamara2 ‘at’ stanford.edu.