Rintaro Sasaki hit a solo home run for the Cardinal. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

On Friday, Stanford baseball upset No. 24 Arizona by a final score of 10-7 in the College Baseball series in Surprise, Arizona. Sophomore righty Cohen Gomez (1-0) was the winning pitcher for the Cardinal in a relief role while freshman lefty Mike Erspamer (1) was awarded the save. Arizona senior righty Nolan Straniero (0-1) was the losing pitcher for the Wildcats in a relief role. Stanford catcher Luke Lavin (2 RBI) and 1st baseman Rintaro Sasaki (1 RBI) each hit one home run for the Cardinal. Stanford improves to 1-0 on the season while Arizona falls to 0-1.

BOX SCORE: Stanford vs. Arizona-Friday, February 13th

In the top of the 1st inning, Stanford was unable to score off Arizona starting pitcher Owen Kramkowski.  With two outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd base, Sasaki struck out to end the top of the inning. In the bottom of the inning, Andrew Cain hit an RBI single down the right field line off Stanford starter Nick Dugan to bring home Tyler Bickers, who was walked. Arizona wouldn’t add any more runs the rest of the inning, keeping it a 1-0 game at the end of the 1st inning.

In the top of the 2nd inning, JJ Moran was walked after which he stole second base with two outs. Brock Sell then got walked after which Tatum Marsh hit a single to load up the bases. Thanks to an interference call, Charlie Bates reached 1st base for Stanford, bringing home Moran and advancing Marsh and Sell. That tied things up 1-1. Jimmy Nati would fly out to end the top of the inning.

In the bottom of the 2nd, Dugan gave up a single to Roman Meyers but bounced back nicely with a strikeout before catching Meyers trying to steal 2nd base. Dugan then forced a ground out to end the inning. It remained a 1-1 game.

Both teams would trade runs in the 3rd inning with both starting pitchers staying in the game. Sasaki went yard to deep right field for Stanford in the top of the 3rd inning to make it 2-1 while Maddox Mihalakis hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Mathis Meurant, who was on third base after hitting a single and being advanced to third base thanks to a single by Bickers. After Dugan got a strikeout to end the bottom of the 3rd inning, it was now a 2-2 game.

In the top of the 4th inning, Stanford would add three runs. With Brock Sell on 1st base and Ethan Hott on 3rd, Bates tripled to right field to bring home both runners. Nati would then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Bates. A ground out from Brady Reynolds would then end the top of the inning. Evan Brandt had to come in for relief on the mound to finish the inning as Kramkowski got pulled. It was now a 5-2 lead for Stanford.

In the bottom of the 4th, Arizona answered as Carson McEntire hit an RBI single to center field after which Bickers hit a two-RBI single to left field. Gomez came in for relief for Dugan on the mound for Stanford after Dugan gave up the RBI single to McEntire. Bickers’ two-RBI single came off Gomez. It would be tied 5-5 at the end of the 4th inning as Mihalakis struck out swinging to end the bottom of the inning.

Neither team would score in the 5th inning, nor was there a pitching change. The game remained tied 5-5 entering the 6th inning.

In the top of the 6th inning, Stanford exploded for five runs. Reynolds grounded out to 2nd base to bring home Bates and advance Nati to 3rd base; Moran would single to center field to bring home Nati and Sasaki. Sasaki was walked and then advanced to 2nd base. Luke Lavin would then hit a dinger to right field to bring home Moran. That made it a 10-5 lead for the Cardinal.

In the bottom of the 6th inning, Ben Reimers came in to pitch for Gomez. Reimers gave up a back-to-back solo home runs to Meyers and McEntire, making it a 10-7 game. Reimers would then force a ground out before hitting a batter. As a result, Reimers was pulled and replaced by Colt Peterson. Peterson would get a strikeout and then force a flyout to end the bottom of the inning. 10-7 Stanford led at the end of the 6th inning.

From there, Stanford would go on to win 10-7 as Peterson pitched the entire 7th inning while Erspamer came in to pitch the 8th and 9th inning. Erspamer would get the save as a result.

For Stanford, this is a huge win. Arizona was in the College World Series last season and is a ranked team. While their pitching was a bit shaky, the bats came alive and the pitching in the end was able to close the door. Both Peterson and Erspamer were excellent to close out the game. The bullpen holding firm in the end is something that Stanford can take a lot of confidence from.

Up next for Stanford is a game against Michigan on Saturday, February 14th at 5:00 PM PT on Flo College. That will be the second of four games they’ll have in Surprise, Arizona as part of this opening showcase. Michigan defeated No. 12 Oregon State 5-3 in the first game on Friday, so the Wolverines are coming in with a lot of confidence as well.

CardinalSportsReport.com on Facebook, IG, Threads, X (Twitter), & Bluesky: @StanfordRivals

Ben Parker on Facebook, IG, Threads, X (Twitter), YouTube, & Bluesky: @slamdunk406

Email: [email protected]

Join the conversation on CardinalSportsReport.com