STANFORD, Calif. – No. 18 Stanford was held to just four hits on Thursday night and fell 2-0 in the series opener against UCLA at Sunken Diamond.
Sophomore southpaw Kris Bubic and senior reliever Tyler Thorne surrendered just six hits, but were ultimately outdueled by Griffin Canning, who struck out 12 in a complete-game effort.
UCLA (15-15, 8-5 Pac-12) loaded the bases in the first and drew a two-out walk to take a 1-0 lead.
But that was all the scoring until the seventh. Bubic allowed just four hits and struck out two to keep the Cardinal within one. Meanwhile, Stanford had a man on in the second, third, fourth and sixth innings, but never got a runner past second.
T6: @DukeKinamon's ?? keeps the ?? within 1 on @Pac12Network #GoStanford https://t.co/rho4gvRUZ8
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) April 14, 2017
Thorne came on in relief with a runner on first in the seventh inning. A walk and two-out single put UCLA up by two, but Thorne was almost un-hittable the rest of the way.
T7: ?? sick stuff from @tthorne23 #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/dTL8rlYlFb
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) April 14, 2017
Freshman Daniel Bakst singled with two outs in the ninth, and Mikey Diekroeger came to the plate representing the tying run. The third baseman ripped one in the hole between first and second, but a diving stop by Bruins first baseman Sean Bouchard ended the contest.
NUMBERS…
Senior Alex Dunlap was 1-for-2, while Nico Hoerner and Quinn Brodey added Stanford's other hits -- all singles. Bubic finished 6.1 innings, and Thorne allowed just two hits in the final 2.2.
AND NOTABLES
Bakst has a hit in 14 of the last 15 games and all but one game in his career when he has at least three at-bats … Prior to the game, the Stanford seniors presented Coach Marquess with a framed lineup card from his 1,600th career win ... Stanford has lost the first game of all four Pac-12 series this season.
WHAT'S AHEAD
Two more remain against the Bruins. On Friday, the giveaway is a Stanford baseball trading card pack (No. 3 of 5), and Saturday is Honoring Our Heroes Day where all troops receive free admission, and Condoleezza Rice will throw out the first pitch.
SOCIAL SCENE
For the latest updates, you can follow Cardinal baseball all year long on instagram, twitter and snapchat (@StanfordBSB).
#GoStanford
A post shared by Stanford Baseball?? (@stanfordbsb) on Apr 13, 2017 at 8:06pm PDT