Stanford baseball will begin their 2024 season this weekend, which means it time for me to break down their schedule. Stanford is coming off three straight trips to the College World Series and is picked to finish second in the Pac-12 according to the 2024 Preseason Coaches Poll. Stanford received two first place votes while Oregon State (picked first) received eight. UCLA, who is picked to finish third received the one first place vote.
READ: Takeaways from 2024 Bay Area College Baseball Media Day: Stanford
Stanford Athletics: 2024 Stanford Baseball Schedule
Stanford will begin their season on Friday, February 16th with a doubleheader against Cal State Fullerton. The first game will be played at 12:05 PM PT with the second game being played approximately 45 minutes or so after the conclusion of game one. Game three of their series will be played either on Saturday or Sunday pending on the weather. The weather is why the first two games were moved to a doubleheader.
Fullerton went 32-24 overall last season and actually played Stanford a few times. They opened up their season with a home series against Stanford, taking game one before Stanford came back to take the next two games. At the end of the season, Stanford and Fullerton faced off in the NCAA Regional. Stanford defeated them 6-5 in a close game. If Stanford could sweep Fullerton, that would be fantastic but in truth, if Stanford can just find a way to win the series, they should be happy.
Following their three-game series against Fullerton, Stanford will stay at home to host UNLV on Monday, February 19th at 12:00 PM PT. UNLV went 21-30 overall and 12-18 in the Mountain West last season, so they aren’t a particularly strong team. On paper, Stanford should win this one, but as we’ve learned, anything can happen in one game.
After their one game against UNLV, Stanford will stay at home to face Penn State in a three-game series from Friday, February 23rd to Sunday, February 25th. The first two games will begin at 2:05 PM while the Sunday game will begin at 1:05 PM PT. Penn State is coming off a season in which they went 25-25 overall and 7-16 in the Big Ten. This is one where Stanford should take two out of three games if not sweep.
Stanford will then stay at home for a Monday game against San Jose State on February 26th. Opening pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM PT. Stanford has won six straight against San Jose State, most recently beating them 13-2 in the NCAA Regional last year. That said, the Spartans went 31-27 overall and 18-11 in Mountain West last season, reaching the NCAA Regional round as mentioned. They’re a solid team and one who Stanford cannot sleep on. Particularly for a Monday game.
After facing off against the Spartans, Stanford will head to Houston, Texas to face Rice in a three game series from Friday, March 1st through Sunday, March 3rd. Stanford has won eight games in a row against Rice, including a home sweep over them last season. The Owls went 21-37 overall and 9-21 in Conference USA. This is a series Stanford ought to sweep even with it being on the road.
Stanford will stay on the road to face Cal on the road in a non-league game. That will take place on Tuesday, March 5th at 7:00 PM PT. Cal is coming off a season in which they went 24-28 overall and 12-18 in the Pac-12, picked to finish 8th in the Pac-12.
In their three game series in Berkeley last season, Stanford swept Cal. Stanford also defeated Cal again when they faced afterwards on The Farm and also in Scottsdale for the Pac-12 tournament. So that’s five straight wins Stanford has over Cal. That said, Cal did pick up a win over Stanford last season in their first meeting. So, this is a game that Stanford needs to take very seriously. A Cal win is quite possible in this one.
Stanford will remain on the road to face Washington for a three game series to open up Pac-12 play. That will be played from Friday, March 8th through Sunday, March 10th. Washington is coming off a season in which they went 35-20 overall and 17-12 in the Pac-12, picked to finish 7th in the Pac-12. Stanford took two out of three at home against Washington last season, but only managed to win one out of three in their last trip to Washington, so it’s been a back and forth affair between these two teams. If Stanford could just find a way to win this series, they should be happy when you consider the history.
Following their road trip to Seattle, Stanford will come home to host USC for a three game series at Sunken Diamond. Games will be from Friday, March 15th to Sunday, March 17th. USC is coming off a season in which they went 34-23-1 last season and 17-13 in the Pac-12, picked 5th in the Pac-12. Stanford had a rough time at USC last season, only winning one game in their three game series. In their last meeting at Sunken Diamond, Stanford got the home sweep, so this is one that could go any number of directions. Obviously one that Stanford needs to win two at a minimum, but they really should be gunning for the sweep here.
Stanford will then take a break from Pac-12 play to host Creighton for a three-game series at Sunken Diamond. That will be from Saturday, March 23rd to Monday, March 25th. The Jays went 25-24 overall last season and 10-11 in the Big East. This is a series Stanford ought to sweep. Especially since they should be hitting their stride at this point. Two out of three is never bad, but a sweep would be ideal here.
Stanford will get right back into Pac-12 play with a road series at Utah from Thursday, March 28th to Saturday, March 30th. Utah was the worst team in the Pac-12 last season, going 22-32-1 overall and 9-20-1 in the Pac-12. Utah is picked to finish 10th this season in the Pac-12, so only one spot ahead of last place. Stanford has won 14 of their last 15 games against Utah and swept them last season. The Cardinal own the Utes and so there’s really no reason to not expect another sweep this year.
Stanford will then stay on the road to face Texas Tech on Monday, April 1st and Tuesday, April 2nd. Texas Tech is coming off as season in which they went 41-23 overall and 12-12 in the Big XII. These two programs haven’t met each other much, but they are starting to do so rather frequently. Their first meeting at least as far as Stanford’s online archives go was back in 2020 in Round Rock, Texas and these two upcoming games will be their sixth and seventh meetings. In the five games they have played, Stanford is 3-2. A split is very likely here.
