On Monday at 12:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and KZSU radio, Stanford baseball will welcome the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels to Sunken Diamond. Stanford comes in at 1-2 overall while UNLV comes in at 2-1 overall.
Last time out: On Sunday, Stanford defeated Cal State Fullerton 4-1 to avoid a weekend sweep. Nick Dugan was the winning pitcher for the Cardinal.
RECAP: Stanford BSB bounces back against CSU Fullerton on Sunday
On UNLV: The Runnin’ Rebels are coming off a season in which they went 21-30 overall and 12-18 in the Mountain West. This season, they are 2-1 having taken two out of three games at Pacific. They spent the weekend in Stockton playing against the Tigers, so they’re already out in Nor Cal. Unlike Stanford and Cal State Fullerton, the UNLV/Pacific series had their doubleheader on Sunday due to the weather. After dropping game one on Friday, UNLV won both games on Sunday, one of which went to extra innings.
Through three games, senior catcher/outfielder Parker Schmidt has been crushing the ball with a .600 batting average and one RBI in just five at-bats. If he comes to the plate, Stanford better be ready. He’s seeing the ball really well. Graduate student outfielder Austin Kryszczuk is batting .500 in 12 at-bats, so he’s been seeing the ball great, too. He has a .750 slugging percentage, a.563 on base percentage, and also has one RBI. The one guy with a home run so far this season is senior outfielder Rylan Charles, so he’s a bat to be wary of. He’s hitting .267, so he’s been a bit feast or famine, but he’s got a .600 slugging percentage as a result of his home run. He’s kinda the third guy standing out right now.
Pitching-wise, we’ll just have to see who the Runnin’ Rebels start. As a team, they have a 2.00 ERA and have already struck out 23 batters through three games. They’re pitching well and should look to have success against a Cardinal lineup that is still figuring itself out.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is not get shelled on the mound. That was an issue for them last year during these midweek games. It’s likely going to be a pitch by committee effort in this one so everyone is going to have to do their part. If they are able to keep the UNLV batters in check and not get totally shelled, they’ll have a chance to win this game.
Just to be a bit more precise here, Stanford should look to hold UNLV to six runs or fewer. That should be the mark. These midweek games can get wild offensively, so Stanford absolutely should like their chances to win if they can hold UNLV to six runs or fewer. But if it gets to seven runs or more, that’s when I think we’re starting to enter “getting shelled” mode.
Building off that, Stanford needs to make sure they bring guys home when they get runners in scoring position. They’re hitting well enough that they’ll have their chances. The key will be to capitalize on those chances and bring guys home when those chances arise.
Finally, Stanford should play with more energy. This is kind of a hard thing to quantify in baseball terms, but UNLV played a double-header on Sunday and had to travel from a couple hours from Stockton to The Farm. Stanford should be the more well-rested team while UNLV should honestly be feeling a bit fatigued. Stanford needs to take advantage of this by playing crisper on both offense and defense.
Prediction: These midweek games are always tough to predict. They’re honestly a tossup. Anything can happen. That said, I do have to make a prediction and so I’ll roll with Stanford to win by a final score of 8-4. I think they’ll build on the momentum they have from Sunday’s win and also play like the fresher team. Playing a doubleheader on the road and then going on the road again to play against a different team the next day is a tough task.
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