Stanford got a fortunate walk-off win and Tennessee rolled to a shutout on Monday as the Cardinal and Volunteers claimed the final two berths in the Men’s College World Series.
Stanford emerged with a 7-6 win over visiting Texas to take their best-of-three Super Regional two games to one.
Tennessee downed Southern Mississippi 5-0 in Hattiesburg, Miss., to wrap up a 2-1 Super Regional triumph and book a trip to the MCWS, which starts Friday in Omaha, Neb.
The Longhorns (42-22) erased a 6-3 deficit with a three-run, eighth-inning rally.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinal (44-18) put together a two-out rally. Alberto Rios doubled and Malcolm Moore walked. Drew Bowser then hit a routine pop fly to center, but the Texas players appeared to lose the ball in the lights, and Rios raced home with the winning run.
Bowser also hit a two-run homer in the second inning, and teammate Braden Montgomery went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
For Tennessee (43-20), Drew Beam threw six-plus scoreless innings, striking out seven. He gave up seven hits and one walk. Aaron Combs got one out in the seventh, and Chase Burns recorded the final eight outs to seal the win.
The Volunteers’ Zane Denton hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning, and Maui Ahuna added a solo shot in the seventh against the Golden Eagles (46-20).
Stanford will open MCWS play on Saturday against Wake Forest on Saturday, the same day Tennessee will face off with LSU. Both games are in Bracket 2.
The opening Bracket 1 matchups are scheduled for Friday, with TCU opposing Oral Roberts and Florida facing off with Virginia.
–Field Level Media