On Sunday, #7 Stanford baseball defeated Oklahoma 16-5 to even up their four-game road series. Stanford junior right-handed pitcher Joey Dixon (3-0) was the winning pitcher for the Cardinal in a starting role while Oklahoma junior right-handed pitcher Will Carsten was the losing pitcher for the Sooners in a starting role. Stanford improves to 18-7 overall while Oklahoma falls to 15-14.
BOX SCORE: Stanford at Oklahoma-Sunday, April 2
Both teams found a way to score in the 1st inning. In the top of the inning, Eddie Park got walked to lead things off after which Tommy Troy singled to center field, advancing Park to third base. Carter Graham then fouled out to right field to bring home Park, giving the Cardinal their run. Troy then stole second base after which Braden Montgomery lined out to short stop. Malcolm Moore then got hit by a pitch before Drew Bowser popped up to second base to end the top of the inning. 1-0 lead for the Cardinal.
In the bottom of the inning, Anthony Mackenzie got walked to lead things off for the Sooners before advancing to second base on a throwing error during the at-bat of Bryce Madron. Madron then got walked after which John Spikerman grounded out to the pitcher, advancing Madron to second base and Mackenzie to third. With two outs, Easton Carmichael singled to short stop to bring Mackenzie home and advance Madron to third base. Jackson Nicklaus then got walked, advancing Carmichael to second base, and keeping Madron at third. With the bases loaded and two outs, Wallace Clark grounded out to second base to end the inning. It was a 1-1 game at the end of the 1st.
In the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings, neither team scored and there were no pitching changes, keeping it a 1-1 game entering the 5th inning. The one thing I did want to highlight was in the top of the 2nd inning, Stanford sophomore outfielder Saborn Campbell got his first career hit with a nice single through the left side. That wouldn’t be Campbell’s only hit of the game, so he really had a career game in this one.
In the top of the 5th inning, the Cardinal went to work. With one out, Park reached on an error after which Troy doubled down the left field line to bring Park home. Graham then grounded out to third base for the second out. With two outs, the Cardinal found a way to score four more runs. Montgomery and Moore each hit a single to get an RBI apiece after which Bowser homered to left field to bring home Moore. After Alberto Rios singled up the middle, Carsten’s day on the mound as Jett Lodes came in for relief. Campbell then struck out swinging to end the top of the inning. 6-1 lead for the Cardinal.
In the bottom of the 5th, Mackenzie hit a solo homer to right field for the Sooners with one out. No one else got on base for the Sooners in the inning. 6-2 lead for the Cardinal at the end of the 5th.
In the top of the 6th, the Cardinal added three more runs. Owen Cobb hit a lead-off single to left field after which Park reached on a fielder’s choice as Cobb was out at second base. Troy then tripled to right center to bring home Park after which Graham doubled down the left field line to bring home Troy. After Montgomery struck out swinging, Graham stole third base and scored on a throwing error from the catcher. Moore then got hit by a pitch and stole second base before Bowser struck out swinging to end the top of the inning. It was now a 9-2 lead for the Cardinal.
In the bottom of the 6th, Oklahoma did not score. Carmichael got walked but was caught stealing second base while Nicklaus reached on an error but wasn’t able to be brought home. 9-2 game at the end of the 6th.
In the top of the 7th, Gray Harrison came in to pitch for Lodes and did his job by getting three straight batters out. This kept it a 9-2 game entering the bottom of the 7th.
In the bottom of the 7th, the Sooners got going again on offense. Ryan Bruno came in to pitch for Dixon, hoping to give the Cardinal quality relief on the mound. With one out, Kendall Pettis doubled to left center to get in scoring position. Then, Mackenzie singled to short stop, advancing Pettis to third base.
Madron then singled through the right side to bring home Pettis and advance Mackenzie to third. Spikerman then reached on a fielder’s choice as Madron was out at second base while Mackenzie scored. Sebastian Orduno then came in as a pinch hitter, hitting a single to left field, advancing Spikerman to second base. Carmichael then singled to left field, bringing home Spikerman and advancing Orduno to second base.
At this point, Bruno’s day on the mound was done as Toran O’Harran came in to get the final out. O’Harran would do his job, getting the next batter out to end the inning. It was now a 9-5 game. The Cardinal were up by four runs, with not quite as much breathing room as before.
From there, Stanford would score five runs in the 8th inning and two runs in the 9th inning to make it a 16-5 final score. They turned on the jets in the end, sucking out any hope of an Oklahoma comeback.
In the top of the 8th, Graham hit a two run homer to bring home Park; Moore hit a double to bring home Montgomery; Campbell hit a single up the middle to bring home Moore for his second career RBI; and Cobb singled through the right side to bring home Bowser. In the top of the 9th, Graham doubled down the left field line to bring home Troy while Moore flied out to left field to bring home Graham.
For Stanford, this is a really nice way to end the series. Not only did they get a series split, but they got their bats to wake up. When their offense is on fire, they’re really tough to stop and it almost doesn’t matter what the pitching does. While winning was the primary goal in this one, getting the bats going was definitely a goal as well and they accomplished that. I mean, the fact that Saborn Campbell got his first career hit and then followed that up with a second hit plus an RBI says it all.
Up next for Stanford is a three-game road series at Cal. That will begin on Thursday at 7:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Bay Area and KZSU radio.
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