Stanford advances to College World Series after Drew Bowser walk-off single, botch from Texas
Drew Bowser walked it off at the Sunken Diamond after a pop-up single got lost in the lights, falling in for a game-winning RBI single because no member of the Texas outfield could find it.
The hit gave Stanford a 7-6 victory over Texas and advances to the College World Series for the third-straight year.
Elation for Stanford and heartbreak for Texas. Watch the shocking moment below:
Bowser, the second baseman, finished the game going 2-for-4 at the plate on Monday, knocking in three pivotal runs, including a two-run home run in the second inning. In the two games prior, Bowser was a combined 2-for-9 at the plate and was struck out three different times. Despite this, he played the role of the hero to perfection in Game 3.
Now, the Cardinal advances to the CWS to take on No. 1 overall seed Wake Forest in the first round of the bracket. The first pitch is scheduled for Saturday, June 17 at 2 p.m. ET live on ESPN.
Quinn Mathews recaps 156-pitch performance, ‘It wasn’t out of the ordinary’
There would be no Stanford College World Series berth without the work Quinn Mathews did on the mound on Sunday. He threw 156 pitches in a complete game on the mound, tying the series ahead of Monday’s Game 3 rubber match.
Defeating Texas 8-3, Stanford has Mathews to thank for keeping their season alive for at least one more day. He finished the game giving up three earned runs on eight hits and one walk. He struck out a whopping 16 batters during the matchup — good for the first 15+ strikeout game by a pitcher in an NCAA Super Regional since 2019.
“It’s a pretty special moment having my last Stanford start at the Sunken Diamond be a complete game in the Super Regional,” Mathews said during the ESPN broadcast of the Super Regional’s Game 3. “It’ll probably hit me a little more tomorrow once all this adrenaline and the weekend as a whole, win or loss, is over with it’ll definitely hit me more [on Tuesday].”
The high pitch count isn’t abnormal for Mathews this season, either. In fact, he said he wasn’t sure what his pitch count was during the outing. Mathews said the performance “wasn’t anything out of the ordinary” for him physically — he was just ready to step up in the biggest moment of his career so far.