Recap: Stanford Baseball takes game one at Virginia Tech
On Friday, Stanford baseball defeated Virginia Tech on the road by a final score of 9-7. Stanford righty Toran O’Harran (2-1) was the winning pitcher for the Cardinal in a relief role while righty Trevor Moore (1) was awarded the save. Virginia Tech righty Logan Eisenreich (0-1) was awarded the loss in a relief role. Stanford freshman left fielder Teddy Tokheim was the top offensive performer for the Cardinal, going 3-4 for two home runs and five RBIs. Stanford improves to 12-12 overall and 2-5 in the ACC while Virginia Tech falls to 12-12 overall and 4-6 in the ACC.
BOX SCORE: Stanford at Virginia Tech-Friday, March 27th
Rintaro Sasaki got walked to lead things off in the top of the 1st inning for Stanford after which Tokheim hit a two-run blast to left field, making it a 2-0 lead for the Cardinal. Stanford wouldn’t add any more runs the rest of the inning, keeping it a 2-0 game entering the bottom of the 1st. The starting pitcher for the Cardinal was lefty Quinten Marsh, who gave up a couple of hits in the bottom of the 1st, but didn’t allow any runs to come home. Stanford maintained a 2-0 lead entering the 2nd inning.
In the top of the 2nd inning, nobody got on base for the Cardinal as Virginia Tech starter Brendan Yagesh got three straight strikeouts. In the bottom of the 2nd, Virginia Tech would even things up as Pete Daniel hit a two-RBI single up the middle off Marsh with two outs. After a mound visit, Marsh got the next batter out to end the inning. It was now a 2-2 game.
In the top of the 3rd, Sasaki hit a solo shot to right field, his 8th home run of the season. Tokheim would single to right field after that only for Charlie Bates to ground into a double play. After a single from JJ Moran, Moran stole second base. Jimmy Nati then lined out to short stop to end top of the 3rd inning. 3-2 Stanford was ahead.
In the bottom of the 3rd, Nick Dugan replaced Marsh on the mound. Dugan would give up a single to Hudson Lutterman after which Nick Locurto doubled to right center, bringing home Lutterman. That tied it up 3-3. Virginia Tech would not add any more runs the rest of the inning as Dugan got the next three batters out.
Neither team scored in the 4th inning, nor was there was a pitching change. It remained a 3-3 game entering the 5th inning.
In the top of the 5th inning, Bates homered to left field with two outs, making it a 4-3 lead for the Cardinal. Moran then flied out to end the top of the inning. In the bottom of the 5th, Lutterman reached first base via a fielding error (E4). With two outs, Ethan Gibson went yard to left field, his first home run of the season. That made it a 5-4 lead for the Hokies as they made the Cardinal pay for their lone error of the game. The Hokies didn’t add any more runs the rest of the inning, keeping it a 5-4 game.
The next two innings, neither team would score, making it a 5-4 game at the end of the 7th inning. In the top of the 8th inning, Stanford exploded for five runs to go up 9-5. Sasaki hit an RBI double; Tokheim hit a three-run home run to left field; and Eric Jeon got walked with the bases loaded.
In the bottom of the 8th, Cohen Gomez was on the mound for the Cardinal, replacing Toran O’Harran. Gomez would give up a two-run RBI double to Ethan Ball with two outs, making it a 9-7 game. Trevor Moore came in to replace Gomez and got the out to end the inning. 9-7 Stanford led entering the 9th inning.
In the 9th inning, neither team would score, making 9-7 the final score with Stanford coming out on top. Moore did a great job of closing the door, getting a turkey (three straight strikeouts) in the bottom of the 9th.
For Stanford, this is a huge win. They’ve now won five games in a row and have a 1-0 series lead over Virginia Tech. They’re in a position to win the series on Saturday and at worst, know they’ll still have a chance to win the series on Sunday. The pitching and defense was shaky, but it didn’t cost them the game thanks to the offense coming alive. And then hey, Trevor Moore coming in to get the save like he did was big time. This is the kind of win that could indicate things are shifting in the right direction.
Up next for Stanford is game two on Saturday. That will begin at 12:00 PM PT on ACCNX.
CardinalSportsReport.com on Facebook, IG, Threads, X (Twitter), & Bluesky: @StanfordRivals
Ben Parker on Facebook, IG, Threads, X (Twitter), YouTube, & Bluesky: @slamdunk406
Email: slamdunk406@yahoo.com
