PULLMAN, Wash. - Senior Quinn Mathews struck out eight Washington State hitters over 7 2/3 innings of work to help power the No. 3 Stanford Cardinal (36-14, 22-7 Pac-12) over the Cougars (29-22, 10-18 Pac-12) 7-4 to earn a road series win on Friday.
Mathews allowed four runs on seven hits and five walks in the start to improve to 7-3 on the season. Freshman Toran O'Harran struck out the only batter he faced in the eighth before junior Ryan Bruno tossed a scoreless ninth to convert his eighth save of the season.
Junior Tommy Troy once again paced the Stanford offense, finishing 3-for-4 with a walk and one RBI. Junior Carter Graham also collected three hits, going 3-for-4 with an RBI, while freshman Malcolm Moore contributed a clutch two-out, two-RBI double for his lone hit in five trips.
The Cardinal got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the top of the first inning on an RBI single from junior Alberto Rios. After the two teams traded a run in the second, the Cardinal stretched the advantage to 4-1 in the fifth inning as Moore laced his two-RBI double into the right field corner.
A pair of hit-by-pitches with the bases loaded in the sixth ran Stanford's advantage to 6-1, but the Cougars rallied to score three runs in the bottom of the sixth to make things interesting at 6-4. Mathews limited the damage to the three runs, and tossed a scoreless seventh, before his offense got one more in the eighth on a Braden Montgomery sacrifice fly to make it 7-4. Mathews and the pair of Cardinal relievers avoided a scare the rest of the way, locking up the victory and the series.
GAME NOTES
» Stanford has won nine of its last 10 games, 12 of 14, 13 of 16, and 14 of 18 overall.
» Graham extended his hit streak to 17 games, while Rios has now hit safely in 14 ... Montgomery (1-for-3) and Moore have each hit safely in eight straight.
» Every Stanford starter reached base safely in the win.
» Stanford took a 1-0 lead in the top half of the first and didn't surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
» Four Cardinal had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» The Cardinal out-hit the Cougars at a 14-7 clip.
» Stanford pitchers limited Washington State to just 2-for-11 (.182) with runners in scoring position.
» Stanford pitchers faced 40 Washington State hitters in the game, allowing 10 ground balls and six fly balls while striking out 10.
» The Cardinal drew four walks from Washington State pitching.
» Washington State was led offensively by sophomore Elijah Hainline, who went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and an RBI.
» Junior Elias Farland led the Cougars pitching staff, throwing 1.2 shutout innings.