Stanford Baseball Falls in Series Against Wake Forest

The job could not be completed. Despite taking home a win in game one of the series against Wake Forest and setting up the chance to close things out, the Cardinal could not get it done as they fell in the final two games, losing the series to the Demon Deacons two games to one.

Falling in game two 12-9, the Cardinal were within striking distance of winning the game but with the Demon Deacons putting together a big ninth inning, the Cardinal fell short.

The Demon Deacons struck first in the first inning via an RBI single to put them up 1-0. But after Temo Becerra hit a two RBI single in the bottom of the first to put Stanford up 2-1, the Cardinal were able to take over the game for a bit.

In the second inning, Trevor Haskins fouled out to right field, but as the ball was hit deep enough, Ethan Hott scored to make it 3-1. Later that inning, a passed ball advanced runners and allowed Tatum Marsh to score from third, giving Stanford a 4-1 lead. To end the third inning scoring, Luke Lavin flied out to right field, but managed to score Jimmy Nati in the process to make it 5-1.

But in the sixth and seventh innings, Wake Forest began to claw back and eventually take a 7-5 lead by the time the seventh inning ended. What started with a two RBI single in the sixth to cut Stanford's lead down to 5-3, Wake Forest tacked on four more in the seventh, with two RBI singles and a two RBI double causing the Cardinal to quickly be behind.

Stanford then regained the lead in the eighth inning.

Starting it off was Haskins, who hit a ground ball to third base that scored the run and cut the Wake Forest lead down to 7-6. Then, with Ethan Hott standing on third, a wild pitch brought him in and advanced both Brady Reynolds and Cort MacDonald, tying the game up at 7-7 and putting Stanford right back in it.

MacDonald eventually came in to score to make it 8-7 Stanford when Marsh grounded out to shortstop. Eventually, the Cardinal went up 9-7 in that same inning when Nati hit an RBI single to score Reynolds from third.

But that ninth inning is what ended Stanford's hopes for a win. Starting off with an RBI single to cut the lead to 9-8, another RBI single tied the game up at 9-9, giving momentum back to Wake Forest.

Later on, Wake Forest third baseman Kade Lewis hit a single to center field to give Wake Forest a 10-9 lead. That set up second baseman Austin Hawke to open the game up even more, hitting a two RBI single that made it 12-9 and gave the Demon Deacons the comeback win.

On the mound for Stanford was Matt Scott who gave up five hits and two runs while walking four and striking out five through five innings of work. Aidan Keenan took the loss, giving up five runs on five hits through a third of an inning. He drops to 1-2 on the season.

Sunday's series finale was even more of a Wake Forest takeover, with Stanford losing 10-0 in seven innings. Wake Forest scored first in the second inning, tacking on three runs to take an early 3-0 lead. Then in the third inning, after the Wake Forest batter reached base on a fielder's choice, a wild throw scored the runner from third, making it 4-0 Wake Forest.

In the fourth inning, a two RBI double from the Wake Forest first baseman made it 6-0 Demon Deacons, giving them a massive momentum boost ahead of a big fifth inning. With two men on base in the top of the fifth, a double from the Wake Forest center fielder brought in two more runs, making it 8-0.

Wake Forest then capped things off with another RBI single followed by a groundout to first that allowed the runner from third to score, giving Wake Forest a 10-0 lead. With Stanford unable to muster anything, the mercy rule went into effect, with Stanford taking the loss after seven innings.

Getting the start for Stanford was freshman Parker Warner, who allowed one hit and a strikeout while walking one in one inning of work. Austin Steeves took the loss, going 0.2 innings while allowing one hit and three runs while walking three. He drops to 0-1 on the season.

With the series loss, the Cardinal now fall to 21-19 and with some recent struggles, are in danger of missing the postseason. But with some time to recover, it will be interesting to see if the Cardinal can get back on track.