Stanford earned an at-large bid into the NCAA baseball tournament as announced Monday on ESPNU.
The Cardinal (30-23) heads to the Bloomington (Ind.) Regional with host and No. 4 overall seed Indiana, No. 2 Indiana State and No. 4 Youngstown State.
Stanford opens the tournament Friday against Indiana State at 11 a.m. (PT) prior to Indiana and Youngstown State meeting at 4 p.m. PT.
The double-elimination tournament could run through Monday, if necessary. The regional winner moves on to face the Nashville Regional champion in a best-of-three Super Regional.
Stanford brings a six-game winning streak in NCAA regional games into the tournament. The Cardinal is 81-28 (.743) overall.
Stanford is making its 29th appearance in the 34-year history of the regional.
The Cardinal last took part in the national tournament in 2012, when Stanford won its own regional at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond, before falling in the Super Regional at Florida State.
This year’s Cardinal was included among the country’s top 64 teams due to a strong second half of the season.
Stanford is 19-7 in its last 26 games and 8-2 in its last 10. The team won its final four Pac-12 series, including a sweep of Utah to end the regular season.
Stanford’s resume also features a rigorous schedule that included 24 games against teams in the RPI top 50.
Oregon, Arizona State and Kansas, all of which finished in the top 50, lost three-game sets to the Cardinal.
Stanford also owns victories over NCAA tournament teams Washington, Texas and Rice. The Owls are one of 16 teams hosting a regional.
Overall, the Cardinal is 9-15 against the NCAA field. Of those 15 losses, five were by one-run or in extra innings.
In other news, sophomore right fielder Zach Hoffpauir earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors.
Hoffpauir led the Cardinal offense to four wins last week, including a road sweep against conference opponent Utah.
The sophomore batted a team-best .529 (9-for-17) with seven RBI, one double, two home runs and three runs scored.
The Glendale, Ariz., native also posted a .556 on-base percentage and a .941 slugging percentage while extending his streak of reaching base safely to 15 games.
On Friday, he became just the third Pac-12 player in 2014 to register five hits in a game with a 5-for-5 day in a 5-0 win for Stanford.
Hoffpauir capped the weekend by providing go-ahead home runs in both ends of the double header at Utah on Sunday. He finished the regular season seventh in the Pac-12 in batting average, registering a .339 on the year.
This is Hoffpauir’s first-career Pac-12 Player of the Week honor and Stanford’s 71st all-time selection. He joins teammate Danny Diekroeger as the second Cardinal to earn the weekly honor in 2014.
By Palo Alto Online Sports/Stanford Athletics
By Palo Alto Online Sports/Stanford Athletics
By Palo Alto Online Sports/Stanford Athletics
Never doubt the tenacity and competitiveness of Stanford baseball. GO STANFORD!