Nico Hoerner’s Stanford education certainly paid off Sunday, as the Cubs second baseman made a heads-up play in the third inning against the White Sox..

With the Cubs leading 2-1 and runners on first and second base, White Sox shortstop Chase Meidroth hit a pop-up on the right side of the infield.

The umpires called the infield fly rule, meaning the batter was out whether or not the ball was caught. Hoerner used this fact to his advantage, letting the pop-up drop onto the ground. White Sox second baseman Lenyn Sosa took off from second when the ball hit the turf, allowing Hoerner to quickly pick it up and throw to third baseman Matt Shaw, who applied the tag for the double play.

Cubs rookie right-hander Cade Horton joined the Marquee Sports Network broadcast in the sixth inning, and said he loved what he saw from Hoerner.

“That was a really impressive play by Nico,” Horton said. “That was elite baseball knowledge right there.”

Ben Brown, who was on the mound for the double play, was fired up in the dugout, as it helped him escape the jam and end the inning.

“I’m super grateful to have Nico as a teammate,” Brown told the media postgame. “The baseball IQ out of him is. … I mean, it’s Nico. It’s just the way he is; it’s through his veins and through his blood, it’s just baseball. No surprise what he did there. Kudos to my teammates for some awesome play out there.”

Hoerner also contributed offensively, singling home Carson Kelly in the sixth inning. He later scored all the way from first on a Matt Shaw double to extend the Cubs’ lead to 4-1 en route to the Cubs’ 5-4 victory over the White Sox in the Crosstown Classic.

“Always running through plays in your head, things that might happen, things that really only happen once a season or less,” Hoerner told the media after the game. “It’s fun what that stuff lines up. We have a group that likes talking the game, so it’s really satisfying to get extra outs like that.”

Hoerner’s play also impressed Cubs manager Craig Counsell.

“The infield fly was a great play,” Counsell told reporters postgame. “That was a huge play to get Ben [Brown] out of the only jam he was in.”

Hoerner also was involved in the game-winning run, starting a rundown that eventually led to Ian Happ being awarded home on obstruction.

Hoerner finished the day 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored and one fine defensive play that Cubs fans will remember long after Sunday.