On Saturday, No. 8 Stanford baseball fell to No. 1 Wake Forest in their opening game of the Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. 3-2 was the final score as the Demon Deacons found a way to pull ahead with two runs in the bottom of the 8th inning. Wake Forest junior right-handed pitcher Seth Keener (8-1) was the winning pitcher for the Demon Deacons in a relief role while junior right handed pitcher Camden Minacci (13) was awarded the save. Stanford junior left-handed pitcher Ryan Bruno (2-2) was awarded the loss in a relief role.
BOX SCORE: Stanford vs. Wake Forest-Saturday, June 17th
VIDEO: Postgame Press Conference
“Well, kind of in line with the first two ball games, it was a ball game with a thrilling finish,” Stanford head coach David Esquer said after the game. “It didn’t go our way this time, but I thought it was a great ball game against two really good clubs. The level of game was really high and I told our team at the end, if we break it down to the smallest level, they got two guys on, they got a bunt down, and a base hit. So they executed in order to win that ball game. And so you gotta give them credit for doing that.
“We had plenty of opportunities throughout the day with runners in scoring position. Could have gotten that same hit. Widened gapper or extended a lead and we weren’t able to do that a lot because of the good pitching they provided.
“Joey [Dixon] did an outstanding job getting us started. Got us started for the first four. Handed off to Drew Dowd and I guess they played a way better two or two and one third innings than we did there at the end after the break and so my hat’s off to Wake Forest. To beat the number one team in the country you’re gonna have to play a pretty flawless game and we kicked a couple opportunities early in the game. But we’ll come back, we’ll learn from that, and be ready to go next game.”
Stanford got off to a strong start in the top of the 1st inning, getting the bases loaded with one out as Eddie Park and Tommy Troy singled to left field while Braden Montgomery was walked. After Alberto Rios struck out looking, Malcolm Moore got hit by a pitch, bringing home Park. Drew Bowser then popped up to 2nd base to end the top of the inning. While Stanford did score a run, Wake Forest and their starting pitcher Rhett Lowder had to feel good to keep Stanford to one run after the way things started.
In the bottom of the 1st inning, Joey Dixon made quick work of the Demon Deacon lineup by getting three straight outs. There were some questions of as to who would start between Dixon and Quinn Mathews, but in the end, Dixon got the nod.
“I think it was just mixing early,” Dixon said of the key to his performance. “I think they were looking fastball early. Throwing a lot of changeups, a lot of curveballs, and just keeping them off balance. Throwing anything in any count really helped.”
In the top of the 2nd inning, Lowder dialed in for Wake Forest, getting three straight batters out. After a shaky first inning, he appeared to have settled in. In the bottom of the inning, Wake Forest tied things up as Brock Wilken went yard to left field. Wake Forest did not score any more runs the rest of the inning, keeping it a 1-1 game at the end of the inning.
In the top of the 3rd inning, Stanford got back on top as Troy hit a single to left field and advanced to second base on a balk with Carter Graham at the plate. Graham then singled to right center, bringing Troy home. Stanford would not score any more runs the rest of the inning, making it a 2-1 lead entering the bottom of the inning.
In the bottom of the 3rd, Wake Forest had runners on first and second base with two outs, but Nick Kurtz grounded out to end the inning. It remained a 2-1 lead for Stanford.
In the 4th inning, neither team scored nor was there any pitching change. In the bottom of the inning, Wake Forest had the bases loaded with two outs, but Marek Houston had a problem getting on base as he grounded out to Dixon to end the inning.
“Yeah, you know, with that lineup, there’s very little margin for error,” Esquer said when asked about Dixon’s performance. “Like, you’ve gotta be able to tunnel your pitches and you’ve got a small, narrow window that you’ve gotta put the baseball. Otherwise they can hurt you. And he missed out over the plate to I believe it was Wilkin and he made him pay for that. But that was just trying to go from the middle away into a little bit middle end. So, I thought Joey did a really good job of spotting up. Not only his fastball, but his breaking pitches as well.
“Because again, you’ve got a small window that you miss out over the plate, they’re a great offense and their numbers prove that and he did a great job just with pitch mix keeping them off balance. His off-speed stuff was really good today. I thought Drew came in and did a nice job as well. And we held the lead going in with an out in the eighth and Corona with the big hit, but they got a bunt down, too. So, give them credit for executing and winning that ball game.”
