STANFORD, Calif. – Sophomore Jimmy Nati homered twice in a nine-run fifth inning, and junior Trevor Haskins added two homers of his own, as Stanford (19-21, 11-9 Pac-12) earned a lopsided 15-6 victory over California (25-16, 11-12 Pac-12) on Saturday afternoon from Sunken Diamond.
With the victory, Stanford clinched a series win over the Golden Bears.
The nine-run fifth began with a Malcolm Moore single, extending his hit streak to four games, before Nati connected for the first of his two long balls in the inning to extend a 3-1 Cardinal lead to 5-1. A walk and a single off the bat of Gabe Springer got the ball rolling once again, setting the table for a three-run blast from Haskins – the first of his two home runs on the afternoon. Stanford would plate one more run on a wild pitch before Nati came to the plate with two aboard and two outs, launching a mammoth three-run blast to left field to hand Stanford a 12-1 advantage to that point.
The two-homer inning is the first for Stanford since Michael Taylor hit a pair in the top of the fourth at USC on May 26, 2007.
Nati, who has now hit six home runs this season, finished the game 5-for-6 with the two home runs, two runs scored and six RBIs. The Aussie singled in the second, drove home a run with a single in the third, had the two homers in the fifth, and singled through the right side in the seventh.
Haskins used his fifth and sixth homers of the year to finish with five RBIs as part of a 2-for-5 day at the plate. His second homer of the game, a two-run shot, highlighted a three-run eighth inning. The Cardinal also scored three in the third, aided by RBI-singles from Nati and Brandon Larson, to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way.
The two-homer games were the first of both Nati and Haskins' careers and mark the first time two players have posted multiple homers in the same game since Brock Jones had three to accompany two from Drew Bowser against Connecticut on June 11, 2022.
While Nati and Haskins earned top billing on Saturday, freshman left-hander Christian Lim was stellar in the start for Stanford. Lim worked seven innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts. The native of Nashville, Tenn. retired 10 straight batters from the third through one out in the sixth en route to picking up his fourth win of the year.
With the game under control, Ben Reimers tossed the final two frames for Stanford, surrendering three runs on three hits while striking out one.
Stanford will look to sweep the Golden Bears on Sunday when the two teams conclude the series at 4 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
- Stanford has won six of its last eight overall.
- The Cardinal is 2-1 against Cal this season after dropping a nonconference clash 5-0 on March 5 before winning the first two of the three-game Pac-12 series this weekend.
- Saturday's nine-run fifth was the third inning of nine or more runs scored by the Cardinal this season (10, B3 vs. Sacramento State; 9, B4 vs. #16 Oregon) … was the 12th inning of four-plus runs this season and the Cardinal is 10-1 in games in which it has such a frame.
- Stanford is 19-9 when scoring at least three runs in a game this season, but 0-12 when falling short of three.
- The Cardinal scored 15 runs on 19 hits – 15 of which were singles alongside the four homers from Nati and Haskins.
- Temo Becerra (2-for-4, R) has hit safely in 14 of his last 19 games and 20 of his last 26 overall … has amassed 13 multi-hit games this season, including back-to-back games.
- Owen Cobb (3-for-6, 2 R) has hit safely in seven straight and 14 of his last 18 games, managing multiple hits in 10 of those 18 contests … has managed 14 multi-hit games this year.
- Trevor Haskins (2-for-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 5 RBIs) has hit safely in nine straight games, 18 of his last 19, and 22 of his last 26 … is batting .417 (15-for-36) with 13 runs scored, four doubles, four homers and nine RBIs over his nine-game hitting streak … drove in five runs for the second time this season (March 30 at Utah).
- Ethan Hott (2-for-6, R, 2 RBIs) is batting .387 (24-for-62) with 11 runs scored, five doubles and six RBIs in 19 Pac-12 games (15 starts) … has managed seven multi-hit games in Pac-12 play.
- Jimmy Nati (5-for-6, 2 R, 2 HR, 6 RBIs) has hit safely in all but 10 games this year, including four straight and 11 of his last 13 overall … has reached in all but eight contests … owns a team-high 16 multi-hit games … is the first Cardinal to post five hits in a game since Alberto Rios had five against Arizona on May 14, 2023 … six RBIs are the most for a Stanford player since Carter Graham drove in six at Washington State on May 20, 2023.