Menlo School grad Danny Diekroeger launched a two-run homer in the eighth to propel No. 11 Stanford to a 7-4 comeback win over Fresno State on Sunday at Sunken Diamond to cap a three-game sweep of the visiting Bulldogs.

The Cardinal (5-2) picked up its fourth straight win behind 10 hits and Bobby Zarubin's 11 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings on the mound.

Zarubin (1-0) replaced Stanford starter Logan James, who faced 13 batters in the opening two innings and scattered four hits and three runs -- two earned -- with one walk.

Zarubin was effective with his splitter and surrendered one earned run on five hits before giving way to Sam Lindquist in the ninth. Lindquist induced the final Fresno State (1-4) out for the save.

Two of Stanford's 10 hits came from Austin Slater, including a second-inning solo home run to cut into Fresno State's lead, 3-1. The Bulldogs scored three runs with James on the mound in the first two innings.

Slater doubled down the leftfield line to start the fourth, Alex Blandino knocked an infield single and Lonnie Kauppila drove in a run to make it a 3-2 game in favor of the Bulldogs.

Three hits led to a pair of scores in the fourth as Stanford took the lead, 4-3. Justin Ringo doubled to left, advanced to second and scored on a wild pitch by Tyler Stirewalt. It was Stirewalt's first pitch after he replaced Tim Borst. Borst started for Fresno State and gave up six hits in 5.1 innings.

Tyler Linehan replaced Stirewalt later in the sixth only to see Wayne Taylor notch an RBI single. Taylor's second hit came in the eighth with a one-out RBI double to score Drew Jackson.

Diekroeger was 0-for-3 before stepping to the plate in the eighth and cranked his two-run shot to right to provide a few insurance runs for the Cardinal.

Brian Ragira, Slater and Ringo each improved their current hitting streak to four games. Ragira has reached base safely in each of this season's seven contests.

Stanford travels to St. Mary's for a nonconference game Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Women's lacrosse
Stanford earned its first victory on the season, knocking off Harvard, 18-13, Sunday afternoon at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.

After a back-and-forth first half that saw the teams trade a series of goals, Stanford dominated the second half by out-shooting Harvard, 18-8, en route to outscoring the Crimson, 10-7. and securing the win.

Anna Kim led Stanford (1-1) with five points on two goals and three assists. Fellow junior Rachel Ozer continued to be an offensive force, notching four points with a goal and a three assists. Ozer opened the season a week ago with a team-high five points against No. 9 Notre Dame.

Freshman Lucy Dikeou joined Ozer with four points on the day, scoring twice and adding two assists. Dikeou also picked up five draw controls and a ground ball in her second collegiate match.

Softball
Nationally No. 17 Stanford defeated No. 23 Florida State, 3-1, and Syracuse, 2-1, on the final day of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City on Sunday. The Cardinal improved to 14-3 overall.

Freshman Kelsey Stevens picked up the win against Florida State, improving to 8-1. She struck out six batters and allowed just one run (unearned) on three hits. Senior pitcher Teagan Gerhart entered the game in the sixth inning and notched her first save of the year. Gerhart (6-2) then earned the win over Syracuse, recording a season-best 11 strikeouts.

Against Syracuse, junior Danielle Miller hit an RBI single to score pinch-runner Tylyn Wells in the bottom of the second inning to take the lead.

The Orange tied it up in the top of the fifth on a solo home run by catcher Ashley Dimon. However, Stanford's Jenna Rich answered with a solo shot of her own in the bottom of the inning to score the winning run. It marked the second home run of the season for the senior.

Stanford remains on the road this weekend, traveling to Fullerton for the Easton Invitational. The Cardinal will face Iowa, Wisconsin, Cal State Fullerton, Northwestern and Indiana over the three days.

Women's tennis
In perhaps the most highly anticipated regular-season dual in women's college tennis this season, No. 13 Stanford suffered a 4-2 loss at No. 4 Florida on Sunday in a matchup of programs that have combined to win the past three NCAA championships.

The latest chapter of what has become a hotly contested rivalry was won by Florida (6-1), which rallied to claim four singles matches after dropping the doubles point.

Stanford (4-2), which also won the doubles point in last year's regular-season meeting en route to a 5-2 victory, held a 2-1 advantage but was unable to pull out a pair of three-setters that ultimately decided the match.

Brianna Morgan's 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over Stacey Tan at the No. 4 spot represented the clincher for Florida, which has now won 112 consecutive home matches.

Sunday's contest marked the first time Stanford and Florida had squared off in a regular-season dual in Gainesville in 20 years. The Cardinal now leads the all-time series 17-13.

Competitive matches have been the norm between the two powerhouse programs. Three years ago, Stanford edged Florida in Athens, Ga., to claim its 16th NCAA championship. The Gators responded by winning the 2011 NCAA title, snapping the Cardinal's NCAA-record 184-match home winning streak. Stanford then responded with a 5-2 victory at Taube Family Tennis Stadium last February in the regular season.

Stanford surged in front by capturing the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead. After Kristie Ahn and Nicole Gibbs booked an 8-4 victory at the No. 1 spot, the duo of Stacey Tan and Ellen Tsay finished it off with an 8-5 triumph on court two.

Florida evened the match at 1-1 when Olivia Janowicz posted a 6-2, 6-2 victory at the No. 6 spot over Lindsey Kostas, competing in her third dual match of the year.

The Cardinal moved ahead following Ellen Tsay's 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Danielle Collins at the No. 5 position.

Trailing 2-1, Florida reeled off three straight singles victories to complete the comeback, beginning with Sofie Oyen's 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 2 over Ahn, who entered the afternoon riding a team-best six-match winning streak.

Over on court three, Alexandra Cercone outlasted Cardinal freshman Krista Hardebeck, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, to force a 3-3 tie before Morgan edged Tan at No. 4.

At the top spot of the lineup, Nicole Gibbs was in the driver's seat during the third set of her match against Lauren Embree before play was halted.

Stanford returns to action on Saturday, hosting California at noon.

Men's tennis
Stanford came up short in a 5-2 loss at No. 12 California on Sunday afternoon in the latest chapter of the Bay Area rivalry series.

Sunday's match does not factor into the conference standings, as the April 20 contest at Taube Family Tennis Stadium will represent the Pac-12 counting match.

The Cardinal (3-5), which entered the match having won five in a row in the series, captured the doubles point before the Golden Bears (5-4) rallied from a 2-1 deficit in singles play.

An 8-6 victory at the No. 2 spot from Menlo School grad Jamin Ball and freshman Nolan Paige proved to be the difference in doubles, putting Stanford in front 1-0.

California picked up the first singles point when Ben McLachlan downed John Morrissey 6-3, 6-0 at the No. 1 position.

One of three Stanford freshmen in the singles lineup, Anthony Tsodikov notched a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Wyatt Houghton on court six.

Trailing 2-1, California reeled off four straight singles victories.

Stanford takes a break from dual-match play, competing this weekend at the Pacific Coast Doubles tournament in La Jolla.

— Stanford Athletics

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