STANFORD, Calif. -- Freshman Mikey Diekroeger drove in four and Stanford stranded 14 Texas runners to beat the No. 13 Longhorns 5-4 Thursday evening at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond. The win starts a four-game series in four days against Texas.
“It sets us up great for the rest of the three games,” said Diekroeger, who has six hits in the last two games. “Hopefully we can get a couple more and go into finals week feeling good about ourselves.”
Diekroeger did all of his damage in the first three innings. He sent a ground-rule double under the wall to drive in Alex Dunlap in the second, before sending his next hit over the right field wall for a two-out three-run shot in the third. The homer was the first of his career and gave Stanford a 4-2 lead, an advantage it would not relinquish.
Junior Austin Barr added a towering solo homer in the next frame to push Stanford’s lead to three. The first round-tripper of Barr’s season was the last run the Cardinal sent across the plate.
Texas (8-5) loaded the bases in the sixth, had two on in the eighth and loaded them again in the ninth, but scored just one run in the final four innings. The Longhorns left the bases jammed in three frames and ended the game on a bases-packed soft lineout to second baseman Tommy Edman. The final out looked like it could fall for Taylor Stell’s first hit of 2015, before Edman chased it down to his glove side.
Ben Johnson did all he could to keep Texas in the game. The leadoff hitter hit a line drive two-run shot in the second inning and followed with a solo effort in the fifth to drive in the first three Texas runs. He also hit a scorching single in the first as part of a 3-for-4 day.
Stanford (8-6) used four relievers after freshman Keith Weisenberg went 4.0 innings, while allowing three runs on five hits to start the game. The freshman looked in command, striking out six and walking two, any time Johnson was not at the plate.
Tyler Thorne (1-0) followed Weisenberg after Johnson’s second homer. The Texas native kept the Longhorns hitless over 1.2 innings to earn the win. Sophomore lefthander Chris Castellanos cleaned up Thorne’s sixth inning by striking out lefty Collin Shaw after Thorne loaded the bases on walks.
Colton Hock (1.1 innings) and Logan James (1.2) took the Cardinal home in the last three innings. James earned his third save.
Chad Hollingsworth (1-1) took the loss for Texas in 5.0 innings of work. He allowed all of Stanford’s runs on six hits and three walks. The Cardinal failed to get a hit off of relievers Connor Mayes (1.2 innings) and Ty Culbreth (1.1 innings).
