Stanford thriving in baseball and in women’s golf
Fourth-ranked Stanford won its final nine conference games en route to earning the Pac-12 regular-season baseball title, and the Cardinal reaped several individual Pac-12 awards Tuesday.
In voting by the conference coaches, senior right-hander Alex Williams was named the Pitcher of the Year, outfielderpitcher Braden Montgomery was named Freshman of the Year, shortstop Adam Crampton the Defensive Player of the Year and David Esquer the Coach of the Year.
It’s the third Coach of the Year award for Esquer, who won it with Cal in 2001 and with Stanford in 2018.
Riding a 12-game overall winning streak, Stanford (37-14, 21-9) is in Scottsdale, Ariz., preparing for its first game in the inaugural Pac-12 tournament, against Arizona State on Wednesday afternoon.
Esquer announced the conference awards to his team after Tuesday’s practice.
“It was just kind of a surreal moment,” Montgomery said in a Zoom call, adding he’s “super excited, super grateful.”
Montgomery hit .296 with 15 homers while batting in the cleanup spot for much of the season.
“He’s had big hit after big hit,” Esquer said. “He’s got that slow heartbeat. He doesn’t feel pressure. He doesn’t show it. He’s held up to it all season long.”
On the mound, Montgomery has a 5.29 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 17 innings. Those numbers pale in comparison with what Williams has done: 8-1, 1.67 ERA in 861⁄3 innings.
Stanford’s Brendan Beck was the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year last season.
Esquer said Williams “knew that the baton was passed to him to pitch on Friday night. He’s turned that into a Pitcher of the Year-type year. It’s pretty special.”
Though Montgomery earned the Freshman of the Year award, he did not make the 35-man All-Pac-12 team.
Other Stanford players who did were infielder Brett Barrera (conference-leading .372 average), first baseman Carter Graham (.344, conferenceleading 19 homers), outfielder Brock Jones (.330, 16 HRs) and catcher Kody Huff (.310).
Cal (28-25, 14-16), which is riding a six-game winning streak and faces UCLA on Wednesday night, had three representatives on the All-Pac-12 team: outfielder Dylan Beavers (.292, 16 HRs), first baseman Nathan Martorella (.344, 11 HRs) and designated hitter Caleb Lomavita (.273, 15 stolen bases).
Women's golf: Top-seeded Stanford will face second-seeded Oregon for the national title Wednesday after each team won in the quarterfinals and semifinals at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale on Tuesday.
Brooke Seay’s 4-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole gave her a 1-up win over Auburn’s Kaleigh Telfer and clinched the Cardinal’s
3-2 win over Auburn in the semis.
Seay and Aline Krauter were the two Stanford players to win both of their matches Tuesday. Stanford outlasted Georgia 3-2 in the quarters.
The Ducks knocked off Texas A&M 4-1 in the semifinals after beating San Jose State 4-1 in the quarterfinals. Natasha Andrea Oon provided the Spartans their lone match win.