Seven-Run Fifth Keys Victory
SAN FRANCISCO – Brock Jones, Brett Barrera and Drew Bowser each collected three hits and No. 8 Stanford (30-14) scored seven times in the fifth inning to earn a come-from-behind 9-7 victory over San Francisco (24-28) on Tuesday afternoon from USF's Benedetti Diamond.
Jones finished 3 for 5 with a triple and two runs scored, Barrera went 3 for 5 with two runs scored, a homer and two RBIs, and Bowser collected a home run and three RBIs as part of a 3 for 5 afternoon.
With the three-hit day, Barrera has now hit safely in 11 straight games – batting .404 (19 for 47) with 12 runs scored, a double, a triple, two homers and eight RBIs over the span.
Free passes hurt the Cardinal in the early innings on Tuesday, as Stanford issued four walks and five hit-by-pitches over the first three innings to allow San Francisco to jump out to a 6-0 lead through three.
After getting its first run on a single from Bowser in the fourth, Stanford launched three two-run home runs in the fifth inning, turning a 6-1 deficit into an 8-6 advantage.
Jones led off the inning with a triple before coming in to score on an RBI-ground ball from Carter Graham that resulted in an error. Barrera connected for the first round-tripper of the inning on the ensuing play, cutting the deficit to 6-4 before Kody Huff drew a hit-by-pitch in front of a game-tying two-run home run off the bat of Bowser. An Eddie Park infield single got the offense going again, setting the table for a two-run shot from Adam Crampton to cap the seven-run frame.
The home run was Barrera's sixth of the year, while Bowser's blast pushed his season total to six. Crampton's first of the season ran his total to three for his career.
Junior Max Meier was stellar out of the bullpen for Stanford, striking out five and limiting San Francisco to just one walk over scoreless fourth and fifth innings. With the seven-run fifth, Meier was pushed into the win column and moved to 1-0 on the year.
The Dons managed to cut the deficit to one with a run in the sixth, but Stanford got the tally back in the eighth on an RBI-single from Braden Montgomery.
In addition to producing at the plate, Montgomery pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
Leading 9-7 headed to the bottom of the ninth, Stanford handed the ball to Quinn Mathews. The left-hander issued a pair of walks and a hit, but hung a zero in the ninth to record his fourth save of the year.
San Francisco's Julian Washburn was saddled with the loss and dropped to 0-1 after allowing two runs on three hits while recording two outs.
Stanford will remain on the road this weekend, traveling to Utah for a three-game Pac-12 series beginning on Friday. The Cardinal has now won five straight games and eight of the last 10.