No. 1 Wake Forest rains on Stanford's parade in Omaha

Stanford was unable to pull off the upset against the No. 1 seed

It likely wasn't the draw that Stanford initially wanted when they saw they would be taking on the No. 1 seed Wake Forest for their first game of the College World Series in Omaha, but the Cardinal struck first on arguably the better pitcher in the country Rhett Lowder.

The Wake Forest ace was struggling with command in the first inning as Eddie Park and Tommy Troy both singled to start the game. Lowder proceeded to Walk Braden Montgomery to load the bases, and with two outs plunked Malcolm Moore allowing the first run of the game. Unfortunately for Stanford they were only able to muster one run in that first inning. 

The second inning saw the Demon Deacons respond with a solo shot to tie the game, but Carter Graham knocked in a run in the third inning to reclaim the lead. While both teams didn't score from the fifth through eighth inning, Stanford had a couple rally killing mistakes on the base paths that will haunt them. Temo Beccera was picked off at first base after he was able to knock Moore to third with leadoff hitter Eddie Park up. 

The seventh inning saw Nick Dugan come into pitch for Stanford, and while he got himself in a jam he was able to get out of it. On offense Stanford looked to have some momentum going with the right part of the lineup as well. Troy worked a walk, but for the second time of the game a Stanford base runner was picked off while the hot Graham was up at the plate. Graham naturally cranked a double to the wall that could have scored Troy or at the very minimum had runners on second and third with Montgomery and Pac-12 Player of the Year Alberto Rios at the plate. However,   unfortunately for both teams and fans at the game, they would have to wait out the 1.5 hour long rain delay that saw Stanford head coach make a trip to the snack bar to grab a hot dog.

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— Inside The Stanford Cardinal (@InsideStanford) June 17, 2023

The Cardinal were unable to push a run across, and things went downhill. 

In the eighth, the Cardinal saw their three batters all strike out. On the mound Stanford turned to left Ryan Bruno who has been struggling mightily over his past few outings, as he has walked five people and given up four runs in his last three appearances which have amounted to just 1.1. innings pitched. 

Wake Forest was able to knock in two runs on an RBI single, which allowed them to take their first lead of the game, making it 3-2. 

With their season on the line again, Stanford will be taking on Tennessee on Monday with hopes to keep their season alive.