FULLERTON, Calif. – Trailing 7-3 headed to the ninth inning, Stanford (4-0) scored four in the ninth and two in the 10th to earn a 9-7 victory over Cal State Fullerton (0-4) on Monday afternoon from Goodwin Field.
The win completed a four-game road sweep of the Titans by Stanford.
Junior Jimmy Nati got the ninth-inning rally started, shooting a single back up the middle. Sophomore Brady Reynolds wasted no time cutting into the deficit, launching his team-best second homer of the year out to right field on the first pitch of the ensuing at bat. The two-run shot ran Reynolds’ RBI total to eight – matching that of Rintaro Sasaki for the team lead.
Still trailing 7-5 and the bases now clear, Luke Lavin and Tatum Marsh jumpstarted the offense once more with singles. A sacrifice bunt from pinch-hitter Jake Sapien moved the runners into scoring position where Temo Becerra plated a run with a ground ball that resulted in the second out of the inning. With the tying run just 90 feet away, Trevor Haskins shot a double inside the bag at third that tied the game, but was he thrown out trying to advance on the play – sending the game into the bottom of the ninth.
A two-out walk gave Fullerton life in the bottom of the ninth, but Aidan Keenan emerged from the bullpen and got the final out to send the game to extra innings.
Having drawn back even, Stanford completed the comeback for victory in the 10th as Charlie Saum singled with one out before being replaced by Brett Blair as a pinch runner. Blair moved to second on a throwing error one play later, and advanced to third on a deep fly ball from Reynolds. Needing a two-out hit to take its first lead of the game, Lavin came up clutch once again for the Cardinal, lining an RBI-single into right field to make it 8-7 Stanford. Marsh would follow suit with an RBI-single of his own to add some insurance headed to the bottom of the 10th.
Lavin, who got the start at catcher, finished the game 3-for-3 with two runs scored, two walks and the game-winning RBI, while Marsh was 3-for-5 with a double, a run scored and one driven in.
Keenan issued a leadoff walk in the 10th, but benefitted from a diving catch at second base from Nati before induing a 6-4-3 game-ending double play to secure the sweep.
Having contributed the final 1 1/3 scoreless innings, Keenan was credited with the victory and moved to 1-0 on the season. The right-hander anchored a Cardinal bullpen that gave Stanford 8 2/3 combined innings, allowing just two runs on four hits with eight strikeouts. Ben Reimers, who relieved starter Parker Warner in his collegiate debut, tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings, followed by Trevor Moore, Sam Garewal, Ty Uber and Keenan.
Stanford will return home this week, hosting former Pac-12 foe Washington in a four-game, home-opening series beginning Friday at 2:05 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
- The Cardinal trailed 5-0 after two innings, 6-3 after six and 7-3 after eight
- All but one Stanford starter collected a hit in the victory
- Stanford scored nine runs on 15 hits on Monday and totaled 42 runs on 55 hits in the four-game series played at Cal State Fullerton
- The Cardinal managed 10 come-from-behind victories a year ago, including two in the seventh inning or later … Monday’s game marked the first comeback in the ninth inning or later since defeating Washington State 5-3 in nine innings on April 5, 2024 despite trailing 3-1 headed into the final frame
- Stanford opened the season against Cal State Fullerton for the fourth straight season and 12th time since 2000 (13th time overall) … is now 8-4 in the 12 season-opening series since 2000
- The Cardinal has played 28 opening weekend series of three-or-more games since 1959 and is 19-9 in those series ... Stanford has compiled a 58-28 record over the 86 games in those sets
- Temo Becerra (1-for-2, R, 2 RBIs) has now hit safely in 14 straight games dating back to last season … is batting .429 (6-for-14) this season
- Sam Garewal (1 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 2 K) made his Stanford debut in relief on Monday
- Luke Lavin (3-for-3, 2 R, RBI) has batted .667 (4-for-6) over his first two games played this season
- Tatum Marsh (3-for-5, R, 2B, RBI) is hitting .500 (7-for-14) with six runs scored, two doubles, a triple, a homer and five RBIs through four games this year … is 6 for his last 9 after falling a single short of the cycle as part of a 3-for-4 day on Sunday at Fullerton
- Jimmy Nati (1-for-5, 2 R, RBI) has now hit safely in eight straight games dating back to last season