Bullpen Star Shines Again For Cardinal Stanford, Alabama Win Elimination Games In Cws

Two big innings and 6-2/3 innings of scoreless relief by Jeff Austin kept Stanford alive in the College World Series with an 11-4 win over Auburn in an elimination game Tuesday.

In the late elimination game, Mark Peer’s two-run homer capped a five-run eighth inning and top-seeded Alabama beat Mississippi State 9-5.

Alabama (54-13) will play Miami (51-16) for the bracket championship Thursday night.

Stanford’s third-seeded Cardinal (45-19) plays tonight against second seed Louisiana State 55-13), which is 2-0 in the tournament after a 10-5 win over Stanford on Sunday.

Auburn (50-17) goes home with a 1-2 record. The Tigers lost twice to Stanford. Both times, Austin (5-2) had a big hand in the outcome.

In Friday’s 8-3 opening win for the Cardinal, Austin threw four innings of two-hit, scoreless relief.

Tuesday, the Cardinal took advantage of a pair of Auburn errors. An infield error put a runner on in the first inning and set up Josh Hochgesang’s RBI groundout. Luke Quaccia followed with his ninth homer of the season with one one, making it 3-0.

A four-run Stanford sixth started when reliever Patrick Dunham (5-2) gave up one-out singles to Tony Schrager and Jay Pecci. A walk loaded the bases and Edmund Muth’s bouncer between first and second went off the glove of second baseman Rob Macrory to let two runs score. Hochgesang doubled in another run and John Gall singled in the fourth run of the inning.

Jody Gerut’s leadoff homer in the seventh, his ninth, made it a 9-4 game, and Joe Kilburg and Muth added RBI singles in the ninth.

Auburn scored all four of its runs in the third inning after a double by Macrory, a hit batter and a walk to load the bases.

Chad Wandall walked to force in a run and chase Stanford starter Brent Schoening.