Stanford defated Cal State Fullerton 5-1 Friday night in the season opener. It was the first win of the Dave Esquer regime and it's probably needless to say that it was odd to not see Mark Marquess sitting in his familiar spot or pacing the dugout. The new era of Cardinal baseball looked similar to what fans have come to expect over the years with pitching and defense leading the way.
Tristan Beck was back on the mound after more than a year away from competitive baseball. The junior missed his entire sophomore season and was a freshman all american. He gave up one earned run in six innings and allowed only four hits. Three of them came in the sixth inning when the Titans capitalized on a leadoff double.
Nico Hoerner is expected to be a star in the field at shortstop and in the batter's box. He was 3-for-4 (single, double, triple) and scored two runs. He also stole two bases.
Stanford's lineup had a slow start last season and one of the issues was stringing together quality at-bats. Friday night Stanford had nine hits and six walks.
Freshman Tim Tawa hit an RBI single in his first career AB.
The one major negative for the Cardinal occurred before the game. Second baseman Duke Kinamon suffered an undiscolsed injury during warm-ups and had to be replaced by Jesse Kuet, who moved over from third base. Tawa started at third.
David Esquer
How does it feel to get the first win?
"It's great. I'm really excited to come out here and have our first win in our first game. The guys played great. Tristan Beck was outstanding. Nico Hoerner was as advertised and had a good ballgame for us."
You've said you're counting on pitching and defense to be there every day. Was this game the model?
"Yeah, that's one of those Stanford kind of ballgames when you pitch and play defense. We scored scome baseballs up that didn't carry as much at night as they would during the day. It was very promising even offensively even with the balls that were caught. I thought we had more chances to put runs on the board and maybe things would be different during the day."
Speaking of defense, Kyle Stowers had two great catches in left and those were big plays for you guys.
"And on short notice (he played in left field) because Duke Kinamon had a mild injury before the game and we had to shuffle our lineup. Tawa went from starting in center field to starting at third. Jesse Kuet went from third to second and Stowers went into left field. They all had a hand in us winning, which is great to see. That's the type of team you have to have. This group is close enough where I feel like they step up for each other."
What did you see from Tristan Beck? Obviously it has been a while ... and it was pretty encouraging for his first night out.
"What he's known for is he can get you out with all four pitches -- fastball, change, slider and curve. He showed that tonight that he can attack a hitter in four different ways and it's not just when he gets to two strikes. That's what make him a quality pitcher and tough to plan for."
Can you talk about the bullpen? There have been question marks about who would replace Colton Hock and Tyler Thorne. What about the performance of Zach Grech and Jack Little?
"I have a lot of confidence and his ability to be different from throwing down below. He had the adrenaline going a little bit and had some balls in the air. He's usually a ground ball pitcher. Sometimes when you have that adrenaline you throw that sink a little bit. I think as he gets more comfortable out there you're going to see that ball sink and a lot of ground balls. Little was outstanding. He has been one of our best three pitchers coming out of the fall, to be honest with you, and that's what you want out of the pen -- one of your best three handling the game at the end. He's a good defender and can throw multiple pitches for strikes. He's not going to beat himself."
Nico Hoerner doesn't seem to be slowing down from where he left off last season and the summer going into the fall: "He's a hard worker and he really has a rhythm for how to prepare himself. He is set for great things. I think he's the heartbeat of our guys, too, because he really wants to win with this club. His leadership is well received."
It seems like it will be tough to take him out of the leadoff spot?
"It will be tough. He's the one hitter throughout the fall, and even January, where I've hit him one, two and three. I'm just trying to find the balance of where he fits best and where the other guys fit best around him."
Nico Hoerner
Duke Kinamon's injury: "He's very quiet, but he goes about his work harder than anyone on our team. It just shows that this game isn't fair. The moments before the game he's worked for eight months to be healthy and totally done everything to control what he can ... so very sad. Definitely takes a little of the joy out of this win for sure -- not just for the team's success, but for a friend and someone who means a lot to the program."
What did you see from Tristan tonight?
"I'm really proud of the way Tristan pitched. He has great stuff. He's always going to have strikeout stuff out on the mound. That's who he is. With him off the mound for more than a year you really don't know what's going to happen. First and foremost, he's healthy and throwing ... and he definitely pitched deep enough for us to have great chance. He didn't have his bes stuff in the sixth inning but still gathered it together and limited what could have been a big inning."
You guys were opportunistic tonight on offense. Can you talk about the aggressiveness you had running the bases and taking advantage of what they gave you?
"I think we have a deceptively athletic team -- guys ... may not be stealing bases but are taking the extra base and getting us in better position to score runs. And over the course of 54 games we're going to create a lot more runs.
Were you sent on the attempted steal of third when you scored on Maverick Handley's RBI single? (The ball nearly hit Hoerner heading toward third base).
"No. That was very fortunate how that turned out. It was almost unfortunate. I wasn't really in control of that at that point. Lucky how it worked out and Mav hit it hard."
What strikes you about Tim Tawa?
"Tim is probably the best athlete on our team. That's kind of like what I said to him that the pressure is off at this point. You're a great athlete and enjoy this. I remember my first game like it was recent. It was against Fullerton. I just hope he's enjoying the game. He has a great opportunity, whether it's in center field or at third. He's going to be a big part of this year and a huge part of the program."
How big a deal is it to get a win on opening day?
