No. 3 Stanford (15-2) shook off the aching neck pain of studying for and taking finals to defeat USC 5-1 Friday behind more stellar pitching. Tristan Beck (3-0) pitched seven innings for the second consecutive home start and Jack Little got the final six outs.

The Cardinal took advantage of some wildness by USC ace Kyle Hurt in the second inning to load the bases without getting a hit. Senior Beau Branton singled home the first run and senior Jesse Kuet hit a sac fly to put Stanford up 2-0.

Stanford tacked on another run in the third when sophomore catcher Maverick Handley took a two-strike pitch to the opposite field with two outs, scoring Brandon Wulff. It was the first of two such RBI hits for Handley as the Cardinal added runs in the fifth, and then the seventh after USC scored in the sixth.

Beck struck out nine in seven innings and allowed only five hits while walking one on 95 pitches.

Little struck out two and got a double play to end the game after the Trojans loaded the bases with a walk and two hits.

How the team responded from a two-week break to beat USC: "I thought our guys did a nice job. It's not easy to do with finals and that break. We hit the ground running and I thought we came out ready to play. There was a little rust, and probably still shaking off a little, but we played a good ball game."

Maverick Handley with two big two-out hits: "It was a nice job. We need to be able to pick up those runs. He did that. Not spectacular -- a line drive to right and a ground ball to right. Little things like that can add up to big things."

Another extended save for Little, but this time with some adversity: "They put a couple good swings on some balls and got him into a little trouble, but he punched back, too, which is good to see. He's done a nice job and hasn't had much trouble."

Given Maverick's slow start with the bat this season, does that make it even more encouraging that those were opposite field hits with two outs?

"I try to encourage him to keep the ball as low as possible. I think he gets into some advantage counts and tries to hit a little bit beyond what I think are his means right now. I'd like to see him be a little bit more just take the hit. He has some ability to drive the ball, but I don't think he's going to live or die with balls off the fence. It's a little bit of learning process when you try to figure out where your offensive game really is and I think he's still doing that. He did a nice job tonight."

Beck appears to be taking steps almost each start toward being his old self and even improving on what he did as a freshman: "Yeah, he is. The old Tristan -- where he's getting closer to his old self -- can get you out with any pitch. I think he's getting more comfortable ... and then everything being just a little bit better, a little sharper than he used to be."

Maverick Handley

It has to have an added feel of satisfaction that the RBI singles were to right field each time with two outs, right?

"Yeah, it really did. It was nice to finally start hitting balls to right field. I've been pulling off some stuff. It was nice to finally get a pitch away and really fling it through the right side, especially with two outs."

What did you focus on individually with your swing during the break?

"I started a little higher in my batting stance coming back out. I felt like I was coming out when I was crouched down, so standing up I felt a lot more comfortable at the plate. Really finding that and getting comfortable with that during the break was probably the hardest part. Little changes feel so different when you have taken as many swings as we have. That break was nice for me to focus on finals and take some time to get back mentally and physically."

How would you evaluate Beck's progress?

"I'm just really excited. He has gotten better every start. That Texas start, he's human. Today he had a little extra velocity on it and was more down with it. The breaking ball was a little sharper. He is putting in a ton of work. I know during the break he got a little breather and it was a nice break for him. He came out and he pitched like he can and should. If he does that every single time there's no reason we shouldn't win a Friday."

What's your assessment of Little as he takes over the role of closer and isn't just a starter filling in?

"He's getting the edge that a closer needs, like what Colton Hock had last year. That little something about him, and I think Jack has really embraced that. It allows him to play up his stuff. Going from six innings when he's 90-91 to getting a little extra velocity bump here and there, just letting it hang out there. It's awesome to feel that once he's in the game the ballgame is over. Tonight, yeah they got the bases loaded but ... when we went out in the infield to meet he was laughing, 'Let's close this game out.' He got a double play next pitch."

There was probably a little disappointing to stop playing after that non-conference run, but starting Pac-12 with a win seems to pick up where you left off: "Non-conference we were playing pretty hot. What's kind of scary to me is I felt like our team still wasn't doing as well as we can. We hit .250 (as a team) and I think we are more than capable of having more than two guys above .300. I think this break slows the roll a little bit, but we're more than capable to get the ball rolling again. We're forward every day to the next game."