On Sunday, #8 Stanford baseball defeated Oregon 6-4. Stanford junior left-handed pitcher Drew Dowd (4-2) picked up the win on the mound for the Cardinal in a relief role while Oregon senior right-handed pitcher Matt Dallas (4-1) was the losing pitcher for the Ducks in a relief role. Stanford improves to 23-10 overall and 11-4 in the Pac-12 while Oregon falls to 24-10 overall and 9-6 in the Pac-12.
BOX SCORE: Stanford at Oregon-Sunday, April 16th
In the top of the 1st inning, Stanford was able to get the bases loaded with one out as Carter Graham, Tommy Troy, and Braden Montgomery all got walked. Unfortunately for the Cardinal, Malcolm Moore and Drew Bowser then struck out swinging to end the top of the inning. The Ducks dodged a bullet.
In the bottom of the 1st with one out, Sabin Ceballos hit a three-run blast to left field to bring home Colby Shade and Drew Cowley. Shade hit a single to Joey Dixon on the mound and advanced to second on the throw before advancing to third base on a wild pitch. Cowley was walked. Oregon would not score any more runs the rest of the inning, making it a 3-0 lead for them at the end of the inning.
In the top of the 2nd inning, Owen Cobb was walked with two outs and stole second base, but Eddie Park struck out looking to end the top of the inning. In the bottom of the 2nd with one out, Bryce Boettcher hit a solo dinger to left field for the Ducks. Oregon would not get anyone else on base the rest of the inning. 4-0 lead for the Ducks at the end of the inning.
At this point, the Cardinal comeback would begin. In the top of the 3rd, Graham reached first base on a throwing error after which Troy was walked. At this point, Dallas came in to pitch for Leo Uelman, who got the start on the mound for the Ducks. Dallas then walked Montgomery to load up the bases. Up next to the plate would be Moore, who also got walked, bringing home Graham. Then, Bowser flied out to left field to bring home Troy. The Cardinal now had two runs on the board.
The next batter would be Alberto Rios, who doubled to left field, bringing home Montgomery and advancing Moore to third base. Cole Hinkelman then struck out looking after which Cobb flied out to center field. The Cardinal totaled three runs in the top of the inning, making it a 4-3 game.
In the bottom of the 3rd, the only guy who got on base for the Ducks was Cowley, who singled up the middle with one out. Aside from that, nobody was able to get going. This kept it a 4-3 game at the end of the inning.
The top of the 4th inning was pretty quiet as only Park got on base for the Cardinal by hitting a single through the left side. Park however was caught stealing second base, sucking the air out of the offense. As for the bottom of the 4th, nobody for the Ducks got on base, keeping it a 4-3 game at the end of the inning.
In the top of the 5th inning, Stanford evened things up thanks to a solo homer to right center from Montgomery. His 9th big fly of the season. Stanford would not score any more runs the rest of the inning. 4-4 game entering the bottom of the 5th. In the bottom of the 5th, Dixon made quick work of the Ducks’ lineup as nobody got on base. This kept it a 4-4 game at the end of the inning.
In the top of the 6th inning, Stanford’s bats were quiet as nobody got on base. This kept it at a 4-4 game entering the bottom of the inning. With one out, Ceballos hit a triple to center field for the Ducks, ending Dixon’s day on the mound as Dowd came in for relief. Tanner Smith then reached on a fielder’s choice as Ceballos was out at home plate after which Jacob Walsh struck out swinging to end the inning. Dowd was able to get Stanford out of that jam.
In the top of the 7th, Stanford added two runs. Graham got walked after which Troy singled to right field, advancing Graham to second base. This ended Dallas’ day on the mound for the Ducks as Austin Anderson came in for relief. Montgomery then singled up the middle to bring home Graham and advance Troy to second base. This made it a 5-4 lead for the Cardinal.
Up next to the plate would be Moore, who was walked. This loaded up the bases. Then, Rios got walked as well, bringing home Troy. Stanford would not score any more runs the rest of the inning, making it a 6-4 lead entering the bottom of the 7th.
In the bottom of the 7th, Dowd got three quick outs on the mound, keeping it a 6-4 game at the end of the inning. Stanford just needed to finish the final two innings strong.
In the 8th and 9th innings, Stanford would not score any runs, but on the bright side they didn’t need to as Dowd got three straight outs in the bottom of the 8th and then 9th innings to close out the game. 6-4 would be the final score as the Cardinal found a way to avoid the sweep and pick up a much-needed Sunday victory.
For Stanford, this is a huge win. Head coach David Esquer always talks about the importance of not getting swept when you go down 0-2 in a series and they were able to accomplish that goal today. They got just enough run support and then Drew Dowd really was fantastic in crunch time. In 3.2 innings pitched, he gave up zero hits, zero walks, zero earned runs, and also added six strikeouts. He was excellent in this one.
Up next for Stanford is a home game on Tuesday against Sacramento State. That will start at 6:05 PM PT on Stanford Live Stream and KZSU radio.
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