In the top of the 5th, Stanford had a chance to score, but failed to do so. With one out, Graham doubled to right center and was advanced to third base while Montgomery was out at first. With two outs, Rios struck out swinging, failing to bring Graham home. In the bottom of the 5th, Drew Dowd came in for Dixon and got three straight batters out, keeping it a 2-1 game at the end of the inning.
In the top of the 6th inning, Stanford once again had a chance to add to their lead, but failed to do so. Moore singled to second base after which Bowser flied out to center field. This ended Lowder’s day on the mound as Sean Sullivan came in to pitch. Saborn Campbell then grounded out to third base, advancing Moore to second base after which Temo Becerra singled to right field to advance Moore to third. With Park at the plate, Becerra got picked off at first base, ending the top of the inning. A blown opportunity for sure.
In the bottom of the 6th, Dowd made quick work of the Demon Deacon batters as he got three straight outs. It remained a 2-1 lead at the end of the inning.
In the top of the 7th inning, Troy got walked with one out after which he got picked off at first base during Graham’s at-bat. Base running continued to be a struggle for the Cardinal. Graham then doubled to left field after which there weas a lightning delay. Play would not resume for approximately 90 minutes.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously we don’t want to point the finger at any delay or any single play,” Graham said when asked about the delay. “We tried to keep our momentum and keep our rhythm, stay loose, we were playing hacky sack in the locker room, just trying to stay together and have a good time. Because that’s what we’re here to do.”
After play resumed, Montgomery got by a pitch as Keener came in to relieve Sullivan. Rios then struck out swinging to end the top of the inning. It was still a 2-1 game.
In the bottom of the 7th, Nick Dugan came in for Dowd and didn’t give up any runs. The bases did get loaded with two outs, but Pierce Bennett grounded out to end the inning. It continued to be a 2-1 game.
In the top of the 8th, nobody got on base for Stanford as Keener struck out three batters in a row: Moore, Bowser, and Campbell.
In the bottom of the 8th, after Kurtz was walked, Bruno came in for Dugan to finish out the game on the mound for Stanford. Bruno walked Wilken after which Justin Johnson laid down a sacrifice bunt advancing both runners for the first out of the inning. Danny Corona then singled up the middle to bring home Kurtz and Wilken. It was now a 3-2 lead for the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest would not score any more runs the rest of the inning, but they at least had a one run lead entering the 9th inning.
In the top of the 9th, Minacci came in to pitch and got the save as only Park got on base thanks to a fielding error at short stop. With one out, Troy grounded into a double play to end the game. 3-2 was the final score as the Demon Deacons survived.
For Wake Forest, this is a big win. Stanford pushed them to the brink and gave them all they could handle. Had Stanford had a couple more hits go their way and not commit some base running errors, they could easily be facing elimination in their next game. They should be feeling very fortunate to have won this game and to their credit, they showed why they are the number one seed in the country.
As for Stanford, there’s two ways they can view this game. On the plus side, they played the number team in the nation extremely tough and had a chance to win all the way until the final out. Losing by one run is nothing to be ashamed of. On the negative side, they made some uncharacteristic mistakes that really hurt them. The base running errors in particular. Had they played a more sound game, they might have put up enough runs to win 4-3. But instead, they dropped game one and now need to regroup in an elimination game.
“Yeah, you know, it hurts no matter what,” Esquer said of the loss. “You come this far and you play with your guys and that’s what I really appreciate about our team. I think when people ask about why we’re so good in elimination games is I think a lot has to do with the culture of our program. They don’t want to give that jersey up. They don’t want it to be the last day they spend with their teammates and so I think they fight harder knowing that that’s a possibility and I think that’s kinda hats off to the brotherhood and the culture that our program has.”
On that note, Stanford’s next game will be on Monday against Tennessee. That will begin at 11:00 AM PT on ESPN. Quinn Mathews is the projected starter on the mound for the Cardinal.
“We got a guy, Quinn Mathews coming tomorrow,” Dixon said. “So I like our chances.”
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