This weekend, #9 Stanford baseball will welcome the Washington Huskies to Sunken Diamond for a three-game home series. Stanford comes in at 23-11 overall and 11-4 in the Pac-12 while Washington comes in at 20-11 overall and 7-7 in the Pac-12.
Game one will be on Friday at 6:05 PM PT on Stanford Livestream and KZSU radio. Game two will air on Saturday at 2:05 PM PT on Stanford Live Stream-2 and KZSU radio. Game three will air on Sunday at 1:05 PM PT on Stanford Live Stream and KZSU radio.
Probable pitchers: On Friday, the matchup is Stanford senior left-handed pitcher Quinn Mathews (4-3, 2.83 ERA, 76K) vs. Washington redshirt junior left-handed pitcher Stu Flesland III (4-1, 3.86 ERA, 52K).
On Saturday, the matchup is Stanford freshman right-handed pitcher Matt Scott (5-1, 3.15 ERA, 41K) vs. Washington redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Jared Engman (2-3, 5.54 ERA, 15K).
On Sunday, the matchup is Stanford junior right-handed pitcher Joey Dixon (3-0, 4.68 ERA, 43K vs. Washington junior right-handed pitcher Kiefer Lord (3-3, 4.57 ERA, 46K).
Last time out: Stanford suffered a disappointing 15-13 loss on Tuesday at home against Sacramento State.
RECAP: #9 Stanford BSB suffers Tuesday Heartbreak against Sacramento State
On Washington: The Huskies have had a strong season overall, playing .500 in Pac-12 play. However, they’ve lost three of their last five games with two of those losses being rather lopsided at Arizona. So, they’re not coming to The Farm with much momentum.
The top contact hitter on this Huskies team is sophomore infielder Cam Clayton, who is batting .353 for eight home runs, 27 RBIs, a .610 slugging percentage, and a .405 on base percentage. The top power hitter is redshirt junior infielder Will Simpson, who is batting .297 for 13 home runs, 34 RBIs, a .648 slugging percentage, and a .372 on base percentage.
As a team, the Huskies are hitting .293 for 43 home runs, 200 RBIs, and 221 runs. Their opponents are hitting .248 for 33 home runs, 154 RBIs, and 168 runs. On the mound, the Huskies have a 5.04 ERA while their opponents have a 6.57 ERA.
Keys to the series: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is get off to a strong start on Friday to shake off the bad vibes from Tuesday’s loss. It’s really important Stanford comes out strong on Friday and puts Tuesday in the rear view mirror. If they get off to a slow start on Friday, that will set a bad tone for the series and make things harder for them the rest of the way. Quinn Mathews hasn’t had the best of run support at times this year and could really use it this weekend.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is play clean baseball. They missed a chance to turn a key double play on Tuesday and an error in the outfield cost them two runs. If Stanford plays clean defensively and doesn’t commit errors that lead to runs for Washington, they should be fine.
Finally, Stanford needs their bullpen to come through. If their bullpen can deliver this weekend and be solid, their offense should be able to get them across the finish line. But, if the bullpen puts them in too big of a hole or falls apart late in the game, this could be a rough weekend for the Cardinal.
Prediction: I think Stanford bounces back this weekend. David Esquer gave a fiery speech to the team after Tuesday’s loss really appealing to their pride. I think they’ll respond accordingly. Stanford takes two out of three in this one.
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