Stanford baseball opens strong against Duke, sweeps series

Stanford’s baseball team (13–3, 3–1 ACC) notched a 5–1 victory on March 14 to begin a three-game series against Duke (12–7, 2–2 ACC) at home. This win comes off a stunning series victory against UNC Chapel Hill (16–3, 2–3 ACC) the previous weekend, when the Cardinal took two of three games from what was then the fourth-ranked team in college baseball. All of a sudden, the Cardinal has itself broken into the top D1 rankings at #18. If the win was any indication of how the team handles tough opponents, they are well positioned to keep the good times rolling.

Starting pitcher Matt Scott delivers six excellent innings

Stanford put its ace on the mound, junior Matt Scott, to perform his fifth Friday start of the season. He did not disappoint, giving up only one run from three hits across six solid innings. His most impressive stat of the inning, however, was the eight strikeouts he dealt to Duke batters. Against right-handed hitters, Scott relied heavily on his best pitch — a slider that dives away from the plate — to induce many swings-and-misses. With this option limited against left-handed hitters, he labored more in at-bats but found success by locating his 93 mph fastball up in the zone.

The sole instance of trouble for Scott came in the third inning, when Duke hit a triple to right field despite a valiant catch effort by sophomore Brady Reynolds. He regained his confidence by getting the next batter to strike out looking, but then surrendered a two-out double to right field that scored the runner. Yet even after a wild pitch to advance him to third, Scott would not let that second runner reach home plate, as he got a groundout to end the inning. The rest of his outing was stress-free with only one additional base hit in the fourth. For his effort, Scott was credited with the win on Friday and dropped his ERA to an even 3.00 on the season.

Stanford offense shows up in the sixth

Stanford entered the sixth inning with a tied game at 1–1, thanks to an RBI single by junior Brandon Larson in the fifth. They would exit the inning with a four-run lead that would remain unchanged.

The scoring began on the very first pitch, which senior Charlie Saum crushed over the trees behind left field for a no-doubt home run. He was followed by junior Jimmy Nati, whose single into right field allowed him to tease Duke by dancing off first base. Perhaps distracted by multiple failed pickoff attempts to catch Nati, the pitcher accidentally hit sophomore Brady Reynolds to put Cardinal runners on first and second base with no outs.

What happened next was a masterclass in situational hitting. First, senior Temo Becerra employed a sacrifice bunt to advance his teammates to second and third base. Freshman Charlie Bates then hit a single to right field to score Nati and move Reynolds to third base. That brought freshman Tatum Marsh to bat, who executed a perfect bunt mere feet in front of home plate. As Reynolds ran in to score, Marsh raced to first base and beat the throw by an inch. The final run came courtesy of Roki Sasaki, who brought home Bates from third on a single hit so hard that it hit the second base umpire before he could get out of the way.

Cardinal defense provides some assists

Some of the most exciting moments from Stanford’s victory came in the field, as the team’s defensive feats helped to thwart Duke’s offense. Take the very first out of the game, secured by sophomore Brady Reynolds. He saved an extra-base hit to right field by leaping to catch the ball, laying out fully horizontal to cheers from the stands. Later, in the second inning, senior catcher Charlie Saum caught a leadoff runner attempting to steal with a perfect throw to second base.

This is not to say that Stanford pitchers needed too much help. After Matt Scott exited the mound, junior reliever Trevor Moore came out for two perfect innings of work in the seventh and eighth, notching three strikeouts in the process. In the ninth inning, sophomore Aidan Keenan — who is solidifying his position as the Cardinal’s closing pitcher — brushed off a deep outfield double with a lineout and strikeout to seal the win.

Other notes:

• Starting Lineup: 1) Trevor Haskins 3B, 2) Brandon Larson DH, 3) Rintaro Sasaki 1B, 4) Charlie Saum C, 5) Jimmy Nati 2B, 6) Brady Reynolds RF, 7) Temo Becerra SS, 8) Charlie Bates CF, 9) Tatum Marsh LF.
• Although freshman Rintaro Sasaki did not earn his first collegiate home run on Friday, he came tantalizingly close. In the bottom of the eighth, with two outs and nobody on, Sasaki smashed a ball to deep center field, only to be caught right in front of the wall. That flyout, in addition to his hard-hit single in the sixth, was a new demonstration of previously hidden power that everyone knows he can unlock.
• Strangely, Duke brought out its bullpen to start this Friday night game, using six pitchers in total and giving none more than two innings. This decision panned out well at first, as Stanford recorded no hits until the fifth inning, but faltered when Duke’s long reliever — graduate student Reid Easterly — experienced his second bad inning of the season.

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