Stanford Baseball Has Won 6 Straight Games, 3 of Them Walk-offs

Once considered a longshot for the NCAA tournament, Stanford baseball is suddenly playing its best baseball of the season with 11 games left to prove it belongs

Feb 28, 2025; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal infielder JJ Moran (1) before the game against the Xavier Musketeers at Sunken Diamond. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Is Stanford baseball back? Coming off of a weekend in which they swept No. 8 Florida State in stunning fashion, the Cardinal gave themselves a lot of momentum ahead of the final stretch of the regular season. And it looks like that momentum keeps getting stronger and stronger.

To begin the week on Monday, April 27, the Cardinal won their sixth straight game, and secured the win via their third straight walk-off.

Tied 5-5 with UC Davis in the bottom of the 12th inning, infielder JJ Moran came up to bat and delivered the at-bat of his life, hitting a line drive to right field that fell for a base hit, scoring Cort MacDonald from second base and ending the game right then and there. Stanford ended up 6-5 winners.

Getting off to a slow start this season, the Cardinal are getting hot at the right time, improving their record to 22-19 overall and extending their win streak to six with only 11 games left in the regular season. Those 11 games will determine their postseason fates.

Heating up at the right time for late push

Teddy Tokheim of Stanford celebrates | Maddie Hinkley/ISI Photos

At one point this campaign, the Cardinal were facing a major uphill battle for the postseason, and were looking at a low seed for the ACC tournament while also being considered a longshot for the NCAA tournament.

But now, while the Cardinal still have work to do, a strong finish to the season could help the Cardinal's case in the conference tournament and give them good leverage for a return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2023.

Moran, a sophomore out of San Marcos High School, has evolved into a fixture for the Cardinal this season, hitting .253 with six home runs and 29 RBI in 41 games (40 starts), while playing elite defense at third base.

Despite having an inconsistent last few weeks, going hitless in the previous four games before this one, the walk-off hit for Moran should give him some much-needed confidence, and help him get out of his slump.

For the Cardinal, the win over UC Davis sets them up nicely for a tough road trip this weekend, where they will take on Notre Dame in a three-game series. The Fightin' Irish, currently sitting at 19-20 overall, have struggled in conference play but have shown that they can get hot at any time. If the Cardinal win that series, it will be a big help for their postseason aspirations.

After the Notre Dame series, the Cardinal return home for a midweek home game against San Francisco on Wednesday, May 6 before getting ready for a three-game home series against NC State on the weekend of May 8-10.

The Cardinal then cap off their season with a home game against Saint Mary's followed by their final series of the regular season — a three-game set against Cal in Berkeley.