What started out as Jake Thompson’s attempt at his second complete game of the season ended with Stanford victorious in a game that had it all at Blair Field.
Thompson was nearly flawless for all nine innings on Saturday. But, with just one out left before earning his second complete game of the season, the junior watched it all disappear with a change-up that sailed over the left-field fence at Blair Field.
The right-hander’s teammates picked up the slack and took the game into extra innings, but the Dirtbags eventually fell in the 10th inning, 4-3, to the Cardinal in front of 1,152 fans.
LBSU (20-23) tied the game, 3-3, in the bottom of the ninth, but Stanford added a run in the 10th inning to earn the series win. Kenny Arnerich walked Jake Stewart with two outs and then Eric Smith drove him in for the game-winning double.
“Our backs are against the wall, and every loss just puts us closer to elimination,” Dirtbags head coach Mike Weathers said. “This one really puts the dagger a little deeper. … When you walk a guy with two outs, they usually end up scoring.”
For the second consecutive game, however, the pitchers ruled the day as Thompson and Stanford’s Jordan Pries were just about even in every way in the second game of the three-game set.
Thompson tied a career high with eight strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings on the mound for LBSU, but the junior allowed the ninth-inning home run by Kenny Diekroeger and surrendered six hits in the loss.
“It was a pretty good performance, but just one pitch changed it,” Thompson said. “I have to take all the positives out of it, instead of the one negative.”
Prior to Diekroeger’s home run, Thompson surrendered a walk to Jonathan Kaskow after an at-bat that lasted nearly 15 pitches.
“For [Diekroeger], I was geared up for throwing more fastballs, because I had thrown 10 fastballs and they were all fouled off,” Thompson said. “We mixed it up and threw some change-ups, but nothing really changed mentally.”
Pries performed nearly as well as Thompson, but the sophomore ran into some trouble in the late innings before being replaced. The right-hander finished with nine strikeouts in eight innings of work for the Cardinal (25-17).
Arnerich (0-3) took the loss for the Dirtbags, while Scott Snodgress (1-2) earned the victory for Stanford.
Kirk Singer gave the Dirtbags their first lead of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning when he smashed a double over the head of Dave Giuliani in left field to score Joey Terdoslavich from third base.
Singer had gone just 1-for-7 before that at-bat, including two strikeouts in his previous two at-bats in Saturday’s contest.
The game had been tied, 1-1, since the first inning before Singer’s double.
Both teams earned extra bases with their first hits of the game, which led to each team scoring a run in the opening frame. Jordan Casas, who went 3-for-4 to lead the Dirtbags, laced a triple to right field and then scored, while Stanford’s Tyler Gaffney had a double and then scored.
The Beach will look to avoid the series sweep on Sunday. Branden Pinder (3-5, 4.05 earned run average) will toe the rubber for the Dirtbags, while a starting pitcher for Stanford has yet to be determined. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Blair Field.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.