STANFORD, Calif. — Tim Tawa hit two home runs, Alex Williams allowed one run and three hits with nine strikeouts over seven innings and Stanford beat North Dakota State 9-1 on Friday in the opening game of the double-elimination Stanford Regional.
Tawa was 3 for 4 with four RBIs and three runs and was one of nine Stanford (34-14) players with at least one hit.
Tawa led off the fourth inning with a tie-breaking solo shot and, after Brock Jones reached on an error, Kody Huff hit a two-run homer to left field to make it 4-1. Adam Crampton and Eddie Park hit back-to-back singles before Tawa homered to give the Cardinal an 8-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh.
Jack Simonsen went 2 for 3 and Bennett Hostetler hit a solo home run for North Dakota State (41-18).
Stanford’s Tommy Troy hit a homer to open the scoring in the bottom of the third inning, Tawa scored on a double by Brock Jones in the fifth, and Drew Bowser’s single in the eighth inning scored Nick Brueser.
The Bison are making the second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and their first since 2014.
It was the first-ever meeting between the teams.
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