ESPN News Services Jun 13, 2023 12:50am ET5 minutes read
Blinded by the lights: Stanford takes a shot after the Longhorns lose the ball
Texas’ Dylan Campbell loses the ball in light, allowing Stanford to score the winner and secure a berth in the Men’s College World Series.
STANFORD, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal redeemed their ticket to the Men’s College World Series Monday night, earning a memorable 7-6 win over Texas in a game that ended oddly.
With two outs at the end of the ninth field, Texas outfielders Dylan Campbell and Eric Kennedy lost Drew Bowser’s high flight in the evening sky. The ball fell about 15 feet short of Campbell, allowing Alberto Rios to score from second base, earning the Cardinals’ third consecutive bid for the championship tournament in Omaha, Nebraska.
Rios was nearly knocked out in second place for the third time in the ninth game after his long flight to the left ricocheted off the wall just moments before the game-winning goal.
A jubilant Stanford team then vaulted over the dugout railing to celebrate with their teammates, a congregation that eventually settled in the outfield while the stunned Longhorns stood and sat in silence.
“Before you ask me a question, I’ll ask you a question,” Stanford coach David Esquer said after the win. “Have you ever seen such an ending? Because I didn’t see it.”
Stanford (44-18) will take on top seeded Wake Forest on Saturday. Texas (42-22), on the other hand, finished the season just short of his third straight MCWS appearance.
Tennessee and Southern Mississippi played for the final MCWS spot later Monday in a game that started four hours late due to rain and lightning before the Volunteers recorded a 5-0 win.
This year’s field has the usual mix of regulars among the eight teams, but it’s a few relative newcomers who could provide the biggest story at the annual two-week bash at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
The Demon Deacons have been the dominant team in the country since February and the first No. 1 national seed to reach the MCWS since 2018. Wake Forest hasn’t come this far since his team won the national championship in 1955.
Oral Roberts is the least seeded player to make it to Omaha since Stony Brook in 2012 and is in the field for the first time since his only other appearance in 1978.
Notable names include LSU for their 19th time, Stanford for their 18th time and Florida for their 13th time. TCU will have its sixth appearance since 2010 and Virginia its sixth since 2009.
The MCWS bracket game begins Friday with TCU (42-22) versus Oral Roberts (51-12) and No. 2 Florida (50-15) versus No. 7 Virginia (50-13). Also lined up for Saturday is Wake Forest-Stanford for No. 5 LSU (48-15) versus Tennessee (43-20) in a clash of SEC rivals.
Wake Forest has not shown any obvious weaknesses this season and is tied for sixth-most wins at an MCWS first held in 1947.
The Deacons pitching team leads the nation with a 2.84 season ERA and has 79 strikeouts in the tournament. Ace Rhett Lowder leads the nation with a 15-0 win record.
The Deacons have averaged 15 runs, hit 19 homers and batted .359 in their five NCAA tournament games. Their outstanding offensive came into its own on Sunday in the nationwide decisive 22:5 victory against Alabama. They set the tournament record with nine home runs, three of them by prospective first-round draft pick Brock Wilken.
“I think that dog poo was surreal,” he said. “Not many people can do that, and the opportunity to do it with my best friends meant a lot to me. The job isn’t done yet, but we’ve taken a big step along the way.”
Oral Roberts comes from the Summit League, one of the weakest conferences, and that’s a big reason for his No. 4 regional ranking. The Golden Eagles are no joke, though. Victories in 23 of their last 24 games, including a three-game regional win and a national win in Oregon, are a testament to that.
Ryan Folmar’s Eagles are largely a collection of transfers from junior colleges and other Division I schools. Senior first baseman Jake McMurray is the only everyday player to have spent his entire career at ORU.
The star is midfielder Jonah Cox, who enters the MCWS with a 47-game hitting streak, the third-longest in Division I history. He scored in 62 of 63 games. Closer Cade Denton is tied for the national lead with 15 saves.
LSU announces the top two candidates for next month’s amateur draft. Center fielder Dylan Crews, the likely No. 1, bats .434 for the season, leading all MCWS players. Pitcher Paul Skenes has 188 strikeouts, the most since 2011, threatening the SEC-record 202 set by LSU grad Ben McDonald in 1989.
Florida left fielder Wyatt Langford is expected to be drafted right behind Crews and Skenes and hits .373 with 17 home runs and 24 doubles, and two-way sensation Jac Caglianone leads the nation with 31 home runs and has held third in the rotation.
Catcher Kyle Teel and third baseman Jake Gelof are returning starters on the Virginia 2021 MCWS team, leading an offense with a national-leading .335 shot. Teel’s .418 average is the best in the ACC, and Gelof has 23 homers and a conference high of 89 RBIs.
TCU goes into Omaha on an 11-game winning streak, the longest in the country, winning 19 of 21. The Horned Frogs are averaging 10.8 runs per game in the tournament. Second baseman Tre Richardson, never known for his strength, has hit four homers since the Regionals. He had two grand slams and a third home run and a tournament record 11 RBIs against Arkansas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.