On Monday, Stanford baseball concluded their four-game Texas road trip with a true road game at UTSA after going 3-0 at the Karbach Round Rock Classic over the weekend. UTSA won by a final score of 6-5, scoring the sixth and decisive run in the bottom of the 10th inning. UTSA junior right-handed pitcher John Chomko picked up the win with two innings pitched, four strikeouts, and zero earned runs. Stanford sophomore right-handed pitcher Tommy O’Rourke picked up the loss. Freshmen Ryan Beaird (UTSA) and Ty Uber (Stanford) each got the start for their respective teams. UTSA improves to 7-1 overall while Stanford falls to 6-2.
Neither team would score in the 1st inning, but in the 2nd inning, each team would find a way to get on the scoreboard. In the top of the 2nd, graduate transfer outfielder Joe Lomuscio was inserted into the starting lineup for Stanford, hitting a double down the left field line. Lomuscio would then advance to third on a while pitch during Vincent Martinez’ at-bat. Martinez would strike out looking. Owen Cobb, also inserted into the lineup, would then single up the middle to drive in Lomuscio. Freshman Charlie Saum, another new insertion to the lineup would ground into a double play to end the top of the inning.
In the bottom of the 2nd, senior infielder Ryan Flores got on base via an error at third base. After redshirt sophomore catcher Josh Killeen struck out looking, redshirt sophomore infielder/outfielder Garret Poston singled to right center, advancing Flores to third base. Junior outfielder Shane Sirdashney singled through the left side to drive in Flores. UTSA would fail to score the rest of the inning, making it a 1-1 game at the end of the 2nd.
In the top of the 3rd inning, Stanford junior short stop Adam Crampton got hit by a pitch, putting him on first base. However, sophomore left fielder Eddie Park grounded into a double play in the next at bat. Senior infielder Austin Kretzschmar would get hit by a pitch to get on base in the next at bat, but junior center fielder Brock Jones struck out looking to end the inning.
In the bottom of the 3rd inning, senior infielder/outfielder Jonathan Tapia got hit by a pitch, putting him on base. Senior infielder Chase Keng got on base via fielder’s choice as Tapia was safe at second base. Tapia would advance to third base via a failed pick-off attempt by Uber. Flores would then fly out to center field, resulting in Tapia scoring. That would be the end of UTSA’s scoring in the 3rd as Killeen fouled out to right field. 2-1 UTSA led.
In the top of the 4th inning, sophomore 1st baseman Carter Graham hit a home run for Stanford to tie the game up 2-2 to kick things off. However, Stanford wouldn’t score any more runs as Lomuscio struck out swinging, Cobb flied out to left field, and Saum struck out swinging. Martinez did get walked and later advance to second base via wild pitch, but Stanford wasn’t able to bring him home.
In the bottom of the 4th, Poston got things going for UTSA with a triple down the right field line. Sirdashney would then drive him home by singling to left field. 3-2 UTSA in front. It was at this point that Justin Moore came in to relieve Uber on the mound for Stanford. Moore would get a couple of outs, but with Jonathan Tapia and Leyton Barry on base, Keng hit a double to left center to drive them in. 5-2 UTSA in front. They would take that lead into the 5th inning after Flores grounded out.
In the top of the 5th, Crampton grounded out for Stanford to open things up. But then, Park would single up the middle. Thanks to a wild pitch and then a passed ball during Kretzschmar’s at-bat, Park got all the way to third base. Kretzschmar would fly out to center field, driving in Park. Jones would strike out to end the top of the 5th. 5-3 UTSA led.
UTSA would not score in the bottom of the 5th and in the 6th and 7th innings, neither team scored. The 6th and 7th innings were especially quiet. Just not a lot of action for either team. In the bottom of the 5th, UTSA had a real chance to extend their lead, but wasn’t able to do so. Killeen doubled to left center and then Poston got hit by a pitch, putting him on base as well. Sirdashney then singled through the left side to load up the bases. Thanks to Kody Darcy striking out and Barry grounding into a double play, Stanford escaped the bottom of the 5th without giving up any runs.
In the top of the 8th inning, Stanford tied the game up 5-5. Kretzschmar hit a single to get on base. Jones would fly out down the left field line, but then Graham hit a home run to tie up the game 5-5. Lomuscio would fly out and Martinez would strike out looking to end the top of the inning. UTSA was unable to score in the bottom of the 8th, making it a tie game 5-5 going into the 9th inning.
In the top of the 9th, Stanford got zero hits and left one man on base. Kody Huff got walked, but that wasn’t able to lead to anything. The bottom of the 9th was similar as it was three quick outs with no one getting on base for UTSA. It was a 5-5 game going into extra innings. O’Rourke came in for Stanford in the 9th and pitched a good inning. Now it was a matter of him maintaining that groove in the 10th inning.
In the top of the 10th inning, Stanford wasn’t able to get rolling as Kretzschmar struck out looking, Jones struck out looking, and Graham lined out to right field. In the bottom of the 10th inning, that’s when UTSA finally got the run they needed. Stanford helped them out through a series of errors. Sirdashney got on a base via a fielding error and then advanced to second base via a throwing error. Darcy advanced Sirdashney to third via a sacrifice fly and got to first base via fielder’s choice. Barry would then single to left center to drive in Sirdashney and win UTSA the game. 6-5: final after 10 innings.
For UTSA, this is obviously a huge win for them. They defended their home field against an elite Stanford team that came in hot. They’re now 7-1 on the year and could possibly crack the top 25 when the next polls come out.
As for Stanford, this loss is disappointing only in that it would have been really cool for them to sweep the Texas trip. But after going 3-0 at Round Rock, this isn’t a result they should lose much sleep over. David Esquer rolled with some different lineups today, tried to give some guys a bit of a rest, and despite all that, his team still had to be taken to extra innings to lose. A win today would have been icing on the cake. The cake itself, still tasting really good.
Up next for Stanford is a home series against Cal State Northridge this upcoming weekend on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The first game will begin on Friday at 2:05 PM PT on Stanford Live Stream.
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