STANFORD, Calif. – No. 4 Stanford wraps up its regular-season schedule with a three-game series at Arizona State in Tempe, Arizona, starting Thursday at 6 p.m.
The Cardinal (39-10-0, 20-6-0 Pac-12) enters the week tied for second in the Pac-12 title race, 1.5 games behind UCLA. Game 2 on Friday starts at 6 p.m. with Saturday's regular-season finale set for Noon. All three games will air on Pac-12 Networks with live statistics available at GoStanford.com.
Weekend Opponent, Arizona State
• Stanford owns a 98-102-0 all-time record against the Sun Devils (36-15-0, 15-11-0 Pac-12), who started the season 20-0-0 but are 16-15-0 since March 23.
• Last season, the Cardinal earned a 3-0 sweep over Arizona State at Sunken Diamond, outscoring the Sun Devils, 24-10. The series was highlighted by Andrew Daschbach's go-ahead grand slam in Game 2 with the score tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning – Stanford would go on to clinch the series with an 11-6 win.
• Arizona State boasts one of the top offenses in college baseball, leading the Pac-12 in slugging percentage (.527) and home runs (88). Hunter Bishop leads the Pac-12 in slugging (.792), total bases (160) and home runs (22), ranking second in RBI (61). Spencer Torkelson ranks second in home runs (21), fourth in slugging (.714) and second in total bases (155).
• The Sun Devils' pitching staff ranks sixth in the Pac-12 in earned-run average (4.58) and is led by Alec Marsh, who leads the league in innings pitched (91.2) with a 3.04 ERA.
We enter the final week of the regular season at #4 in the @d1baseball top 25.
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) May 20, 2019
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Where Do We Stand?
• Stanford and Oregon State are tied for second in the Pac-12 standings with a 20-6-0 record, 1.5 games behind the lead of UCLA (22-5-0). The Cardinal would need to perform two games better than the Bruins and equal-to or better than Oregon State this week to retain at least a share of the Pac-12 title. Oregon State hosts USC while UCLA travels to face Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.
• The Cardinal enters the week ranked No. 16 in the NCAA's RPI (ratings power index). Six of Stanford's 2019 opponents rank in the top 50 – No. 1 UCLA, No. 12 Oregon State, No. 33 Arizona State, No. 34 California, No. 38 Fresno State and No. 46 Arizona.
• Stanford ranks No. 4 in the D1 Baseball top-25 poll – the Cardinal owns the No. 3 ranking in the Baseball America, NCBWA, Perfect Game and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper polls.
• The 16 regional site hosts will be announced Sunday evening with the NCAA Selection Show scheduled for 9 a.m. PT on Monday.
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Daschbach Makes History
• Andrew Daschbach became the first player in program history to hit four home runs in a game, going 4-for-4 with five RBI in a 7-1 win over Cal Poly (May 14).
• For his performance, Daschbach garnered Pac-12 Player of the Week, NCBWA National Player of the Week and U.S.A Golden Spikes Performance of the Week honors – it was Stanford's third Pac-12 Player of the Week honor in the last five weeks.
• Daschbach is the first player in the NCAA to hit four home runs in a game this season and the eighth to do so since 2013. He is the second-ever Pac-12 player to hit four homers in a game, joining UCLA's Bill Scott (vs. Washington on March 30, 1999).
• Daschbach's 16 total bases are the most of any player in the NCAA this season and the most in the Pac-12 by five – Daschbach (at Oregon, April 19) and Duke Kinamon (at Cal, May 10) previously shared the season high with 11.
• It was the first time a Stanford player had hit three home runs in a game since June 15, 2000 – Edmund Muth hit three in a College World Series matchup against Louisiana-Lafayette.
• Daschbach's four homers tie for the third-most in a single game in NCAA history – Marshall McDougall hit six for Florida State on May 9, 1999 and Henry Rochelle hit five for Campbell on March 30, 1985.
• It is the second straight season Daschbach has hit 15 or more home runs – in 2018, Daschbach hit the most home runs (17) in a season since Sean Ratliff hit 22 in 2008.
• In the last 18 games since April 19, Daschbach has slashed .369/.985/.447 while leading the team in home runs (11), RBI (24), runs (25) and total bases (64).
• Daschbach ranks fifth in the Pac-12 in slugging percentage (.646), fifth in home runs (15), 11th in total bases (113) and 10th in runs (49).
• In Pac-12 play, Daschbach ranks eighth in batting average (.357), fourth in slugging percentage (.724), third in runs (30), fifth in home runs (8) and fourth in total bases (71).
Two-Way Talisman
• Junior Will Matthiessen has been a standout performer on both sides of the ball as a designated hitter and pitcher, having started in five of Stanford's last six Pac-12 series.
