Stanford baseball splits series against Xavier in Sunday loss

Stanford baseball (10-2, 0-0 ACC) split a four-game home series in a grueling 11-3 loss against Xavier University (7-5, 0-0 Big East) Sunday. This marks the first series of the season that Stanford did not win, as the Cardinal won eight straight games over the past two weekends, trouncing Cal State Fullerton (3-8, 0-0 Big West) and the University of Washington (4-8, 0-0 Big Ten).

This loss fell mostly on a pitching staff that allowed too many baserunners and too many big hits — and partly on an offense that struggled to knock in runs despite racking up hits.

Stanford squad finally runs out of comebacks

Despite its two losses to Xavier, one thing cannot be denied: Stanford’s baseball team has had an amazing start to its 2025 season. Its record now stands at 10 wins and just two losses, an enviable position for any squad gearing up to play some of the best teams in the country. That figure is especially impressive considering half of the Cardinal’s victories have been come-from-behind wins. But, as every baseball team learns sooner rather than later, such luck cannot last very long.

The deficit opened in the second inning, when Xavier batters strung together a hit-by-pitch, a single to right field and a perfect bunt down the third base line to load the bases with no outs. After Stanford’s freshman pitcher Parker Warner induced a ground ball and picked up a strikeout, Xavier senior Carter Hendrickson laced a line drive double into left field to bring home all three runners.

Although the Cardinal would score one run each over the next three innings, it wouldn’t be nearly enough to notch a sixth comeback. Xavier’s offense piled up another three runs in the fifth inning, two runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh to secure the win.

Trouble on base paths for Stanford pitchers

Stanford’s loss was primarily a defensive failure. The Cardinal pitching staff saw a series of meltdowns on the mound, forcing head coach David Esquer to deploy a total of seven arms against Xavier’s three. Freshman Parker Warner, with whom Stanford has been experimenting as a fourth starter, was pulled after giving up the bases-clearing double in the second inning. He was replaced by junior Sam Garewal, who struck out four and provided two no-hit innings for the Cardinal. However, Garewal was taken out of the game after hitting two batters in a row in the top of the fifth and replaced by sophomore Ben Reimers, who promptly gave up a triple to score both those runners.

The next batch of Stanford relievers fared no better. In the sixth inning, Xavier once again loaded the bases — in part thanks to a defensive error at second base — against sophomore Ryan Speshyock, who then gave up a two-run line drive to left field and hit another batter. In the seventh, junior Nick Dugan gave up two singles and an intentional walk to load the bases yet again. Stanford replaced him for senior Ty Uber, whose wild pitch ricocheted off of freshman catcher Charlie Saum’s knee guard, allowing two more runners to touch home.

The sole bright spot in Stanford’s pitching came from an unexpected player. Trailing by eight runs in the eighth inning, the Cardinal brought in freshman Cohen Gomez to throw his first ever pitches in a collegiate ballgame. Wielding an extraordinary, arching curveball that flew well above the strike zone before diving toward the plate, Gomez completed the inning without a hit. He returned for the ninth, giving up a single but making the next batter awkwardly strike a curveball off his bat for a double play. At game’s end, 19-year-old Gomez was the only Cardinal pitcher who did not surrender any runs.

Plenty of Cardinal hits but not enough runs

Looking only at each team’s hit total from Sunday, one would assume the game was quite close, as Stanford put up 10 hits to Xavier’s 12. The difference in the game, however, came from Stanford’s inability to string together hits and initiate run-producing rallies. Instead, the Cardinal surrounded their isolated hits with a parade of groundouts, flyouts and strikeouts.

In the fifth inning, it was a baserunning mishap that cut off Stanford’s offensive momentum. After junior Brandon Larson reached base, freshman Rintaro Sasaki singled to advance him to third base. When the Xavier defense made a mistake by throwing to third without anyone covering the base, Sasaki took second base. However, Sasaki made a mistake of his own trying to run to third on a ground ball to Xavier’s shortstop and getting tagged out. Instead of having runners on first and second with one out, Stanford was left with only one runner on first with two outs.

The Cardinal failed to produce consecutive hits, with two of Stanford’s three runs being solo homers. The first was junior Brandon Larson’s first home run of the season, which was hammered to left-center field in the third inning. The second came in the fourth from sophomore Brady Reynolds, who beat Xavier’s defensive shift by launching a ball over the left fielder’s head.

Next weekend, Stanford faces its first ever trip out east to play an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) rival, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels are currently ranked the fifth-best team in the nation.

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