On Friday, Stanford baseball defeated Rice on the road by a final score of 6-2. Stanford sophomore righty Matt Scott (1-2) was the winning pitcher for the Cardinal in a starting role while sophomore righty Toran O’Harran (1) picked up the save in a relief role. Rice junior righty Parker Smith (1-2) was the losing pitcher for the Owls in a starting role. Stanford improves to 4-5 overall while Rice falls to 3-6.
BOX SCORE: Stanford at Rice-Friday, March 1st
Stanford was quick to get on the scoreboard as Malcolm Moore hit a solo blast down the left field line in the top of the 1st inning with two outs. Trevor Haskins then grounded out to second base to end the top of the inning. 1-0 lead for the Cardinal entering the bottom of the 1st.
In the bottom of the 1st, Matt Scott did not give up a hit and only walked one batter. He was dialed in early and did a great job of setting the tone on the mound from the opening pitch. This kept it a 1-0 lead for Stanford at the end of the inning.
In the top of the 2nd inning, Stanford was able to add two runs. Luke Lavin singled to center field before advancing to second base thanks to a wild pitch with Temo Becerra at the plate. Becerra then got walked, putting him on first base. Brady Reynolds was the next batter for the Cardinal and he delivered by singling to right field and advancing to second base while Becerra advanced to third and Lavin came home.
Ethan Hott then struck out swinging for the first out. Next up to the plate would be Owen Cobb, who singled to left field to advance Reynolds to third base and bring home Becerra. Reynolds would then get caught stealing home while Cobb advanced to second base after which Cort MacDonald grounded out to first base to end the top of the inning. It was now a 3-0 lead for the Cardinal.
In the bottom of the 2nd, Matt Scott continued to throw smoke as he got three straight batters out: Two strike outs and ground out. The Owls were having a tough time getting going against him.
Neither team would score in the 3rd or 4th inning. The only team that even got a guy on base was Stanford in the top of the 4th as Lavin singled to center field. Rice got nobody on base as Scott’s no-hit bid continued.
In the top of the 5th inning, Stanford got on the board once again. With one out, MacDonald singled to left field before Jimmy Nati doubled down the left field line to advance MacDonald to third base. Moore then got walked intentionally to load up the bases. Haskins then flied out to right field to bring home MacDonald. Lavin then grounded out to end the top of the inning. It was now a 4-0 lead for the Cardinal. In the bottom of the 5th, Scott walked one batter but didn’t give up a hit, keeping his no-hit bid intact. Rice was just not able to get going offensively against him.
In the top of the 6th, Stanford was able to add one more run. With two outs and nobody on base, Hott reached first base on an error from short stop and advanced to second base. Cobb then got walked, putting two runners on base. Up next to the plate would be MacDonald, who singled up the middle to advance Cobb to third base and bring home Hott. Nati then popped up to end the top of the inning. It was now a 5-0 lead for the Cardinal.
If you thought maybe Rice got a hit in the bottom of the 6th inning, you would be wrong. Scott got three straight batters up, not even allowing a walk. He continued to be in the zone.
In the top of the 7th inning, Rice made a pitching change as Parker Smiths’ day on the mound was done. Lefty Tom Vincent came in for relief and did his job, not allowing Stanford to score in the inning. Getting the first two batters (Moore and Haskins) out really helped.
In the bottom of the 7th inning, Scott finally gave up a hit as the first batter he faced Jack Riedel hit a solo home run to left field. This ended Scott’s day on the mound as righty Kassius Thomas came in for relief. Thomas would do his job as nobody else scored for the Owls the rest of the inning. It remained a 5-1 lead for Stanford entering the 8th inning.
In the 8th inning, both teams traded runs. Hott would score for Stanford in the top of the inning courtesy of an error. In the bottom of the inning, righty Joey Volchko came in to pitch for Stanford, replacing Thomas. The bases would get loaded under Volchko with one out. O’Harran then came in to get Stanford out of the jam and only gave up one run as he forced back-to-back fly outs. This made it a 6-2 lead for Stanford at the end of the 8th inning.
In the 9th inning, neither team scored. While Stanford wasn’t able to expand their lead, they also didn’t need to as O’Harran was able to close out the game just fine. Rice got a couple guys on base, but that was it. They never threatened in the bottom of the 9th. Their chance was in the bottom of the 8th when they had the bases loaded. As a result, 6-2 would be the final score as Stanford won the first game of the series.
For Stanford, they have to feel good to see Matt Scott have such a strong performance. They’ve been waiting for him to come alive on the mound and he did so in a big way in this one. He only gave up one hit (which funny enough was a home run) and for the vast majority of the night was dominant as he racked up a career-high 12 strikeouts.
On top of that, Stanford’s offense was good enough. These are the kinds of games Stanford is going to need to win a lot of. Games where the pitching is fantastic and hitting is good enough to win comfortably. Stanford clearly appears to be finding their stride after a rough start to the season.
Up next for Stanford is game two against Rice on Saturday. That will begin at 2:30 PM PT on ESPN+ and KZSU radio. The probable pitching matchup is Stanford freshman lefty Christian Lim (0-2, 10.50 ERA, 8 K) vs. Rice junior lefty J.D. McCracken (1-0, 1.26 ERA, 15 K).
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