The Stanford baseball team clinched its second straight Pac-12 series with an 8-1 win over Utah in front of 1,245 fans at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond Saturday afternoon.
Marc Brakeman returned from a seven-week absence to earn his first win of the year.
Stanford (16-20, 4-10 Pac-12) has won four of its last five conference games after starting 0-9.
Brakeman (1-1) threw 40 pitches in three innings in his first outing since Feb. 28. His command was on point with 29 strikes, including 13 strikes in 16 first-inning pitches, while allowing two hits and striking out two.
He was awarded the win according to a predetermined pitch limit.
The bullpen followed Brakeman’s impressive performance with six innings of three-hit ball. Tyler Thorne allowed one run on three hits in four innings and Gabe Cramer shut the door by getting the last six batters out.
The Cardinal’s lineup continued its hot hitting with its sixth 5-plus run output in the last seven games.
Six Stanford players had hits against four Utes hurlers with Bryce Carter’s 2-for-2 showing leading the way. Drew Jackson had two hits and drove in two.
The top of the order, Jackson, Jack Klein and Tommy Edman, combined to drive home seven. Jackson had a two-RBI single, Klein drove in three and Edman knocked in a pair. Carter homered in the eighth to add another insurance run.
Stanford broke the game open with four runs in the second inning after gaining a 1-0 lead in the first.
Jackson doubled in Jonny Locher and Quinn Brodey, Carter slid around Utah’s catcher for a run on Klein’s fielder’s choice to shortstop and Edman groundout out to second to plate Jackson.
Edman also played a part in the first-inning score by tripling over the right fielder’s head. Klein, who had walked, scored easily on the play.
Klein smacked a single through the right side of a drawn-in infield in the fourth to make it a 7-1 Cardinal lead. The sophomore was batting in the No. 2-hole for the first time this season.
Stanford looks for its second straight sweep of Utah Sunday at 1 p.m. Andrew Summerville (3-0, 2.40 ERA) is slated to get his third career start against righty Jayson Rose (2-3, 3.80 ERA).
Softball
Stanford gave top-ranked Oregon all it could handle Saturday afternoon in a Pac-12 series-opener before dropping a 5-4 decision.
Oregon (36-5, 14-2 Pac-12) snapped a 4-all tie with a run in the top of the seventh. The Cardinal (16-27, 1-12 Pac-12) was unable to match that in the bottom half.
It was an impressive showing for the Cardinal, which is currently using position players at pitcher due to injuries.
Kylie Sorenson got the start and Kayla Bonstrom and Erin Ashby (0-2) came in as relief. The trio limited Oregon’s offense to five runs on 10 hits and five walks, while striking out four.
Sorenson had a big day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI.
Bonstrom also tallied two hits and Bessie Noll extended her hitting streak to four games with a single. Hanna Winter provided the fourth RBI of the day on a walk.
Men’s crew
No. 14 Stanford’s varsity eight earned its third straight win on Saturday, defeating No. 17 Oregon State.
Coming in to the race the two schools knew it was going to be a battle. Last weekend both teams competed in the Stanford Invitational at Redwood Shores, although not against each other, and put up near identical times.
“Last weekend all of our times were within a second of each other so we knew it was going to be a battle,” Stanford senior Scott Roycroft said.
Less than two seconds separated the top boats for the Cardinal and Beavers. Oregon State got off to a fast start off the line and had the early lead.
Stanford recovered quickly after falling behind off the start and was able to come back to take the lead by the midway point at the bridge. The Cardinal finished with a time of 5:44.6, just ahead of Oregon State’s final time of 5:46.5.
“They know we like to go hard off the line and they went hard off the line too,” said Roycroft. “Even though we were down a seat, we maintained our rhythm, which is something we haven’t been able to do.”
Oregon State rebounded from the loss to start the day and topped the Cardinal in both the 2V8 and 3V8 races. The Beavers finished 4.4 seconds ahead of Stanford in the 2V8 and then won by 6.5 seconds in the 3V8.
Stanford also had a pair of exhibition races in the afternoon in order to match Wisconsin’s racing schedule and make Sunday’s dual fair.
The Cardinal will return to Redwood Shores on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. to dual with Wisconsin and complete the 2015 Pac-12 Challenge.
Men’s volleyball
No. 14 Stanford finished the season with a 25-17, 25-18, 25-14 loss to visiting UC Santa Barbara on Saturday in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action.
Saturday’s match was about the Cardinal seniors as all five were in the starting lineup for the first time in their careers.
Starting setter Sean Kemper, who began his career as a middle blocker, racked up 24 assists and six digs. Libero Grant Delgado registered a season-high 12 digs in his final collegiate match.
“The seniors tonight did a really nice job,” said head coach John Kosty. “They came out and had an opportunity to play in front of our home crowd for the last time. I thought Matt Aiello came out and set the tone, getting two aces right off the bat.
“It was a really special Senior Night. Sean Kemper came in and set the offense. For his first year setting, I thought he did a great job tonight. He gave our hitters the swings we needed. Credit to Santa Barbara, they are a good, solid team.”
Outside hitter Daniel Tublin and middle blocker Spencer Haly collected five kills apiece to lead the team. Matt Aiello, who started at opposite, opened the match with back-to-back service aces and finished with three kills and three digs.
“I think it was nice for the seniors, the class that came in together, left together on the court,” added Kosty. “They competed well. Spencer Haly had a good match, same with Daniel Tublin. I was really happy on how they played and the attitude they took competeing tonight.”
Stanford misses the postseason for the first time since 2007.
By Palo Alto Online Sports/Stanford Athletics
By Palo Alto Online Sports/Stanford Athletics
By Palo Alto Online Sports/Stanford Athletics