The Duke of StanfordThe Duke of Stanford
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Baseball

The Duke of Stanford

Box Score

BERKELEY, Calif. – Duke Kinamon hit two of No. 2 Stanford's five home runs in a comeback, 10-7 win over California on Friday night at Evans Diamond.

"I'm so proud of this team, taking a punch on the road like they did and keeping calm throughout a tough game," said the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "Duke Kinamon and Kyle Stowers came through with huge performances and we had some big at-bats late in the game. That's a great team we saw here tonight, this was a regional-quality game on a Friday night and it showed what kind of team we are."

Kinamon finished a triple shy of the cycle, blasting two home runs while finishing 4-for-5 with three RBI, three runs and a double. Stowers also finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, three runs and a walk, and Stanford's bullpen combined for 5.0 innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts.

Andrew Daschbach and Nick Bellafronto added home runs, giving Stanford five homers for the third time this year. Austin Weiermiller (W, 6-0) entered with the bases loaded, no outs and Cal leading, 6-4, in the fifth, striking out a pair before Maverick Handley's pickoff to Daschbach caught Sam Wezniak leaning to end the inning and swing the momentum in Stanford's favor.

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"That play by Maverick completely turned the game around – he picked us up like he has all season with his defense," said Esquer. "They had a chance to add a couple runs there and it came a moment when our offense slowed down a bit."

The Cardinal (36-8-0, 18-4-0 Pac-12) got on the board quickly courtesy of Daschbach's 11th home run of the season, a three-run blast in the top of the first. Stowers and Brandon Wulff drew walks and, with two outs, Daschbach lined a two-strike, off-speed pitch beyond the wall in left to make it 3-0. The Golden Bears (28-16-0, 13-9-0) were quick to respond with a home run in the bottom of the first and another in the second.

After Andrew Vaughn's double brought in Quenton Selma and Korey Lee hit a two-run blast to make it 3-3 after one inning. California took the lead in the second with Selma's two-run shot to right field, making it 5-3.

Beck worked a scoreless third after Stanford was retired in order and Kinamon's solo shot to lead off the fourth cut the lead in half, making it 5-4. Cal tacked on another run in the fourth and loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth after Weiermiller relieved starting pitcher Brendan Beck, whose final line included six runs on nine hits with four strikeouts in 4.0+ innings.

Weiermiller struck out a pair before the inning ended with the brilliance from Handley. Weiermiller's 1-0 fastball missed, outside, but Handley quickly fired a strike to Daschbach to first with Wezniak leaning toward second to escape the jam.

Kinamon led off the sixth with a double, eventually scoring to make it 6-5 – he stole third and catcher Lee's throw skipped past the third baseman to allow Kinamon to score. Weiermiller continued to deal in the home half, striking out Cameron Eden before getting two more quick outs to finish the sixth.

Stanford took its first lead of the game since the first inning with a pair of runs in the seventh. Stowers, who led off with a double, scored on a fielders' choice and, after an error extended the inning, Kinamon poked an RBI single through the left side to put the Cardinal on top, 7-6.

Weiermiller got Lee to pop out to start the seventh before Zach Grech took over – Weiermiller yielded just two baserunners in 2.1 innings with three strikeouts. Grech got a ground out and a pop out before the Cardinal tacked on a pair in the eighth. Nick Bellafronto led off with a solo shot to left, a towering shot that easily cleared the fence, and Stowers made it 9-6 with a solo home run to center field, a missile driven to the deepest part of left-centerfield.

Grech struck out the side in the home half and Kinamon's second home run of the game made it 10-6 in the top of the ninth. Jack Little entered for the bottom of the ninth, allowing a solo homer before shutting the door with a strikeout for the final out.

No. 2 Stanford returns to action at Evans Diamond on Saturday at 2 p.m. with Will Matthiessen set to face off with California's Jared Horn. Erik Miller takes the ball in Sunday's series finale, which starts at Noon. The games will broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks with live statistics available at GoStanford.com.

Cardinal Notes

  • It was Stanford's fifth game of the season hitting four or more home runs and third hitting five. Stanford has hit at least one homer in 15-of-16 games with 47 homers in its last 20 games.
  • Stanford is 30-0 when leading after seven innings and 33-0 when leading after eight.
  • It was the Cardinal's 17th game of the season with 10 or more hits and 17th with multiple home runs – Stanford has hit multiple homers in 13-of-20 games.
  • All five of Kinamon's home runs have come in the last 14 games – it was the first mutli-home run game of his career. Kinamon's stolen base was his 11th, which leads the team.
  • Daschbach has seven home runs in Stanford's last 13 games.
  • All three home runs in Bellafronto's career have come in the last 11 games.
  • Handley leads the Pac-12 in pickoffs with five.