Following their road trip to Salt Lake City and Lubbock, Stanford will come back home for a three-game home series against Washington State, resuming league play. That will be played from Friday, April 5th to Sunday, April 7th. Washington State finished 10th in the Pac-12 last season, only one spot ahead of last place Utah. They went 29-23 overall and 10-19 in the Pac-12. Stanford swept Wazzu 3-0 last season in Pullman and has won six games in a row against them, sweeping them in their previous meeting on The Farm. Stanford will be heavily favored here, eying a sweep.
On Monday, April 8th, Stanford will have a non-league home game against Arizona. Arizona went 33-26 overall and 12-18 in the Pac-12 last season, picked to finish 9th in the Pac-12. Stanford took two out of three against Arizona last season at home but fell to them in the final game of the series and also lost their lone matchup in the Pac-12 tournament. So, Arizona has won two games in a row against Stanford. Given it’s a singular Monday non-league game, anything can happen. Maybe Arizona steals this one.
Up next for Stanford will be a really important three-game series at Oregon State. Games will be Friday, April 12th through Sunday, April 14th. Oregon State is picked to win the Pac-12 this season and is coming off a season in which they went 41-20 overall and 18-12 in the Pac-12. Last season, Stanford swept Oregon State at home, but two of those wins were by one run. Stanford in total has won five straight games over Oregon State, so they’re on a bit of a roll against them. Given that, taking two out of three should be the goal with a sweep not being ruled out. Pending on where both teams are in the standings, this could be a huge series.
Stanford will then return home to face Sacramento State on Tuesday, April 16th. Sacramento State went 30-26 overall and 14-16 in the WAC, so they’re not a great team. That said, Sacramento State has won their last two meetings with Stanford, defeating them 3-2 in Sacramento back in 2021 and then defeating them 15-13 on The Farm last season. I guess this is one where I would say Stanford ought to win, but anything can happen on a given afternoon of college baseball.
Stanford will stay home and get back to league play with a three game series against Oregon. Games will be played from Friday, April 19th to Sunday, April 21st. Oregon went 41-22 last season and 16-14 in the Pac-12, picked to finish 4th in the Pac-12. Stanford dropped two of three in Eugene last season and also fell to Oregon in the Pac-12 tournament, so this one is not going to be easy for Stanford. If they can take two out of three, they should be happy.
Stanford will then have a road game at nearby Santa Clara on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Broncos went 36-20 overall and 17-10 in the WCC last season. The two teams split last season. Santa Clara winning 10-5 at Stanford and Stanford returning the favor 20-17 at Santa Clara. The meeting at Santa Clara last year in particular was nuts. It was like a home run derby from both sides.
Stanford will then have a home series against Cal from Friday, April 26th to Sunday, April 28th. I’ve already addressed the Golden Bears and how they did last year, etc. In short, Stanford ought to sweep them. It’s a rivalry, Stanford is at home, and Stanford is also the on paper better team. Anything less than a sweep would be a bummer, though once again, taking two out of three is never bad.
Stanford will stay at home to welcome Santa Clara to The Farm on Tuesday, April 30th. In truth, Stanford should win both games against Santa Clara, but midweek games are always weird. It’s probably more likely they’ll split, but you just never know. Maybe Santa Clara will win both.
Stanford will then get back on the road for a league series against Arizona. That will be from Friday, May 3rd to Sunday, May 5th. Ideally, Stanford sweeps this one, but given it’s a road series, if they take two out of three, that won’t be a big deal. I’ve addressed Arizona earlier in this write up, so if you want to revisit any of that, just scroll back up.
Stanford will return home to host Arizona State for a three game series from Friday, May 10th to Sunday, May 12th. Arizona State went 32-23 overall and 16-13 in the Pac-12 last season, picked to finish 6th in the Pac-12. The Sun Devils have not defeated the Cardinal since the opening game of their series in 2021, which was a home series for them. Since then, Stanford has won nine games in a row against them. Stanford should be eying a sweep here.
Stanford will then have their final non-league game of the season before wrapping up Pac-12 play. On Monday, May 13th, Stanford will head back to Berkeley to face Cal one more time. These midweek games are always tough to predict. I don’t see Stanford sweeping Cal through all five games this year. Cal is likely to pick up at least one and maybe even two. If Stanford is able to win this one, that’ll be impressive because chances are, Cal will be playing for pride and pride alone in this one.
Stanford will then end their regular season with a road series at UCLA. That will be from Thursday, May 16th to Saturday, May 18th. UCLA went 28-24-1 overall and 12-16-1 in the Pac-12 last season, but they are picked to finish 3rd this year, having received one first place vote. They are expected to be a lot better this year. Stanford took two out of three at home against them last year, so this one that could get tricky. If Stanford can take two out of three, they should be delighted. Especially if UCLA lives up to the hype.
After that comes the Pac-12 tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona from Tuesday, May 21st to Saturday, May 25th. The better Stanford does in the regular season, the less that tournament will matter, though they’ll still want to perform well and enter the NCAA tournament with some momentum.
After the Pac-12 tournament comes the NCAA tournament with the ultimate goal being to reach the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Stanford has made it to Omaha three years in a row, though they’ve all been early exits. Stanford needs to figure out how to stay in Omaha once they get there. Maybe this year will be the year they finally do that. The pitching is something that could end up making the difference. Head coach David Esquer certainly seems to be excited about how that side is shaping up.
Regardless, it should be another fun season at Sunken Diamond this year. One of the best places to see a baseball game and Stanford always has a good product. The only question is what exactly that product will look like. It should be exciting to find out and see how this Cardinal team develops over the course of the year.
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