Stanford will play host to college baseball regional

Cal finishes season on positive, rallying for 7-4 win over Arizona

The ninth-ranked Stanford baseball team was selected on Sunday as one of 16 regional hosts for the NCAA championships, June 2-5.

The rest of the field will be announced at 9 a.m. Monday on ESPN2.

Surging Stanford (40-14, 21-9 Pac-12) will enter the postseason with 21 wins in its last 23 games, including four Pac-12 sweeps and six consecutive series wins. This marks the 21st 40-win season in the 41-year tenure of head coach Mark Marquess, who is retiring.

Stanford’s 40 wins are the most for the Cardinal since 2004, and the most overall wins since the 2012 team racked up 41.

With at least 21 conference victories for the first time since 1988, the Cardinal finished as the runner-up behind No. 1 Oregon State.

In Stanford’s last postseason appearance, 2014, freshman Tommy Edman hit a walk-off home run to win over host Indiana in the Bloomington Regional. The Cardinal eventually fell to Vanderbilt in Game 3 at the Super Regional.

Stanford, which last hosted a regional in 2012 at Sunken Diamond, has advanced out of its past three regionals, in 2011, 2012, and 2014.

Cal (25-29, 15-15) completed n the season with a feel-good 7-4 win over No. 15 Arizona to win the series in Tucson.

Cal received contributions from a host of players to overcome an early deficit. Single runs in the first and second innings and two more in the fourth put Arizona (37-19, 16-14) up 4-0.

Cal’s comeback began one inning later. Run-scoring singles by Cameron Eden and Ripken Reyes halved the deficit and gave the momentum back to the Bears.

Two innings later, Cal scored three more runs to take the lead. Back-to-back doubles by Tanner Dodson and Matt Ruff brought one run home. A single by Eden kept the rally going and Reyes lined a 1-1 pitch from Rio Gomez for a double. Ruff scored easily and Eden came all the way around from first to give Cal the 54 lead.

Sophomore reliever Aaron Shortridge made the comeback possible. After entering to start the fifth, he didn’t exit until the ninth, spinning four strong innings without allowing a run.

Golf

Stanford seniors Maverick McNealy and Viraat Badhwar finished their sterling Cardinal careers in the third round of the NCAA tournament at Rich Harvest Farms.

McNealy, the Ben Hogan Award winner with a program-record 11 career victories, posted rounds of 76, 71, 74 to finish tied for 76th at 5 over.

Badhwar (73-73-74) tied for 71st at 4-over and rolled in an 8-footer for birdie on his final hole.

Fourth-seeded Stanford (293-287-299) missed the 15team cut.

The Cardinal placed 20th and was 15 over through 54 holes. Stroke play in the tourney will start on Monday.