|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Cal Quantrill fired six shutout innings and the Cardinal overcame a perfect game bid from Cal State Fullerton's Thomas Eshelman to win a 2-0 decision Friday night at Goodwin Field. Tommy Edman scored in the seventh, after breaking up Eshelman's attempt, and Matt Winaker blasted his first career homer in the eighth inning.
"It was a hard-fought battle," said Quantrill, who improved to 1-0. "Eshelman was good today. He was perfect going to the seventh, so it was a ton of fun. Good to get a win on Friday. That should help make the weekend a little more fun."
Stanford's (2-3) ace and Eshelman (0-2) traded zeroes through an uneventful first six frames. The two highly touted prospects cruised through opponents' lineups with a combined 15 strikeouts. Eshelman used primarily his fastball, working both sides of the plate with perfection, while Quantrill combined his low-90s fastballs with a high swing-through rate on his off-speed pitches.
Fullerton (1-4) gifted an extra base to open the seventh when Edman singled to left field. The ball rolled under David Olmedo-Barrera's glove to allow the Cardinal leadoff man to easily reach second base. Jesse Kuet then bunted Edman to third on what proved to be an important execution when Edman sprinted home on a wild pitch to score the game's first run. The pitch squirted 12 feet to the left of catcher A.J. Kennedy, just enough for Edman to get a jump at third and slide in safely.
"He worked for that run," said Quantrill of his classmate Edman. "A little single, takes second, takes third, takes home, a pretty good job. Tommy looked good all night."
Winaker led off the eight inning with his homer to right. Eshelman was chased a few pitches later after an Austin Barr single and the Fullerton right-hander's last strikeout. The freshman's homer was just the fourth allowed in the first 251.1 innings of Eshelman's career.
Eshelman ended the day with 7.1 innings pitched, three hits, two runs (one earned), eight strikeouts and no walks.
Logan James threw scoreless seventh and eighth innings. Colton Hock earned his first career save by retiring three straight batters in the ninth, after James walked the leadoff hitter.
Fullerton was led by two-hole hitter Dustin Vaught, who went 2-3 with a walk.
The teams meet again tomorrow night at 7 p.m. PT for the second of three games. Right-hander Marc Brakeman is slated to start on the hill for Stanford.