"What I said to the guys after the game that makes it important is there will be a low point this year when we're scuffling. It's great to have this experience early on of when things click to know that this is there all the time and you're really close to having this chemistry, energy and result. The way we played was very confident and it will really translate for the entire season."
Tristan Beck was back on the mound after more than a year away from competitive baseball. The junior missed his entire sophomore season and was a freshman all american. He gave up one earned run in six innings and allowed only four hits. Three of them came in the sixth inning when the Titans capitalized on a leadoff double.
Nico Hoerner is expected to be a star in the field at shortstop and in the batter's box. He was 3-for-4 (single, double, triple) and scored two runs. He also stole two bases.
Stanford's lineup had a slow start last season and one of the issues was stringing together quality at-bats. Friday night Stanford had nine hits and six walks.
Freshman Tim Tawa hit an RBI single in his first career AB.
The one major negative for the Cardinal occurred before the game. Second baseman Duke Kinamon suffered an undiscolsed injury during warm-ups and had to be replaced by Jesse Kuet, who moved over from third base. Tawa started at third.
David Esquer
How does it feel to get the first win?
"It's great. I'm really excited to come out here and have our first win in our first game. The guys played great. Tristan Beck was outstanding. Nico Hoerner was as advertised and had a good ballgame for us."
You've said you're counting on pitching and defense to be there every day. Was this game the model?
"Yeah, that's one of those Stanford kind of ballgames when you pitch and play defense. We scored scome baseballs up that didn't carry as much at night as they would during the day. It was very promising even offensively even with the balls that were caught. I thought we had more chances to put runs on the board and maybe things would be different during the day."
Speaking of defense, Kyle Stowers had two great catches in left and those were big plays for you guys.
"And on short notice (he played in left field) because Duke Kinamon had a mild injury before the game and we had to shuffle our lineup. Tawa went from starting in center field to starting at third. Jesse Kuet went from third to second and Stowers went into left field. They all had a hand in us winning, which is great to see. That's the type of team you have to have. This group is close enough where I feel like they step up for each other."
What did you see from Tristan Beck? Obviously it has been a while ... and it was pretty encouraging for his first night out.
"What he's known for is he can get you out with all four pitches -- fastball, change, slider and curve. He showed that tonight that he can attack a hitter in four different ways and it's not just when he gets to two strikes. That's what make him a quality pitcher and tough to plan for."
Can you talk about the bullpen? There have been question marks about who would replace Colton Hock and Tyler Thorne. What about the performance of Zach Grech and Jack Little?
"I have a lot of confidence and his ability to be different from throwing down below. He had the adrenaline going a little bit and had some balls in the air. He's usually a ground ball pitcher. Sometimes when you have that adrenaline you throw that sink a little bit. I think as he gets more comfortable out there you're going to see that ball sink and a lot of ground balls. Little was outstanding. He has been one of our best three pitchers coming out of the fall, to be honest with you, and that's what you want out of the pen -- one of your best three handling the game at the end. He's a good defender and can throw multiple pitches for strikes. He's not going to beat himself."
Nico Hoerner doesn't seem to be slowing down from where he left off last season and the summer going into the fall: "He's a hard worker and he really has a rhythm for how to prepare himself. He is set for great things. I think he's the heartbeat of our guys, too, because he really wants to win with this club. His leadership is well received."
It seems like it will be tough to take him out of the leadoff spot?
"It will be tough. He's the one hitter throughout the fall, and even January, where I've hit him one, two and three. I'm just trying to find the balance of where he fits best and where the other guys fit best around him."
Nico Hoerner
Duke Kinamon's injury: "He's very quiet, but he goes about his work harder than anyone on our team. It just shows that this game isn't fair. The moments before the game he's worked for eight months to be healthy and totally done everything to control what he can ... so very sad. Definitely takes a little of the joy out of this win for sure -- not just for the team's success, but for a friend and someone who means a lot to the program."
What did you see from Tristan tonight?
"I'm really proud of the way Tristan pitched. He has great stuff. He's always going to have strikeout stuff out on the mound. That's who he is. With him off the mound for more than a year you really don't know what's going to happen. First and foremost, he's healthy and throwing ... and he definitely pitched deep enough for us to have great chance. He didn't have his bes stuff in the sixth inning but still gathered it together and limited what could have been a big inning."
You guys were opportunistic tonight on offense. Can you talk about the aggressiveness you had running the bases and taking advantage of what they gave you?
"I think we have a deceptively athletic team -- guys ... may not be stealing bases but are taking the extra base and getting us in better position to score runs. And over the course of 54 games we're going to create a lot more runs.
Were you sent on the attempted steal of third when you scored on Maverick Handley's RBI single? (The ball nearly hit Hoerner heading toward third base).
"No. That was very fortunate how that turned out. It was almost unfortunate. I wasn't really in control of that at that point. Lucky how it worked out and Mav hit it hard."
What strikes you about Tim Tawa?
"Tim is probably the best athlete on our team. That's kind of like what I said to him that the pressure is off at this point. You're a great athlete and enjoy this. I remember my first game like it was recent. It was against Fullerton. I just hope he's enjoying the game. He has a great opportunity, whether it's in center field or at third. He's going to be a big part of this year and a huge part of the program."
How big a deal is it to get a win on opening day?
"What I said to the guys after the game that makes it important is there will be a low point this year when we're scuffling. It's great to have this experience early on of when things click to know that this is there all the time and you're really close to having this chemistry, energy and result. The way we played was very confident and it will really translate for the entire season."