• Offensively, Matthiessen leads the team in batting average (.320), on-base percentage (.399), hits (57) and RBI (44).
• In his six starts, Matthiessen is 4-1 with a 4.05 earned-run average, a .232 batting average against and 29 strikeouts in 26.2 innings. In those games, Matthiessen is slashing .500/.773/.542 at the plate with a home run, six RBI, six runs, three doubles and 17 total bases.
• Across all 13 pitching appearances, in which he carries a 5-2 record with a 4.22 ERA in 42.2 innings, Matthiessen is slashing .444/.733/.500 with three home runs, 14 RBI, 33 total bases, 12 runs and four doubles.
"When you wear 'Stanford' across your chest, you represent so many people that have been here before you." @ajhinch #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/cFAf5O3d7K
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) May 20, 2019
It All Starts with Pitching
• Stanford's 3.44 earned-run average ranks 11th in the NCAA and third in the Pac-12. Stanford has surrendered the fewest walks (146) and home runs (29) in the Pac-12.
• The Cardinal has allowed two or less earned runs in 26 games and one or less in 13 games.
• Left-handed pitcher Erik Miller leads the weekend rotation with a 7-2 record and 2.93 ERA – Miller, considered one of the top prospects for the upcoming MLB Draft, has struck out at least six in nine of his 13 starts, including a career-high 11 at Oregon (April 20).
• Friday-night starter Brendan Beck leads the team in innings pitched (74.0) while surrendering only 16 walks on the season.
• In nine midweek starts, freshman Alex Williams finishes 6-1 with a 2.53 ERA, allowing only six walks in 46.1 innings pitched. In 12 total appearances, Williams carries a 2.50 ERA and a .235 opposing batting average in 54.0 innings, including 4.2 perfect relief innings in a win at Washington State (March 30).
• Stanford's bullpen carries a 3.29 ERA and is led by Jack Little, who ranks second in the Pac-12 with nine saves and second in program history with 25 career saves. With a save in Friday's 8-5 win over Oregon State, Little moved into a tie with Colton Hock for second in program history, one behind the record of Steve Chitren (26). In 20 appearances, Little carries a 2.76 ERA with a .205 opposing batting average, 40 strikeouts and nine walks in 32.2 innings.
• Stanford is 30-1 when leading after five innings, 31-1 when leading after six, 33-0 when leading after seven and 36-0 when leading after eight.
• Sidewinder Zach Grech leads the team in appearances (25) – Since April 23, Grech has made a team-high 11 appearances out of the bullpen with a 0.57 ERA and .182 opposing batting average in 15.2 innings.
• Since moving to the bullpen in early April, Jacob Palisch is 1-0 with a 2.41 ERA in 18.2 relief innings.
• Austin Weiermiller ranks second in appearances with 22, owning a 1.45 ERA and .209 opposing batting average in 31.0 innings.
From All Angles
• Stanford's offense, which ranks third in the Pac-12 in home runs and fourth in slugging percentage (.483), has been a balanced attack throughout the 2019 season. In Pac-12 play, the Cardinal ties for the conference lead in home runs (44) and ranks third in batting average (.293), second in slugging percentage (.506), third in runs (190), third in RBI (171) and fourth in total bases (445).
• Eight players have scored at least 25 runs – Nick Bellafronto (26), Tim Tawa (27), Kyle Stowers (33), Duke Kinamon (33), Will Matthiessen (36), Maverick Handley (39), Brandon Wulff (46) and Andrew Daschbach (49).
• Five players who have at least two plate appearances per game are slugging above .500 – Stowers (.506), Kinamon (.517), Matthiessen (.528), Wulff (.615) and Daschbach (.646).
• Six players have at least six home runs – Kinamon (6), Tawa (7), Stowers (7), Matthiessen (9), Daschbach (15) and Wulff (17).
• Seven players have at least 25 RBI – Bellafronto (25), Kinamon (27), Stowers (30), Tawa (32), Wulff (38), Daschbach (41) and Matthiessen (44).
• In Pac-12 play, seven Cardinal with at least two plate appearances per game are batting at least .274 – Tawa (.274), Kinamon (.289), Wulff (.299), Handley (.305), Matthiessen (.314), Stowers (.330) and Daschbach (.357).
Quick Hitters
• Stanford's .978 fielding percentage ranks 31st, nationally, and third in the Pac-12. Stanford has played error-free defense 20 times this season and in eight of the last 11 games.
• The Cardinal is 18-3 in games played away from Sunken Diamond this season, including a 10-2 road record in conference play.
• Stanford is 23-1 when scoring first and 16-9 when the opposition scores first.
• Stanford has scored 57 times in the fifth inning, 16 more runs than in any other inning.
