Stanford Baseball drops home series to Fresno State

Cardinal fall 11-8 in series finale, struggle with pitching and missed opportunities

Published on Mar. 2, 2026

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On Sunday, Stanford baseball fell to Fresno State by a final score of 11-8. Righty Jordan Haver (1-0) was the winning pitcher for the Bulldogs in a relief role while lefty BJ Rodriguez (1) was awarded the save. Stanford righty Parker Warner (0-1) was the losing pitcher for the Cardinal, giving up five earned runs and five hits in 2.0 innings pitched. Fresno State improves to 6-4 overall while Stanford falls to 5-6. This is the first time Fresno State has won a series against Stanford since 1999.

Why it matters

This was a disappointing loss for Stanford, who were expected to win the series against Fresno State. The Cardinal struggled with their pitching, giving up 11 runs, and missed several opportunities to score runs. This early-season series loss is a wake-up call for Stanford as they look to get back on track.

The details

Stanford trailed the whole way in this one, falling behind 3-2 after the 1st inning. Fresno State then scored in the 2nd and 3rd innings to lead 5-2. In the top of the 6th, the Bulldogs scored six runs without hitting a home run, highlighted by a two-run triple from Brady Hewitt. Down 11-2, Stanford mounted a late comeback, but ultimately fell short, losing 11-8.

  • On Sunday, March 1, 2026, Stanford baseball fell to Fresno State 11-8.

The players

Jordan Haver

The winning pitcher for Fresno State in a relief role.

BJ Rodriguez

The Fresno State pitcher who was awarded the save.

Parker Warner

The losing pitcher for Stanford, giving up five earned runs and five hits in 2.0 innings pitched.

David Esquer

The head coach of the Stanford baseball team.

Brady Hewitt

The Fresno State player who hit a two-run triple in the 6th inning.

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What they’re saying

“Yeah, disappointing to be honest. I thought, disappointing loss. Just didn't come out and pitch well. We just gave them too much and then you know, we obviously didn't take advantage of some, you can call, I call them kind of free at bats where you can make an out and we can score a run, right? And that happened at least three times, during a double play. With the bases loaded in the first, popped up here. The bases loaded and then Jimmy Nati popped up to first base with a runner at third base in less than two outs and then not getting a two out hit behind it, either. So you know, there's probably six at bats there where we could have, we could have done something and score some runs and we just didn't do it.”

— David Esquer, Stanford Head Coach (on3.com)

“Oh, shoot. Like, just can't give them free bases, right? You just can't keep walking them. Hit batters and then, you know, compounding that with some missed opportunities on defense, right? You almost feel like you got to play perfect and so yeah. And then our offense needs to click, obviously better than it has. And I don't think it's clicking necessarily. So we gotta be better there.”

— David Esquer, Stanford Head Coach (on3.com)

“Obviously great expectations. But you know, he's supposed to be that player. You know, he wants to be that player. So, we want to make sure he can grow into that and come up big in those opportunities as they keep coming up.”

— David Esquer, Stanford Head Coach (on3.com)

What’s next

Stanford will look to bounce back with a home game against Nevada on Monday, March 2nd at 1:05 PM PT.

The takeaway

This series loss is an early-season wake-up call for Stanford, who struggled with their pitching and missed key opportunities to score runs. The Cardinal will need to regroup and play better at home if they want to compete for a conference title this season.