Recap: Stanford Baseball crushes Louisville on Friday night
On Friday, Stanford baseball defeated Louisville 12-2 on the road to take the first game of a three-game series. Colt Peterson (2-1) was the winning pitcher for Stanford in a relief role while Wyatt Danilowicz (3-2) was the losing pitcher for Louisville. Rintaro Sasaki led the way for Stanford with one home run and four RBIs while Brady Reynolds hit one home run and had three RBIs. Stanford improves to 15-15 overall and 5-8 in the ACC while Louisville falls to 19-15 overall and 5-8 in the ACC.
BOX SCORE: Stanford at Louisville-Friday, April 10th
Louisville scored first in this one as Zion Rose hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 1st inning before Bayram Hot grounded into a double play to bring home a second runner. Louisville led 2-0 at the end of the 1st inning. While Stanford didn’t score in the top of the 1st, they nearly did as Teddy Tokheim hit a double down the left field line with one out before advancing to third base thanks to a wild pitch. Stanford was unable to bring Tokheim home as Eric Jeon would get walked and then get caught stealing to end the inning after Charlie Bates struck out. Still, the Cardinal built a bit of good offensive momentum in the top of the 1st, which they would carry into the rest of the game.
Stanford would break things open in the top of the 3rd inning as JJ Moran hit a two-RBI single to left field after which Brady Reynolds went yard to right field to bring home three runs. That made it a 5-2 lead for the Cardinal.
Stanford would add three more runs in the top of the 5th inning to make it 8-2 as Luke Lavin grounded out to bring home Bates before Cort MacDonald hit a two-RBI single through the left side.
It would remain an 8-2 game all the way until the top of the 9th inning. In the top of the 9th, Sasaki hit a grand slam to right field to bring home Tatum Marsh, Luke Lavin, and Ethan Hott. That made it a 12-2 lead. In the bottom of the 9th, Toran O’Harran relieved Cohen Gomez on the mound to shut the door, making it a 12-2 final score.
To touch on the pitching side of things for Stanford, Quinten Marsh (1.0 innings), Colt Peterson (1.0), Brock Ketelsen (1.0), Kassius Thomas (2.0), Cohen Gomez (3.0), and Toran O’Harran (1.0) was the sequence. Stanford has had to roll with a by-committee effort due to not having a reliable Friday night starter. It’s not what’s ideal, but so far it’s been working about as well as they can hope. It certainly worked in this one.
Going back to the hitting, that was fantastic for Stanford. Sasaki hitting a grand slam has to give him a lot of confidence. Moving him to the lead off hitting spot was a really good move. It’s taken a lot of pressure off of him and as a result, he’s swinging the bat a lot better.
Up next for Stanford is game two on Saturday. That will begin at 11:00 AM PT on ACCNX.
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