David Esquer reveals pitching plan for Stanford in College World Series

David Esquer and the Stanford Cardinal are ready to stake their flag in the ground in Omaha at the Men’s College World Series.

Stanford is preparing to face off against Wake Forest, the game kicking off Day 2’s action at 2:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. Ahead of the showdown, Esquer was asked who his starter is going to be for the game, and revealed he has to check on the status of star pitcher Quinn Mathews first.

“Good question. I don’t know that we’ve come to that decision quite yet,” explained Esquer. “You know, we’re still monitoring Quinn to see physically how he comes off of that. He wants to pitch, and he is pushing, but again, we’re looking into his well-being too.

“I would be surprised if he didn’t, but we are leaving that open based on we’re going to make sure that he is physically at his best.”

Additionally, Esquer noted that if Mathews can’t go, it’ll likely be Joey Dixon who gets the ball for the Cardinal.

Either way, it’ll be a tough task for Stanford on Saturday, as Wake Forest comes into Omaha as the top team in the country. Regardless, anything can happen on that diamond, and Esquer will have his team roaring and ready to roll.

More on Day 2 at College World Series

Meanwhile, the first day of the 2023 College World Series is in the books, and Day 2 action in Omaha will begin play in the opposite side of the bracket. The full TV schedule is known at this point, so we break down for you all of the opening action on Friday and what you can look forward to on Saturday.

The first game of the 2023 College World Series featured Oral Roberts and TCU, and it certainly did not disappoint.

The game was at a 2-2 deadlock entering the bottom of the eight inning when the action hit overdrive. Oral Roberts lost control on the mound with the bases loaded, walking in a run and then hitting a batter to plate another run. A sacrifice fly made it 5-2 TCU, a seemingly safe lead with only three outs to go.

If only.

Oral Roberts answered by scoring four runs in the top of the ninth to take the lead, highlighted by a three-run homer by Blaze Brothers that made the score 6-5 and ultimately gave the Golden Eagles the win.

The second game also had some highly compelling action. And Virginia must have felt similar to TCU, going into the ninth inning with a 5-3 lead.

Then the Florida bats showed up.

Right fielder Ty Evans started the action for the Gators with a home run to left field to lead off the inning, then outfielder Wyatt Langford tied things up with a bomb to left field, knotting the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Virginia seemed to get shell-shocked after that, loading the bases with one out for designated hitter Luke Heyman. Heyman lifted a fly ball to center field, plating the winning run with a sacrifice fly, a 6-5 walk-off win for the Gators.

Here’s to hoping Day 2’s action at the College World Series is just as compelling.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this article.