Wake Forest's Danny Corona breaks down 2-run, go-ahead single after beating Stanford at the College World Series

It had been a pretty brutal day for a Wake Forest offense that otherwise has become known for pouring it on opponents. But through more than seven innings and a rain delay, Stanford had kept the Demon Deacons mostly at bay.

But holding a one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, the pressure was on the Cardinal. A pair of runners were on base and Wake Forest designated hitter Danny Corona stepped in the box. With a clutch single up the middle, he put his team ahead, 3-2 — which ended up being the final score.

Right before his eventual game winner, Corona took a pause and spoke with third base coach Bill Cilento.

“He told me to take a deep breath. I was a little jumpy on the first swing. Just let it come to me, look for something to drive. And it played out in my favor,” Corona said on the ESPN broadcast after the game.

In general, Corona said that being more patient has been his goal this year. He wants to take fewer of the swings he would describe as “jumpy.”

“It’s paid off tremendously. I would chase earlier in the year. And just staying disciplined to my zone, knowing the pitches I could drive, that’s helped me out throughout this stretch,” Corona said.

Corona has been white hot since the NCAA tournament started. In four games prior to Saturday, he had eight hits and 17 RBI. He’s up to nine hits and 19 RBI after his performance on Saturday.

And his clutch hitting on Saturday came after Wake Forest and Stanford were subjected to a lengthy weather delay.

Corona and his teammates were able to stay loose with a variety of distractions, from the obvious to the definitively off beat.

“We wanted to stay loose,” Corona said. “We bumped some music, had some fun in the locker room. Played some hacky sack, card games, dancing, just getting ready to come back and do what we do best.”

Wake Forest can keep even loose now, because with Corona’s hit and a 3-2 win, the Demon Deacons are into the winners bracket in Omaha and have some more margin for error.

That’s what Corona plans to do, and he’s confident he’ll be calm and zoned in to keep delivering for Wake Forest.

“Just stay calm, look for pitches to drive and don’t let the moment get too big for me.”