Stanford Falls Flat Against Fresno State

Week three of the 2026 college baseball season was massive for Stanford for many different reasons. After back-to-back weekends where the Cardinal looked somewhat underwhelming, Stanford absolutely needed a series win over Fresno State in order to build momentum late in non-conference play. Unfortunately for Stanford, they lost the series in awful fashion.

Game one on Friday was an immensely positive start for the Cardinal. After each squad put up a run in the first inning, Stanford pulled away 3-1 in the third. But the Bulldogs wouldn’t go away. Fresno State put up three runs in the fifth, followed by one of Stanford’s own, tying the game at four.

Stanford got one in the sixth, then Fresno State got one of their own to bring them back to even in the seventh, setting up a massive ninth inning. Fresno State went scoreless, and Stanford walked it off, due to an electric Brock Sell triple to win the game. The freshman’s big night gave the Cardinal their fifth win of the season.

But while game one was great, Saturday wasn’t as special. Stanford and Fresno State continued their ability to score a limited amount of runs in multiple innings, making it an electric game throughout the day. Stanford scored one in the first, followed by one each in the third, before the Bulldogs piled four in the fourth, whereas Stanford got just one back.

Then, each team scored one in the fifth before Fresno State got two in the sixth, giving them a commanding 8-4 lead. Fresno State scored one more in the eighth, before an explosion of six runs in the ninth to end the afternoon. The Bulldogs won 15-4, dominating the entire game and setting up the rubber match for Sunday.

Sunday’s matchup was awfully similar to the first two, where runs seemed to be scored in almost every single inning. In the first, Fresno State scored three, matched by Stanford’s two. The Bulldogs then went back-to-back innings scoring a run, taking an early 5-2 lead.

In the fourth inning, both teams exploded on offense, where Fresno State scored six and Stanford scored three. While the Cardinal were able to pile up two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth, it ultimately wasn’t enough. Fresno State won 11-8, pulling off the road series win.

Overall, it was an awful weekend for the Cardinal program. They couldn’t pitch consistently, and gave up runs way too often. Offensively though, there was clear consistency, and proof that hitting won’t be the problem. But that’s been the story of Stanford baseball the last few seasons: Good hitting, bad pitching. And that needs to change quickly for Stanford to take a step forward.

Stanford now sits at 5-6 on the season, even before ACC play. However, they do have an opportunity to bounce back quickly, as they host Nevada on Monday for a mid-week non-conference game before finally beginning conference play. The Cardinal will travel to North Carolina to take on Wake Forest next weekend.

Fresno State now hosts Sac State for a Monday matchup as well before taking on Stanford’s familiar foe, Arizona, on the road for a weekend series.

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