On Tuesday at 1:00 PM PT on the WCC Network, #7 Stanford baseball will take on the San Francisco Dons on the road at Benedetti Diamond. Stanford comes in at 29-14 overall (15-9 Pac-12) while San Francisco comes in at 24-27 overall (11-13 WCC). The probable pitching matchup is Stanford sophomore lefty Drew Dowd (5-0, 4.89 ERA) vs. San Francisco graduate student lefty Weston Lombard (3-5, 7.28 ERA).
Last time out: On Sunday, Stanford dominated Cal by a final score of 11-3 to sweep the series. Stanford has risen to #7 in the latest USA TODAY Baseball Coaches Poll as a result.
RECAP: #11 Stanford completes home sweep over Cal
On San Francisco: San Francisco battled Stanford tough on The Farm earlier this season, losing by just one run (6-5). The Dons will look to get even with the Cardinal on their home turf. The Dons have had an up and down season so far. They’ve had moments where they look like they can hang with elite teams as is evident by their performance against Stanford earlier in the season, but then other times they don’t perform well and they get beaten like a drum.
Luke Keaschall (.319 AVG, 7 HR & 30 RBIs) and Gabe Giosso (.267 AVG, 7 HR & 35 RBIs) are the top two hitters on this Dons team both in terms of power and batting average. So, they’re really crucial to the success of the offense. When those guys heat up and get going, this Dons team can be tough to stop. But when they’re off, they become very vulnerable. As far as the pitching staff is concerned, the Dons have a 5.84 ERA. It’ll be interesting to see how Lombard does and how long he lasts since his ERA is terrible.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is make sure Dowd settles in. He had a disastrous outing against Cal on Saturday, not able to complete the first inning. Stanford was fortunate they were able to come back and win that game. If Dowd struggles again in this game, it could be lights out early for the Cardinal. Especially with this game being on the road.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is keep Keaschall and Giosso from going wild. If those guys have a big afternoon, San Francisco will be in a great position to win this game. If those guys are not having their best game, Stanford should be in a good position to get the win.
Finally, Stanford just needs to play a clean game. If they avoid errors, make smart base running decisions, and swing at the right pitches, they should win this game. They’re the better team and having defeated the Dons earlier in the year, they should know how to defeat them a second time.
Prediction: These midweek games are always tough to predict. The pitching is always a big wild card and with the game happening in the middle of the day on a Tuesday, there’s just a different feel from a weekend outing. That all said, I do expect Stanford to find a way to win this one. After sweeping Cal, they seem to be feeling good.
I don’t think we’ll see a blowout. I think San Francisco will put up a fight since they’re at home and motivated to get even. It should be a fun and competitive game. Stanford 9 San Francisco 6 is how I see this one playing out.
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