Stanford punches ticket to College World Series with 10-5 win over UConn
Stanford is going back to the College World Series.
With a 10-5 win over UConn Monday in Game 3 of the Stanford Super Regional, the Cardinal officially punched its ticket to Omaha for a second straight College World Series appearance and the 18th in program history. With Tennessee falling to Notre Dame, the Pac-12 will have the highest-seeded team left in the field.
𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧 𝗣𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗 🎟️#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/bnbROiESS3
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) June 13, 2022
Stanford did it with a blistering six-run fourth to take control of the game and surge past the Huskies. Fortunate, because the start to the winner-take-all Game 3 was shaky.
The Huskies jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first with a single, single, hit-by-pitch, and a bases-clearing double all before the first out went on the board. Joey Dixon drew the start, but Drew Dowd came on to escape further damage. He pushed UConn into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded to keep the deficit at three.
Stanford immediately responded in the bottom of the first with a pair of runs to cut the deficit to one. Brock Jones scored on a sac fly and Braden Montgomery scored from a two-out Kody Huff double.
Over the next three frames, UConn recorded just two hits as Dowd settled in on the mound. In the bottom of the fourth, the offense opened up.
Tommy Troy and Eddie Park began the frame with singles, and after an error advanced them each a base, Adam Crampton brought them home with a two-RBI single to give the Cardinal a 4-3 lead. A two-out single from Brett Barrera and a walk from Montgomery loaded the bases for Huff.
Then he unloaded his 13th homer of the season, a grand slam that put Stanford up 8-3.
B4 | 🌲 8, 🐺 3
BOOOOOOOOOOM!@Kodyhuff2 unloads for a GRAND SLAM to extend the lead!
13th homer of the year for Huff.#GoStanford
— Stanford Baseball (@StanfordBSB) June 13, 2022
Stanford added single runs in the fifth and seventh, insurance that proved unnecessary as the Cardinal pitching staff settled in and held the Huskies to just two runs over the final eight frames.
For the second straight game, Quinn Mathews recorded a nine-out save—his ninth of the year. Ryan Bruno bridged the three-inning gap between Dowd and Mathews. The trio of Stanford left-handed pitchers who recorded all 27 outs on Monday allowed just eight hits and two runs while fanning eight. Bruno (6-1) earned the win.
The Cardinal will begin its stay at the CWS on Saturday, June 18, at 11 a.m. PT on ESPN against Arkansas.