Stoffal Shuts Out No. 7 Stanford, 4-0

Friday, April 14

Eugene, Ore.

5:05 PM

University of Oregon

23-9, 8-5

Stanford

22-9, 10-3

Stanford

Oregon

Photo by: Molly McPherson

04/14/23 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score: Oregon 4, #7 Stanford 0 Photo Gallery

Oregon's Friday night starter continued his hot streak and the Ducks blasted three home runs to support him.

By: Rob Moseley

EUGENE, Ore. — Injuries have put some roles on Oregon's pitching staff in question this spring, but as far as the Friday night starter goes, the Ducks have an answer.

Jace Stoffal threw his fourth straight quality start and the UO baseball program's first complete-game shutout since 2017 on Friday, in a 4-0 victory for the Ducks over No. 7 Stanford before 2,506 fans in PK Park. Stoffal shut down the Pac-12's most prolific offense, holding the Cardinal to three hits and following up seven shutout innings over Oregon State the week before with a 118-pitch complete game.

"He was just on point," UO coach Mark Wasikowski said. "A really spectacular, tough kid, and he's starting to feel like not only does he belong at this level, but he feels like he wants to be something a lot more than that."

Stoffal (5-2) struck out eight and walked just one in the longest outing of his career, and he's now thrown 21 straight innings without allowing an earned run. The Ducks played errorless defense behind him, and homers from Colby Shade, Jacob Walsh and Drew Cowley gave Stoffal ample support.

"I feel confident, I would assume that they feel confident in me, and that goes a long ways," Stoffal said. "If we can feed off each other, keep that momentum rolling every Friday, start off every series like that — obviously it takes more than just me. They've gotta play good defense behind me, that's gonna give me more confidence and obviously if I'm playing with the lead, that's just so much easier to play like that."

How It Happened: The game began as a pitcher's duel between Stoffal and Stanford left-hander Quinn Mathews, who ended up also throwing a 118-pitch complete game. Each faced one over the minimum through three innings, and Stoffal pitched a 1-2-3 top of the fourth.

Earlier in the day, Shade was running behind and asked Stoffal to pick him up a coffee from Dutch Bros on the way to PK Park. Stoffal agreed, if Shade would in turn get him a run in Friday's game — hopefully the only one Stoffal would need. That conversation from Friday morning popped back into Shade's head in the bottom of the fourth, when he led off the inning by lining a home run that hit one of the banners mounted well above PK Park's left-field fence.

"As soon as it left the bat I was like, well, there's the one," Shade said. "He's gonna be good the rest of the way."

Cowley was hit by a pitch after the home run, and three batters later Walsh provided some insurance by lifting a two-run homer to right. After Stoffal stranded two runners in the fifth, he got even more insurance in the sixth when Cowley added another home run.

Until the ninth, only one runner had reached scoring position off Stoffal. He allowed a leadoff single in the final inning, got two outs and saw the runner advance on indifference. He too was stranded, as Stoffal struck out the final hitter of the game to complete yet another masterpiece on the mound.

Now, the Ducks will look to follow up on Friday's gem better than they did a week ago, when they dropped the final two games of the series with OSU.

"We just need to keep our foot on the gas," Walsh said. "Play every inning like we're in a tie game or down. Doesn't matter what the score is. Just keep our foot on the gas and keep moving ahead."

Notable: Stanford entered the week first in the Pac-12 with 262 runs and a .934 team OPS, but was shut out for just the second time this season. … Stoffal's complete-game shutout was Oregon's first since David Peterson's 20-strikeout performance to beat Arizona State on April 28, 2017. … Oregon's last complete game was by Isaac Ayon on May 20, 2022. … Tanner Smith doubled in the sixth to set the UO career record with 59. … Walsh's homer was his team-leading ninth this season, and the 15th of his career. … Shade and Cowley each hit the ninth home run of his career. … Gavin Grant had his ninth multi-hit game of the year, and the 35th of his career.

Grant Marder

Quotable:
UO coach Mark Wasikowski on Stoffal's recent success
"He's taken (his preparation) to a totally different level. And so it doesn't surprise me that he's having the success that he's having. But I think a lot of that has to do with the preparation that he's putting into it now. You know, it wasn't like he was bad preparing before, but he still has taken it to a different level which is really good to see. As soon as he started doing that, he's seeing the results, and that's what you want for these guys. "

Junior pitcher Jace Stoffal on keys to his streak of quality starts
"Over the last few weeks in bullpens, I just been really throwing all four of my pitches in bullpens for strikes. Putting both dummy batters in, just trying not to miss. When I miss it's, you know, I want it to be white-to-white instead of like, yanking a slider. I've just been really practicing how to command all four of my pitches for strikes, and to not basically just waste a pitch, you know. I want every pitch to be competitive."

Up Next: Game two between the Ducks and Cardinal is Saturday at 2 p.m.