Tuesday Starts Stretch Run

Stanford (24-21)
vs. San Jose State (17-36)
Tuesday, May 13 • 5:30 p.m.

• Chris Viall (2-3, 3.99) vs. Jace Puckett (0-4, 8.90)

STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford begins the final two weeks of the regular season by hosting San Jose State Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m. The Cardinal’s next five games will be played at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond, including a weekend series against Pac-12 opponent Washington State.

The Cardinal must continue its winning ways in order to have a shot at the NCAA tournament. With an overall record three games over .500 and a strong RPI ranking of No. 32, Stanford is on the postseason bubble.

“It’s all RPI,” Mark Marquess, the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball, said about hopes of the tournament. “That’s why we didn’t make it last year even though we were 16-14 in the league. It’s just the opposite this year where our overall record isn’t as good, but our RPI is good. We’ll see if that makes a difference but we have to keep playing.”

The lineup has been a key to the team’s recent success, hitting .297 in its last eight games while going 6-2. Stanford has batted at a .347 clip with runners in scoring position and .356 with two outs during the last two weeks. Austin Slater (.484), Zach Hoffpauir (.483) and Brant Whiting (.417) have been carrying the club with over .400 averages during the stretch.

Stanford is 13-5 in its last 18 games, including a 5-2 mark in May. The club has also gone 9-0 in non-conference midweek games, while hitting .316 and holding opponents to a .197 average. Seven different pitchers have won midweek contests, including Chris Viall, who will get the start Tuesday.

After the five straight home games, Stanford finishes the season with three games at Utah May 23-25.