STANFORD, Calif. – Sophomore Kody Huff connected for a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth on Tuesday night from Sunken Diamond, breaking a 7-7 tie and handing No. 12 Stanford (27-10) an 8-7 victory over San Jose State (6-18).
The homer capped a 3 for 4 day from Huff that included three runs scored and two RBIs. The round-tripper was the second of the year for the native of Scottsdale, Ariz. The walk-off home run was also the first for the Cardinal since Tim Tawa hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to beat Michigan on March 3, 2018.
Huff had previously put the Cardinal on the board in the second inning with a two-out RBI-single to tie the game at 1-1.
San Jose State reclaimed a 2-1 advantage in the top of the fourth on a home run from James Shimashita, but Stanford scored five runs on two hits in the fourth – plating all five runs on bases-loaded free passes – to take a 6-2 lead.
The Spartans responded with two runs in the top of the fifth, cutting the deficit to 6-4, but Stanford managed to plate another run in the bottom of the inning on a bases-loaded walk to Christian Robinson.
Stanford drew 12 walks and three hit-by-pitches in the game, with Brock Jones drawing four of the walks out of the leadoff spot in the order.
Trailing 7-4 headed to the seventh, San Jose State scored three runs on three hits and an error to draw back even. The big blow came off the bat off Charles McAdoo who connected for a game-tying two-run home run. The homer was McAdoo's second of the season.
Stanford nearly took the lead back in the bottom of the eighth as Nick Brueser launched a ball down the left field line that was ruled foul and would have resulted in a two-run home run. Instead, Brueser was retired one pitch later, sending the tie game into the ninth and setting the table for Huff's heroics.
The walk-off victory is the third of the season for Stanford, including the second in the last four games.
Freshman Drew Dowd was credited with the win and improved to 2-1 after tossing a scoreless ninth. Darren Jansen took the loss and dropped to 1-1 after allowing the walk-off homer to Huff.
Stanford returns to Pac-12 play this weekend when it travels to Cal for a three-game series starting on Friday at 6:05 p.m. After the three-game set, Stanford will return home to host Cal in a non-conference game on Monday at 6:05 p.m.