Recap: No. 8 Stanford BSB blasts San Jose State to open regional
On Friday, No. 8 Stanford baseball defeated San Jose State 13-2 in their first regional game at Sunken Diamond. Quinn Mathews (8-4) got the win on the mound for the Cardinal in a starting role while Jonathan Clark (4-5) was the losing pitcher for the Spartans in a starting role.
BOX SCORE: San Jose State at Stanford-Friday, June 2nd
“Really proud of our team,” Stanford head coach David Esquer said after the game. “Good ball game coming out against a San Jose State team that we have nothing but the highest respect for. That’s a team that I tracked all year long and knew that they would be here down the road and it was not surprising to see them here one bit and do what they did at the end of the year and Brad, former colleague of mine and assistant coach of mine and really happy for him. But, we very well know, we could see them down the line. They’re capable of winning. We could see them again.
“So, happy about today, Quinn was great for us and I thought our team did a good job of responding when we went down by a run. They had a couple good at-bats and put a couple balls in play and took the lead and then obviously Alberto’s big swing there gave us a little breath and we were able to add on. Drew Bowser and Tommy Troy added on, but really happy with the way our team played, got our feet on the ground a little bit, got used to the atmosphere some and some of the guys, they just remember what it’s like. Eddie Park, who comes out, just seems to hit during postseason.
“So, those were welcomed sights and we still got some other players that will contribute before it’s all said and done. And so we’re looking forward to doing it, but it’s only going to get harder and we know that because history tells us when we play our regional here, it’s never easy.”
Stanford got off to a solid start in this game as lead-off hitter Eddie Park hit a solo shot to center field in the bottom of the 1st inning to give them a 1-0 lead after holding the Spartans scoreless in the top of the inning. Stanford would not score any more runs the rest of the inning, making it a 1-0 game at the end of the inning.
After both teams failed to score in the 2nd inning, scoring resumed in the 3rd inning with both teams combining for eight runs. In the top of the 3rd, San Jose State scored two runs:
With one out, James Shimashita singled up the middle. With two outs, Theo Hardy singled to left field, advancing Shimashita to second base. Charles McAdoo then was walked, loading up the bases. Jack Colette then singled to right center to bring home Hardy and Shimashita. Hunter Dorraugh then reached on a fielder’s choice as Colette was out at second base to end the top of the inning. 2-1 lead for San Jose State.
In the bottom of the 3rd, Stanford added six runs. Park first got walked after which Tommy Troy singled to third base, advancing Park to second base. With one out, Braden Montgomery got hit by a pitch, loading up the bases.
Up next to the plate would be Alberto Rios, who hit a grand slam to left center field. With two outs, Drew Bowser joined in on the fun with a solo blast to center field.
“Yeah, I think just being there and being in that spot again, I just made it slow things down as possible,” Rios said of his grand slam. “We talk a lot about getting the next guy up and I was just trying to get the next guy up. And luckily I got a pitch to hit late in the count and just got a good barrel to it. But like I said, I think with our lineup and our guys, I think if we just get it to the next guy and don’t worry about previous at-bats or upcoming at-bats, I think it’s just moving the line and just trying to get on base as much as possible.”
Jake Sapien then got hit by a pitch and had to leave the game, resulting in Jimmy Nati coming in to pinch run. Thanks to a wild pitch, Nati advanced to second base before Owen Cobb doubled to right center to bring home Nati. Cade Van Allen then came into pitch, ending Clark’s day on the mound. Park then flied out to left field, ending the 3rd inning. 7-2 lead for Stanford.
San Jose State would not score the rest of the game as Stanford went on to win 13-2. Stanford scored four runs in the bottom of the 5th thanks to Bowser scoring via wild pitch, Park hitting an RBI single up the middle, and Troy hitting a two-run homer to left field. This made it 11-2. Stanford added two more runs in the bottom of the 7th as Troy hit an RBI single while Graham hit an RBI double down the right field line. This made it 13-2.
In the final two innings, Brandt Pancer came in to pitch for Mathews, closing out the game in a non-save situation. After San Jose State jumped out to that early lead, Stanford responded strongly and snuffed out any chance of a Spartan comeback. This was about of strong of an opening win as Stanford could have hoped to have.
“Yeah, I mean, you obviously have a game plan going into every single game,” Mathews said. “Certain pitches against certain hitters and stuff like that. In that third inning, I think I gave up four hits and a walk. I mean, shout out to them for kinda doing a really good job, especially with two strikes and hitting soft stuff and lightening out the swing in the barrel and just finding holes when they needed to and McAdoo had a big at-bat where he battled and I unfortunately walked him. So, I mean a couple key at-bats from the good hitters in that lineup and like I said, they have five or six guys at the top that can really do damage. They might not have done it today, but like he said, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them again and I mean it’s a really talented group over there.
“So, the game plan kinda flipped a little bit, just went a little more fastball heavy. Fortunately I made the adjustment a little quicker than they did. But like I said, they got me really pretty bad, so.”
Up next for Stanford is a game against Texas A&M on Saturday in the winner’s bracket. That will begin at 6:00 PM PT.
As for San Jose State, they’ll face Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at 12:00 PM PT in an elimination game. While this game didn’t go the way they wanted it to, they were happy to be back in the NCAA tournament after a long hiatus and get the chance to play in front of a lot of their own fans given how close their campus is to The Farm.
“I think it’s cool to yeah, with the fans and then we’ve played here quite a bit in past years in the fall,” Jack Collette said. “And so, being on a familiar field is also good to not, we didn’t have to fly across the country. So that made it a little bit easier, a little bit more familiar I guess in an unfamiliar territory for us as a team. But, I think it was pretty cool we were playing close to home and against some teams that we’ve seen before.”
Finally, Esquer provided an update on Sapien after the game. His status going forward remains unknown following him getting hit in the facial area by a pitch.
“You know, he’s getting looked at at the hospital right now,” Esquer said. “So, they’re doing a CT scan. He’s conscious and he’s aware. That part of it is fine. But just as far as the extent of it, they don’t know yet.”
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