For Stanford, it was just a matter of time. The Cardinal had manufactured constant threats to score the game’s winning run in the latter part of the game but stranded four runners in scoring position in the ninth and 10th innings. In the bottom of the 11th, they were finally able to execute.
With the score tied at one and Danny Hoffpauir standing on third, Tommy Edman hit a fly ball to right field far enough to allow Hoffpauir to tag and score, giving Stanford a 2-1 victory in the second game of a doubleheader Friday.
The game was highlighted by a pitchers duel between two freshmen. Stanford’s Cal Quantrill and Oregon’s Matt Krook both lasted seven innings and the offenses for both Oregon and Stanford were stagnant throughout its entirety.
Quantrill ended his day after seven innings pitched, allowing just one earned run on six hits. The freshman struck out eight and did not give up a base hit that created more damage than a single.
For Krook, the numbers looked almost identical. The left-hander lasted seven while giving up just two hits and striking out seven. Krook, who was coming off back-to-back Pac-12 wins, pitched what head coach George Horton called his best outing of the year.
“I thought Krook was spectacular,” Horton said. “I thought he was really good. He’s tough to hit when he’s pounding the strike zone.”
Ironically, Stanford was the team taking full advantage of the small ball strategy during the opening stages of the game. After Tommy Edman singled to start the top of the third, he reached second base on a sacrifice bunt and then moved to third after a wild pitch by Krook. Danny Diekroeger then hit a high fly ball to left field near the warning track, allowing Edman to tag up and score the first run of the game.
“Those are kind of the things at this level …” Horton said. “You’ve got to avoid those walks.”
Oregon’s bats finally created some noise in the top of the fifth. With runners on first and second and two outs, Mark Karaviotis was able to hit a sharp liner into right-center field for a base hit that scored Kyle Garlick. The run tied the game at one and was Karaviotas’ 10th RBI of the season.
Stanford would produce a scare in what would be Krook’s final inning on the mound. With two outs, the Cardinal generated a minimal spark by getting the bases loaded from a single, walk, and a batter hit by pitch. However, nothing would be made of it and Krook, facing his last batter, forced Brant Whiting to pop out to the shortstop.
Missed opportunities better defined why Oregon and Stanford were not able to muster anything more than a run apiece in the first nine innings of the game. Despite seven hits, the Ducks left five on base, but their mental errors, such as mistimed sacrifice bunts and runners being picked off between first and second, were why big reasons why the produced minimal damage. Despite only managing two hits in the game, Stanford left eight runners on base due to a number of batters reaching because of walks.
Garrett Cleavinger, Jake Reed and Darrell Hunter saw work in relief for the Ducks. Hunter never gained a rhythm in his work during the bottom of the 11th. The right-hander allowed a double to his first batter faced, allowing Stanford to take care of the game by using a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly in their ensuing at-bats.
With possible showers in the forecast tomorrow, Oregon and Stanford will meet for the third game of the series at 1 p.m.
“We’ll bounce back, tonight we just didn’t execute,” Horton said. “It’s not a fluke that they executed and it’s a little out of character that we didn’t.”
Follow Justin Wise on Twitter @JWISE25