Stanford players ready to fight back from brink of elimination again

Stanford has their backs against the wall in Omaha, with the Tennessee Volunteers looming large on Monday.

However, the Cardinal have been in this position before and thrived, and that’s exactly what pitcher Joey Dixon believes could work to their advantage tomorrow afternoon.

“I think it’s just us playing together collectively, knowing we have guys to do it,” explained Dixon. “It’s the same game, whether it’s an elimination game or not, you should still try to have fun no matter what.

“We have a guy tomorrow, Quinn Mathews tomorrow. I like our chances.”

Additionally, first basemen Carter Graham is of the belief that he and his teammates can get the job done against the Volunteers, and keep moving forward at the Men’s College World Series.

“Like Joey said, we have a really balanced team,” added Graham. “We really believe in each other. And like Esqy said, they got the big hit tonight, but we’ve got guys all up and down the lineup that have been getting that hit all year, so we believe in it.”

“… I think that — Esqy says it the best, we just try to stay as long as we can. I think if we can fight together and scratch a couple of elimination wins and hang here long enough, I think we can get our rhythm and get hot and really surprise a lot of people.”

Of course, Dixon is of the same thought-process, and isn’t panicking as Stanford stares elimination in the face.

“I think he said it best. Just sticking to the course. Just playing the same game,” Dixon agreed.

Time will tell if the Stanford duo’s confidence is rewarded or not, but a fascinating game is on the horizon between the Cardinal and Tennessee.

More on the Men’s College World Series ahead of Day 3

Continuing, the first two days of College World Series action are now behind us, meaning the pressure is heating up in Omaha. Four teams find themselves in a win-or-go-home scenario as the next round takes place Sunday and Monday. 

Firstly, TCU and Virginia will face off in an elimination game at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday. The Horned Frogs entered the ninth inning with a 5-2 lead on Oral Roberts on Friday after scoring three runs in the eight to break a 2-2 tie. However, they surrendered four runs to the Golden Eagles after that, including a three-RBI home run to Blaze Brothers, as they went on to lose 6-5. 

Virginia also held a lead against Florida heading into the ninth inning of the late game Friday, as the Cavaliers found themselves up 5-3. However, the Gators caught fire in the final stretch starting with a homer from Ty Evans to lead off the inning. After later scoring the tying run and loading the bases, Florida’s Luke Heyman drove in the winning run on a sacrifice fly. 

The first game of Day 2 on Saturday also featured a late comeback. No. 1 overall seed Wake Forest had dominated Regional and Super Regional play, but found itself trailing 2-1 coming out of a nearly 1-and-a-half hour rain delay in the seventh inning. However, the Demon Deacons took the lead for good after a two-RBI single from Danny Corona and moved on to the winner’s bracket with a 3-2 victory.

LSU defeated Tennessee 6-3 in the second game Saturday and will move on to face Wake Forest on Monday. The Vols made a late comeback push by scoring three runs in the eighth inning, including a two-run homer from Hunter Ensley. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome a 5-0 deficit as LSU responded with a homer of its own in the bottom of the inning. Tennessee now must stave off elimination Monday against Stanford.

After the elimination matchup between TCU and Virginia, ORU and Florida will play at 7 p.m. ET Sunday. You can view the full schedule here.

On3’s Chandler Vessels contributed to this article.