Stanford lives to play another game after beating UC Santa Barbara
Following a disappointing 5-2 loss against Texas State in their second game of the regional that ended their win streak at 17 straight, the Cardinal were tasked with having to play a talented UC Santa Barbara team in a do-or-die elimination game.
Stanford was able to secure an 8-4 victory, and looks worlds better than they did against the Bobcats. Contrary to the the lack of offensive production in the Texas State loss, the Cardinal experienced much more success at the plate against the Gauchos. Three players had three or more hits, and the Cardinal were able to gets runs on the board without hitting a single home run during the game.
After throwing a couple hitless innings for the Cardinal, Drew Dowd gave up a two-run home run to give UC Santa Barbara the lead. The Cardinal would go on to answer, lose the lead, and they secure it one final time and never turn back.
Stanford's bullpen has consistently been the achilles heal of this team, but after Dowd was pulled to start the fourth, Quinn Mathews was inserted and handled the rest of the game. Mathews, who was once a starter in the rotation but has been serving as the closer was able to usher the Cardinal the rest of the way throwing 111 pitches through 6 innings. He gave up just two runs on a two-run homer for the gauchos in the fifth, but was able to limit the Gaucho offense to just four hits.
The Cardinal offense led by Brock Jones looked like their typical selves, as Jones registered three hits (two doubles ) after not having a hit in the two games prior. Catcher Kaleb Huff had himself a day as well going 4-for-5 with two RBI's.
In order to advance to the super regional, the Cardinal will have to get by Texas State tonight at 7.