Stanford Opens First-Place Showdown With Key Win At Arizona State

The first game of the showdown for first place in the Pac-12 between No. 8 Stanford and No. 19 Arizona State lived up to its billing Friday. The Cardinal and Sun Devils have two of the best offenses in the conference—both average more than 7.5 runs per game—and they showed off their power in a back-and-forth game at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

Stanford came away with the victory, edging past ASU, 8-6. The Cardinal (29-13, 16-6) opened a 1.5-game lead over the Sun Devils (29-16, 14-7) in the conference standings and have won six of their last eight games.

The game was an exciting back-and-forth contest. ASU struck first with a solo home run from Isaiah Jackson in the third inning. In the top of the fourth, however, Tommy Troy evened the score with a solo shot of his own and Stanford went on to score four in the inning. ASU pushed back ahead with two runs in the fifth and three more (unearned) in the sixth.

In the seventh inning, Stanford took the lead for good. Eddie Park led off the inning with a double and Troy was hit by the very next pitch. ASU and lefthander Blake Pivaroff nearly got out of the jam against the heart of the Stanford order, striking out Carter Graham and getting Braden Montgomery to fly out. But Alberto Rios hit a three-run home run to give the Cardinal the lead.

Rios on Friday went 4-for-5 with two doubles, two home runs and five RBIs. In Stanford’s last game, a series-clinching win Sunday against UCLA, he was 3-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs. He’s now homered four times in his last six games and is hitting .388/.495/.697 with 11 home runs on the season.

With Rios surging and hitting fifth in the lineup behind Park (.333/.385/.474), Troy (.382/.463/.638, 8 HR, 13 SB), Graham (.278/.365/.472, 8 HR) and Montgomery (.318/.468/.589, 10 HR), the Cardinal make life very difficult for opposing pitchers. ASU on Friday struggled to find answers against them after the first time through the order. Lefthander Timmy Manning retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced. After that, however, the Stanford offense continually put pressure on ASU defense and pitching staff, pounding out 10 hits and drawing four walks over the final six innings.

ASU’s own offense made life difficult for lefthanders Quinn Mathews and Ryan Bruno. Jackson and Nick McLain homered off Mathews and the Sun Devils took advantage of an error in the sixth inning to push across three runs.

But Mathews battled. He struck out 11 batters and walked none in eight innings, largely working around eight hits. Bruno struck out the side in the ninth on 16 pitches to earn his fifth save of the season.

It wasn’t easy, but it was another solid win for the Cardinal. They’re coming into the weekend having won back-to-back series against Washington and UCLA, both of which are fighting for NCAA Tournament bids, and now have a chance to take firm control of the Pac-12 race with another win this weekend in Phoenix.

With the way Stanford’s offense is swinging the bats and a mostly rested bullpen for the rest of the weekend, it has a strong chance to come out of the series in first place and move ever closer to earning a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament.