Hot-hitting Stanford sends Arizona packing with CWS win
Jun 21, 2021, 3:05 PM | Updated: 3:08 pm
Starting Arizona pitcher Garrett Irvin leaves the mound after allowing three runs in the third inning against Stanford during a baseball game in the College World Series Monday, June 21, 2021, at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
(AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Brock Jones homered, doubled and drove in five runs to lead one of Stanford’s most productive offensive performances of the season in a 14-5 victory over Arizona in a College World Series elimination game Monday.
The Cardinal got their bats cranked up again after losing 10-4 to North Carolina State in their CWS opener Saturday. They also got payback for the 20-2 beatdown they took from their Pac-12 rival May 8.
Stanford led 10-0 in the fourth inning and, after Arizona cut the lead in half, tacked on four more runs in the seventh to assure itself of extending its first CWS appearance since 2008 at least two more days.
The Cardinal (39-16) entered the NCAA Tournament averaging 6.7 runs per game and have upped their scoring rate to 9.6 over the last eight games, including double-digit runs in four of them. Their batting average has gone from .276 in the regular season to .326 in tournament games.
Arizona (45-18), the No. 5 national seed, lost 7-6 to Vanderbilt in 12 innings Saturday and went two games and out at the CWS for the first time in five appearances since 1985. The loss to Stanford was its most lopsided in 31 CWS games since a 16-3 defeat to Cal State Fullerton in 1979.
Jones’s two-RBI double off Garrett Irvin started Stanford’s seven-run third inning, and his three-run homer to right in the seventh ended the scoring. Tommy Troy also homered for Stanford.
Alex Williams (5-2) was solid over 5.1 innings against an Arizona offense that came to Omaha with one of the most prolific offenses in the nation.
Jones and three of his teammates had three hits apiece and Stanford finished with 20, including five doubles. The Cardinal’s hit total was their highest since they collected 22 against Washington State on April 1.
It was the second straight short outing for Arizona’s Garrett Irvin (6-4), who allowed five runs on seven hits in 2.1 innings. The junior left-hander was tagged for seven runs in 1.1 innings in a June 12 super-regional loss to Mississippi.
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