• Co-leading Pac-12 play in home runs with 44, Stanford has homered in 19-of-21 games with 55 in its last 25 games. During that span, Stanford has hit multiple home runs in 15 games with eight games scoring 10 or more runs.
• Since a 20-5 win at Oregon (April 19), Stanford has homered 41 times in 18 games with 148 runs (8.22 per game) while slashing .315/.588/.391 as a team.
• Forty one of Stanford's 71 home runs on the season came in the month of April – during the month, Stanford slashed .297/.565/.385, scoring 8.22 runs per game with a 14-4 record.
• Brandon Wulff ties for 19th in the country with a team-high 17 home runs – Wulff ties Andrew Daschbach (2018) for the most in a single season by a Stanford player since Sean Ratliff hit 22 in 2008. In Pac-12 play, Wulff ranks fifth in slugging percentage (.680), second in home runs (11), third in runs (30) and seventh in total bases (66).
• Maverick Handley has thrown out 10-of-25 stolen base attempts against him this season with a league-high six pickoffs and just three passed balls. When Handley starts, Stanford's record stands at 95-22-0 (.812) since his freshman season in 2017. A bioengineering major, Handley aspires to be an orthopedic surgeon following his baseball career.
• Since moving to the lead-off spot on April 9, Kyle Stowers is slashing .340/.600/.411 with six home runs, 18 RBI and 20 runs in 24 games. Stowers switched numbers to 37 prior to the season to honor teammate and close friend Jason Lyon, who died of brain cancer when the pair were teammates in high school.
• Prior to April 18, Duke Kinamon had not hit a home run – he has hit six since then, including two in a 10-7 win at California (May 10) while totaling 11 total bases, the second-most in a game by a Pac-12 player this season behind Daschbach's 16 (vs. Cal Poly, May 14).
• All three home runs in the career of Nick Bellafronto, including a grand slam against Arizona (April 27), have come since April 22.
• Three Cardinal have double-digit stolen bases – Kinamon (11), Handley (10) and Stowers (10). Kinamon ranks seventh in the Pac-12 in stolen bases while Handley and Stowers tie for ninth.
• In Stanford's three-game sweep of Oregon (April 18-20), the Cardinal batted .351 with a .684 slugging percentage, a .440 on-base average, 10 home runs and 78 total bases.
• Stanford is 15-1 in the month of February, 21-5 in March, 27-7 in April and 18-7 in May under the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer, who owns an 85-22 overall record (.794) on The Farm in two seasons.
Now THATs a Friday-night win. Card takes the series opener, 8-5. ?? #GoStanford
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2019 Season Recap
• Stanford registered a 1-1 split in a rain-shortened series against Oregon State (May 17-19). The Cardinal took Game 1 with an 8-5 win but dropped Sunday's finale, 5-2. Saturday's Game 2 as well as Stanford's midweek contest against Pacific (May 21) were cancelled due to rain.
• Andrew Daschbach made history as the first player in program history to hit four home runs in a game, lifting Stanford to a 7-1 win over Cal Poly (May 14). Starting pitcher Alex Williams was brilliant, allowing one run on four hits in a career-high 7.2 innings pitched.
• Stanford took the rubber match on Sunday in a 2-1 series win at California (May 10-12). The Golden Bears stunned Stanford with an 18-2 win in Game 2 on Saturday to level the series, but Erik Miller's quality start and Tim Tawa's three-run home run led Stanford to the deciding win on Sunday.
• The Cardinal's record in midweek games improved to 8-1 with a 5-1 win over Santa Clara (May 7). Christian Robinson set career highs in hits (4) and RBI (3) and Stanford's pitching staff combined to allow just six hits in 9.0 innings of one-run ball.
• After jumping out to a 2-0 series lead, Stanford dropped the series finale at USC (May 3-5) to fall into a tie with Oregon State atop the Pac-12 conference standings.
• Stanford improved to 7-1 in midweek games with a 7-1 win over Santa Clara (April 30). Alex Williams struck out a career-high in a career-high 7.0 innings while allowing one run on two hits while Brandon Wulff and Kyle Stowers each hit two-run home runs.
• After dropping Game 1, Stanford surged back with wins on Saturday and Sunday to earn a 2-1 series win over Arizona and maintain its position atop the Pac-12 standings with 13 runs each in Games 2-3.
• Stanford hit another five home runs in a 15-7 win over San Jose State, improving to 15-1 in midweek games under David Esquer (April 23).
• Trailing 10-6 entering the bottom of the eighth against Gonzaga (April 22), the Cardinal stormed back with five unanswered runs, including three in the bottom of the ninth, capped by Nick Bellafronto's walk-off single – Bellafronto and Nick Brueser also hit their first career home runs in the win.
