STANFORD, Calif. – No. 12 Stanford survived a ninth-inning rally to earn a 6-5 win against UNLV and clinch the series win on Sunday at Sunken Diamond.
"These were three really good baseball games against strong opposition, so it's always nice to end the weekend with a series win under our belts," said the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "I thought Miller was excellent, pitching through a couple jams and keeping us in the game while our bats took a while to warm up."
A five-run sixth inning lifted the Cardinal (6-1-0) to the 2-1 series win after dropping Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader. Left-handed pitcher Erik Miller (1-0) earned the win, allowing two runs in 6.0 innings with six strikeouts. Will Matthiessen reached base four times and finished 3-for-3 with one home run, also tossing 2.1 innings in relief with three strikeouts. Brandon Wulff hit his first home run of the season to finish with two RBI and Brandon Dieter drove in a pair of runs, which proved to be the difference.
The Rebels (4-4-0) took the first lead of the game in the fourth inning with a solo home run off the bat of Bryson Stott, the first hit allowed by Miller. Miller had cruised through the lineup in the first three innings, striking out three. After Stott's blast, he struck out two to limit the damage in the fourth.
UNLV threatened again in the fifth with Jacob Godman reaching on an error and Trevor Rosenberg smashing a double off the right-field wall to put runners on second and third with 1 out. Miller induced weakly-hit grounders to get out of the jam.
Stanford was retired in order in the home half of the fifth before the Rebels doubled their lead in the sixth with an RBI double by Max Smith. Miller escaped allowing just one run, inducing a ground ball before striking out the final batter.
Miller's work paid off in the home half as Stanford took the lead with home runs off the bats of Matthiessen and Wulff. With Maverick Handley standing on second, Matthiessen took the first pitch he saw beyond the wall in right center and Wulff's solo shot into the trees in left field put Stanford ahead, 3-2.
The big inning continued when Christian Robinson reached on an error and Duke Kinamon's first hit of the season put runners on second and third with two out for Brandon Dieter. Dieter took a 1-2 pitch back up the middle, scoring both runners and pushing the lead to three.
Matthiessen relieved Miller in the seventh before Stanford manufactured another run with two outs in the home half. Kyle Stowers was hit by a pitch, Matthiessen singled through the right side and Wulff's bloop single to right field brought in Stowers.
Jack Little relieved Matthiessen with one out in the ninth, inheriting a runner on first base. The Rebels rallied to plate three runs off of Little, including a two-run blast off the bat of Stott, but the junior shut the door with the tying run at third base.
No. 12 Stanford returns to action on Tuesday when it plays host to San Francisco at 6 p.m. PT. Live streaming and live statistics will be available at GoStanford.com.
Cardinal Notes
- Matthiessen's home run was his second of the weekend after homering in the Cardinal's 3-2 win on Saturday night.
- Handley, Wulff and Matthiessen have reached base safely in all seven games this season.
- It was the first time Stanford had back-to-back home runs since April 20, 2018 when Andrew Daschbach and Kyle Stowers hit back-to-back home runs in a win at Arizona.
- Miller's 6.0 innings were the most since May 9, 2017.
- It was the second game of the season in which Matthiessen has appeared as a relief pitcher and drove in a run.
- Little allowed the first home run of his career.