Stanford should have won 9-0 but three Cardinal pitchers were needed to get the final out. The situation reached the bizarre level that Jack Little came in for a save opportunity. But the overall message of the game is that the Cardinal dominated for 8.2 innings and maintain a 1.5 game lead in the Pac-12.
Brandon Wulff was back in the lineup for the first time since March 30. He had an RBI single.
Brendan will start Sunday but Erik Miller is available to pitch.
David Esquer
Kris Bubic's performance (5.2 IP, 9 Ks, 2 BB, 2 H): "He has been laboring a little bit. It has been a little better each time. It was a little better than before. It's all about that changeup and getting that going again. He did a better job of that. He gave us five strong and we'll take it."
Nico Hoerner tied career high four hits: "He's getting better and better as the season goes on. It's a good sign with the type of hits he was getting."
Andrew Daschbach hit a three-run HR and had four RBI: "He has been working hard to try to get back on top of his game. It's just really small adjustments that give him a lot of credit for working on. Today was a product of his hard work over the last four or five days."
The impact of Wulff's return to the lineup: "He can help us down the stretch. We had to find some opportunity to get him in there. It's hard to just jump into the Pac-12 and so it's going to take a little while. That last hit was a positive sign."
This is the second straight season that Nico has done well in non-conference and then taken off in the Pac-12. What goes into a hitter doing that?
"Typically the competition is way better in conference, too. He rises to the occasion when the competition increases and he keeps getting better. He has done a great job for us."
Beau Branton keeps getting hits: "He has been a lifesaver for us. He has been a huge piece and Is ay a piece because our team is not built on one player being good for us. Having him come in and perform like he has has been a huge shot in the arm for us. He's a valuable piece and without him we're not whole."
The difficulty of the final out: "Sometimes you try to get some guys in there who haven't been in there for a long time. That doesn't always work out. Some of those innings don't go well when you're doing it as a look-see and maybe a little bit of a favor. That doesn't bode well. Guys have been working on different things and that's probably on me if a guy isn't ready to go out there I shouldn't put him out there. Little shouldn't pitch on a day like today. That shouldn't happen."
Nico Hoerner
Tied a career high with four hits and getting stronger as season goes on: "The season always has different adjustments you're making and oftentimes the results don't reflect how you're feeling in the box. Overall you want to finish the season strong and I take pride in that. I think we're doing that personally and doing it as a group. I think we're going the right direction."
We've talked about the mental challenge of midweek games and finishing sweeps: "Mentally it has been great group this year. To go back to back years going undefeated in the midweek is pretty special. Last year Nine said it was the first team he had go undefeated in the midweeks. To do that twice in a row says a lot about a group and attention to the process. Obviously we have big goals ahead of us between Pac-12 and the national championship. We're staying in the moment pretty well.
Brandon Wulff was back in the lineup for the first time since March 30. He had an RBI single.
Brendan will start Sunday but Erik Miller is available to pitch.
David Esquer
Kris Bubic's performance (5.2 IP, 9 Ks, 2 BB, 2 H): "He has been laboring a little bit. It has been a little better each time. It was a little better than before. It's all about that changeup and getting that going again. He did a better job of that. He gave us five strong and we'll take it."
Nico Hoerner tied career high four hits: "He's getting better and better as the season goes on. It's a good sign with the type of hits he was getting."
Andrew Daschbach hit a three-run HR and had four RBI: "He has been working hard to try to get back on top of his game. It's just really small adjustments that give him a lot of credit for working on. Today was a product of his hard work over the last four or five days."
The impact of Wulff's return to the lineup: "He can help us down the stretch. We had to find some opportunity to get him in there. It's hard to just jump into the Pac-12 and so it's going to take a little while. That last hit was a positive sign."
This is the second straight season that Nico has done well in non-conference and then taken off in the Pac-12. What goes into a hitter doing that?
"Typically the competition is way better in conference, too. He rises to the occasion when the competition increases and he keeps getting better. He has done a great job for us."
Beau Branton keeps getting hits: "He has been a lifesaver for us. He has been a huge piece and Is ay a piece because our team is not built on one player being good for us. Having him come in and perform like he has has been a huge shot in the arm for us. He's a valuable piece and without him we're not whole."
The difficulty of the final out: "Sometimes you try to get some guys in there who haven't been in there for a long time. That doesn't always work out. Some of those innings don't go well when you're doing it as a look-see and maybe a little bit of a favor. That doesn't bode well. Guys have been working on different things and that's probably on me if a guy isn't ready to go out there I shouldn't put him out there. Little shouldn't pitch on a day like today. That shouldn't happen."
Nico Hoerner
Tied a career high with four hits and getting stronger as season goes on: "The season always has different adjustments you're making and oftentimes the results don't reflect how you're feeling in the box. Overall you want to finish the season strong and I take pride in that. I think we're doing that personally and doing it as a group. I think we're going the right direction."
We've talked about the mental challenge of midweek games and finishing sweeps: "Mentally it has been great group this year. To go back to back years going undefeated in the midweek is pretty special. Last year Nine said it was the first team he had go undefeated in the midweeks. To do that twice in a row says a lot about a group and attention to the process. Obviously we have big goals ahead of us between Pac-12 and the national championship. We're staying in the moment pretty well.