• Stanford got back on track with a three-game sweep at Oregon, outscoring the Ducks 35-9 in the series. Brandon Wulff hit four home runs of Stanford's 10 home runs in the series while Andrew Daschbach added three of his own.
• The Cardinal's win streak in midweek games, which spanned 25 games and dated to April 26, 2016, ended on Tuesday with an 8-6 loss against UC Davis (April 16).
• Stanford maintained its position atop the Pac-12 standings with a three-game sweep of Washington (April 12-14) – the Cardinal pitching staff surrendered just five runs for the weekend.
• The Cardinal rebounded with an 11-1 win at San Francisco (April 9), its 25th consecutive midweek win. Kyle Stowers and Will Matthiessen homered and Alex Williams earned the win with 5.0 innings of one-run ball.
• In the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup on The Farm since 2000, No. 2 Stanford dropped a 2-1 series decision to No. 1 UCLA (April 5-7). Stanford's lone win in the series came on Friday night behind 7.1 shutout innings from Brendan Beck and a walk-off single by Will Matthiessen in the bottom of the ninth inning.
• Stanford made it 10 in a row with a 2-0 triumph of Fresno State on Tuesday (April 2) – it was the Cardinal's 24th straight midweek win, a streak dating to April 26, 2017.
• Stanford improved to 6-0-0 in Pac-12 play with a 3-0 sweep at Washington State (March 29-31) – the Cardinal outscored the Cougars, 29-8, including a season-high 17 hits in Game 3.
• The Cardinal opened Pac-12 play with a 3-0 series sweep over Utah (March 22-24) with wins by the scores of 7-4, 7-6 and 7-3.
• Stanford emphatically wrapped up pre-Pac-12 play with a 3-1 series win over No. 12 Texas at Sunken Diamond (March 7-10). After dropping the series opener, despite a career performance from starting pitcher Brendan Beck, the Cardinal outscored the Longhorns 21-3 over the final three games to clinch the series win.
• After sweeping a doubleheader, 2-0, to clinch the series win at No. 24 Cal State Fullerton (March 1-3), Stanford dropped the series finale, 4-3, on a walk-off single at Goodwin Field in Fullerton, California.
• Stanford's streak of midweek wins stretched to 23 games with an 8-3 win over San Francisco (Feb. 27).
• The Cardinal came from behind to earn a 2-1 series win over UNLV in Stanford's first home action of the season (Feb. 22-24).
• Stanford opened the season with a 4-0 showing at the Angels College Classic in Phoenix, Arizona (Feb. 15-18). The Cardinal earned wins over Ball State (2-1), Wichita State (5-4), Pepperdine (6-1) and Grand Canyon (14-4).
Defending the Crown
• Stanford captured its first conference championship since 2004 in dramatic fashion last season, coming from behind on the road during the final day of the regular season.
• After losing Games 1-2 at Washington, Stanford trailed, 5-3, entering the ninth inning of Game 3 (May 26). Will Matthiessen's two-run home run in the ninth inning tied the game at 5-5 before Nico Hoerner beat out an infield single to score Alec Wilson. Jack Little struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to secure the Cardinal's 18th conference championship.
Who's Back from 2018?
• A significant portion of Stanford's offensive production returns for 2019, including 95 percent of the team's home runs, 79 percent of RBI and 74 percent of total bases from 2018.
• Three players who started all 58 games return – Tim Tawa, Andrew Daschbach and Kyle Stowers.
• Daschbach led the team in home runs (17), RBI (63) and total bases (125). Daschbach's 17 big flies were the most in a season since Sean Ratliff hit 22 home runs during the 2008 season.
• Stowers ranked second on the team in home runs (10) and RBI (42) while leading the team in walks (30).
• Tawa, who split time between center field and third base, earned freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfect Game after hitting seven home runs with 41 RBI, 44 runs and a team-high 18 doubles in 2018.
• Led by Little, Stanford returns most of its pitching staff from 2018, which ranked second in the nation with a 2.83 earned-run average.
• Brendan Beck finished his freshman season with an 8-0 record and 2.43 ERA across 66.2 innings pitched.
• Erik Miller, a preseason All-American and Stanford's Sunday starter in 2018, is one of the top prospects for the 2019 MLB Draft – Miller went 4-4 with a 4.07 ERA in 48.2 IP.
• Other key arms returning include Will Matthiessen (2.00 ERA in 13 relief appearances), Zach Grech (2.65 ERA in team-high 28 appearances) and Austin Weiermiller (5-1, 3.29 ERA in 38.1 IP across 23 appearances).
Esquer Era Underway
• 2019 marks the second season under the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer.
• Esquer, a 1987 graduate of Stanford and starting shortstop on the 1987 College World Series-winning team, returned to The Farm after serving the previous 18 seasons as the head coach at Cal.