Robinson Lifts StanfordRobinson Lifts Stanford
John P. Lozano/isiphotos.com
Baseball

Robinson Lifts Stanford

Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. – Christian Robinson's career night lifted No. 2 Stanford to a 5-1 win over Santa Clara on Tuesday night at Sunken Diamond.

"We needed a little spark today and having guys come off the bench and deliver, and our pitching and defense really showed up tonight," said the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball David Esquer. "There are no bad wins at any point in the season and we've got to stay consistent going into the weekend. We've got to get our bats going a little more this weekend when we go up against maybe the best offense in our league."

Robinson set career highs in hits (4) and RBI (3), finishing 4-for-4 with three RBI singles and Tim Tawa reached base three times to finish 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Duke Kinamon and Maverick Handley had two hits apiece and the Cardinal (35-8-0, 17-4-0 Pac-12) played spotless defense behind a pitching staff which combined to allow just one run on six hits.

Starting pitcher Alex Williams (W, 6-1) worked one-two-three first, picking up his first strikeout to end the inning before Stanford went down in order in the home half. Williams pitched through a lead-off hit batter in the second, retiring the next three batters he faced. The Broncos (11-35-0, 4-17-0 WCC) took a 1-0 lead in the third with a series of singles, capped by a two-out knock to left field by Andre Nnebe but the lead was short-lived.

Tawa led off the home half with a single, Stanford's first hit of the day, and after Nick Bellafronto's walk, Robinson brought home Tawa with an infield single. Kyle Stowers grounded into a double play but Bellafronto scored on the play, making it 2-1, Stanford. Williams pitched a shutdown fourth, picking up his third strikeout along the way – Handley erased a lead-off single with a dart to Kinamon at second to catch the stolen base attempt.

Jacob Palisch replaced Williams with one out in the fifth, getting two quick outs before the Cardinal tacked on another run in the home half. Robinson, once again, brought home Tawa on a single up the middle to make it 3-1. Williams' final line included three strikeouts while allowing one run on six hits in 4.1 innings pitched.

Palisch returned for the sixth, working a one-two-three frame, picking up a second strikeout to start the inning. Robinson hit his third RBI single in the bottom half to extend the lead to 5-1 – it was his third RBI single of the night, this time coming on a 0-2 pitch with two outs.

Zach Grech took over for Palisch, who struck out two while not allowing a base runner in 1.2 innings pitched, and retired all six batters he faced in 2.0 perfect innings. Robinson hit his fourth single of the night in the bottom half but two Cardinal were left on base before Austin Weiermiller took over, tossing a one-two-three ninth to wrap up the win.

No. 2 Stanford returns to action this weekend with a three-game series against California in Berkeley, California, starting Friday at 7 p.m. Saturday's game starts at 2 p.m. with Sunday's contest slated for Noon. All three games will broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks with live statistics available at GoStanford.com.

Cardinal Notes

  • It was Stanford's 16th game of the season with double-digit hits and seventh time in 12 contests.
  • It was the Cardinal's 12th game allowing one or less earned run and 25th while allowing two or less.
  • Stanford improved to 8-1 in midweek games – the Cardinal is 17-1 in midweek games under Esquer.
  • Bellafronto finished 1-for-1 an RBI, a walk, a sacrifice fly and a sacrifice bunt.
  • Stanford is 29-0 when leading after seven innings and 32-0 when leading after eight.
  • It was the 17th game of the season in which Stanford has played error-free defense.
  • Stanford's only extra-base hit of the game came in the bottom of the eighth – Kinamon led off the inning with a double but was thrown out attempting to advance to third on the play.
  • Handley has thrown out 9-of-22 stolen base attempts against him this season.
  • In accordance with NCAA rule 10, section 25-B, Williams was eligible for the win despite not pitching 5.0 innings due to Stanford predetermining a pitching order.