Stanford prevails, then honors coach
Mark Marquess’ final regular-season home game as head coach at Stanford lasted a little longer than expected, as if Sunken Diamond was reluctant to let him go.
Jesse Kuet’s RBI single through the right side scored Christian Molfetta, giving the Cardinal a 6-5 win over Washington in 10 innings to complete a three-game sweep.
Daniel Bakst had three doubles and three RBIs for Stanford (37-14, 18-9 Pac-12), which overcame an early 5-0 deficit. Tyler Thorne pitched the final five innings for the win. Washington fell to 26-25, 12-15.
Marquess is retiring after the season, his 41st as Stanford’s head coach. To honor him, the school announced Sunday that it will retire his No. 9.
The Cardinal finish the regular season with a three-game series beginning Thursday at Washington State.
Stanford could host an NCAA regional the weekend of June 2.
Kevin Milam homered and drove in four runs and Brett Rasso had three RBIs as host St. Mary’s beat Santa Clara 14-3.
The Gaels (36-18, 17-9 WCC), who swept the three-game series against the Broncos (13-39, 9-17), advance to the four-team WCC tournament that begins Thursday in Stockton.
Manny Ramirez Jr. homered to help host USF (29-28, 11-16 WCC) close its season with a 7-5 victory over Pacific (18-34, 6-21).
Golf: Freshmen Andrea Lee (71) and Albane Valenzuela (73) led the way as Stanford stayed within striking distance at the NCAA women’s championships in Sugar Grove, Ill.
The Cardinal will enter Monday’s final round in third place, two strokes behind Kent State and 10 behind leader Northwestern. Lee (4-over) moved into a tie for sixth in the individual competition, with Valenzuela (6-over) tied for 10th.
Cal is tied for 14th in the team standings. The Bears’ Marthe Wold shot 76 on Sunday and is tied for 23rd.
Tennis: The defending national champion Stanford women, the seventh seed, beat No. 2 seed North Carolina 4-2 in an NCAA quarterfinals match at Athens, Ga.
Melissa Lord, Taylor Davidson and Emily Arbuthnott won singles matches for the Cardinal, who will face Ohio State on Monday in the semifinals.
Vanderbilt and Florida play in the other semifinal.
Softball: After winning its suspended third game in the Auburn Regional, Cal’s season ended with an 8-2 loss to No. 8 Auburn later Sunday afternoon.
The Bears (32-24) completed a rain-delayed 5-3 victory over Notre Dame in the morning after the game was suspended Saturday night with Cal leading 4-3 in the fifth inning. Kobie Pettis homered in the seventh for an insurance run.
That meant the Bears, who lost to Auburn 4-3 on Saturday, had to beat Auburn twice Sunday to advance. Instead, the Tigers (49-10) pounded out 16 hits, scoring seven runs in the first two innings, to advance to the super regionals.