For the third time in four NCAA Tournaments, Arkansas will end the 2022 season in Omaha. Standing between it and the College World Series finals are three teams — Stanford, Ole Miss and Auburn.
Before the Razorbacks’ side of the bracket gets underway Saturday, HawgBeat is taking a closer look at all three potential opponents. Next up is the first team they’ll play, Stanford…
Record: 47-16 (21-9 Pac-12)
Coming off a trip to the College World Series, expectations for Stanford were once again high entering the 2022 season. The Cardinal were ranked No. 4 in the Rivals Preseason Composite Poll and quickly rose to No. 2.
However, it wasn’t smooth sailing. Stanford actually started conference play 1-5 with a series loss to Oregon and a sweep at Arizona, which led to it completely falling out of the Composite Poll top 25. It was just a one-week absence, though, because the Cardinal bounced back with road series wins at Oregon State and UCLA before a surprising series loss at Washington.
That proved to be the turning point of Stanford’s season, as it rattled off 17 straight wins. Included in that stretch was a Pac-12 Tournament title, helping it earn the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The winning streak was snapped by Texas State in the winner’s bracket game of the Palo Alto Regional. That forced Stanford to fight back through the loser’s bracket, which they did in dramatic fashion. Facing the Bobcats again, it was tied 1-1 through eight innings. Texas State scored two in the top of the ninth, but the Cardinal answered with back-to-back home runs to start the bottom of the ninth before winning on a walk-off single.
In the Palo Alto Super Regional, Stanford nearly pulled off an incredible comeback, scoring six runs in the bottom of the ninth, but came up just short in a 13-12 loss to UConn. It won the next two games to punch its ticket to Omaha.
Head Coach: David Esquer (5th season)
A player on Stanford’s 1987 national championship team, Esquer returned to his alma mater to replace legendary coach Mark Marquess, who retired following the 2017 season.
Not only was it a homecoming, but it almost meant the Cardinal were hiring away a successful coach from their arch rival. Prior to taking the Stanford job, Esquer was the head coach at Cal for 18 seasons. During that time, he was named the 2011 National Coach of the Year and led the Bears to the 2011 College World Series.
With the Cardinal, Esquer has compiled an impressive 182-70 overall record (.722) and he’s now won 707 total games as a college head coach.
College World Series History
Only six teams have reached the College World Series more often than Stanford, which is making its 18th appearance in 2022. The Cardinal are also one of 15 programs with multiple national titles in their history, winning it all in 1987 and 1988.
Five of Stanford’s trips to Omaha came in consecutive years starting in 1999 and ending in 2003. In three of those years, the Cardinal finished runner-up. They made it back in 2008, but then it was a 13-year drought until making it again in 2021.
Last year, Stanford was the No. 9 overall seed and would have been Arkansas’ first matchup in the College World Series, but instead lost to North Carolina State. It staved off elimination with a win over Arizona before losing to Vanderbilt to finish 1-2.
Projected Starters
Potential Starting Pitchers
The one constant in Stanford’s rotation this season has been Williams, who turned in a sensational season as the Cardinal’s ace and was named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year.
The right-hander on an incredibly high note, following up two straight outings of 8-plus innings with a complete game against USC in which he gave up just one run. Over those three starts, Williams allowed only one earned run on 11 hits and two walks in 25 1/3 innings. That lowered his season ERA to a minuscule 1.67.
However, the postseason has not been too kind to him. Beginning with his start in the Pac-12 Tournament, Williams has failed to get through five innings in each of his last three starts. During that stretch, he’s allowed 15 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings — nearly matching the 16 earned runs he gave up in his first 86 1/3 innings.
While not an overpowering pitcher, with his velocity sitting in the 91-92 mph range, Williams has good off speed stuff and thrives on his ability to throw strikes. Prior to his last three starts, when Arizona, Texas State and UConn went 20 for 53 (.377) against him, he was holding opponents to a .192 batting average.
Behind Williams, though, it’s been a big question mark. The three other guys who’ve started games in the NCAA Tournament each have an ERA near or over 4.00.
Bullpen Arms
No player worries Arkansas fans as much as Mathews, who checks in at No. 187 on MLB Pipeline’s prospect list for the 2022 MLB Draft. Armed with a four-pitch mix that ranges from an 89-91 mph fastball to a 73-75 mph curveball, the southpaw carved the Razorbacks up to the tune of two hits and 10 strikeouts in six shutout innings back in February.
Since then, his role has evolved. After bouncing back and forth between starting and coming out of the bullpen, Mathews is now a full-time reliever. He’s the closer and will not only pitch the ninth inning, but could also come in earlier in high-leverage situations.
One thing worth noting, though, is that he did throw 110 pitches while closing out the final two games of Stanford’s super regional. Going three innings each time, he threw 45 pitches on Sunday and 65 pitches on Monday.
He’s not the only lefty the Razorbacks should be concerned about. Bruno has also been very good and has actually appeared in five of the Cardinal’s eight postseason games. He’s virtually unhittable, holding opponents to a .150 batting average, and interestingly enough, has been much harder on righties (.077) than lefties (.333).
Another guy who will likely pitch out of the bullpen is Pancer, as he’s thrown 8 2/3 innings across four appearances this postseason. In those outings, he’s given up two earned runs on four hits, but has issued five walks.
Meier has also pitched four times in the NCAA Tournament, while O’Rourke has pitched twice and also started a couple of games late in the year.
The Stud
As deep as Stanford’s lineup is, it’s impossible to single out just one player as the stud of the group. After all, seven of the Cardinal’s nine regulars are hitting over .300 and the two who aren’t are each hitting .297 with 18 home runs apiece.
However, for the sake of the preview, HawgBeat will focus on two players — both of whom have happened to spend much of the season at the top of the order.
Junior Brock Jones is likely Stanford’s top draft prospect. In fact, he’s a potential first-round pick, as he checks in at No. 31 on MLB Pipeline’s list of the top 2022 MLB Draft prospects.
Playing center field and batting leadoff most of the year, Jones is a very gifted athlete who actually came to Stanford as a two-sport athlete. He was a safety on the football team before deciding to focus solely on baseball.
Now in his third collegiate season, he posted an impressive .327/.455/.665 slash line with 20 home runs and 56 RBIs. That gives him a team-leading 1.120 OPS. While he does have some swing-and-miss, leading the team with 75 strikeouts, he has also walked a team-high 55 times.
With those numbers and that professional potential, it’d be easy to assume Jones is easily the best player on the roster, but the guy who’s been behind him in the 2-hole a majority of the season is actually better than him in all three Triple Crown categories.
After appearing in only eight games as a freshman last year, the first baseman has exploded onto the scene as a sophomore. He’s hitting .333 with 22 home runs and 78 RBIs — the latter of which is tied for ninth nationally.
Regular-Season Meeting
The aforementioned Feb. 27 matchup may feel like it was a year ago, but Arkansas and Stanford actually played less than four months ago in the Round Rock Classic.
Freshman Hagen Smith made his second career start and it didn’t go nearly as well as his debut, as the Cardinal knocked him out of the game in the third inning. They scored three runs off him, which was more than enough because of Mathews’ gem.
The weather conditions that day were less than ideal. Games on Saturday were postponed to Sunday, forcing teams to play doubleheaders. It was Stanford’s second game of the day and Arkansas’ first. The listed temperature was 56, but the wind chill was likely in the 30s.
Click here for our key takeaways from Arkansas’ doubleheader split that day, as the Razorbacks followed up the loss with a win over Louisiana-Lafayette.
