Muth Puts Powerful Charge in Stanford’s 19-9 Victory

Edmund Muth returned for his senior season at Stanford so he could complete his degree in English, improve his draft position and help an experienced Cardinal team play for a national championship.

One other thing.

“I thought I’d like to have my name in some record books,” he said.

With graduation and a 15-round improvement in the draft out of the way, he accomplished his other goals Thursday in the College World Series.

Muth hit three home runs in a 19-9 victory over Louisiana Lafayette before 19,870 at Rosenblatt Stadium, advancing Stanford to its first championship game since winning consecutive titles in 1987 and ’88. Stanford (50-15) will play Louisiana State (51-17). It will be the first time since 1996 that two unbeaten teams will meet in final.

The Cardinal, which had not overcome a deficit of more than three runs all season, came back from a 6-0, second-inning deficit to beat the Ragin’ Cajuns (49-20) for the second time in the series. Only four other teams have waged bigger comebacks in World Series history. The last was Arizona, which trailed Maine, 7-0, in the seventh inning of a first-round game in 1986, before coming back to win, 8-7, en route to the national championship.

Andy Topham’s grand slam during a five-run Stanford second inning started the Cardinal on its way to its highest run total in 48 World Series games.

Muth, a center fielder who attended Bellflower St. John Bosco High, was one for 11 before he hit a solo home run in the fifth. He added two-run shots in the seventh and ninth innings, giving him 22 homers for the season. He also drove in the go-ahead run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded during the Cardinal’s pivotal seven-run sixth inning.

Muth, playing in the World Series for the third time in four years, tied the World Series record for most homers in a game set by J.D. Drew of Florida State in 1995 against USC. He also became the career leader in World Series homers with six and tied the single-series mark of four.

“I didn’t feel very good early in the game,” said Muth, who hit a fly ball to left field and grounded out to the pitcher in his first two at-bats. “But starting with those first couple outs I made, I was seeing the ball very well.”

Muth has performed well all season after struggling through illness in 1999. He spent 10 days in the hospital because of viral meningitis, missed about a month of the season and hit only six homers. The Oakland Athletics drafted him in the 22nd round.

Muth entered this year’s World Series four days after being selected by the Colorado Rockies in the seventh round.

Muth, Joe Borchard--a first-round pick by the Chicago White Sox--and second baseman Chris O’Riordan each had three hits for the Cardinal, which finished with 17.

Stanford needed all the offense it could get on a day when starter Brian Sager and reliever Mike Gosling--both projected first-round draft picks next year--gave up seven runs in the first two-plus innings.

Mike Wodnicki (4-0) settled the Cardinal, giving up two runs in six innings before giving way to Ryan McNally in the ninth.

Steven Feehan, Nathan Nelson, Will Hawkins and Scott Atwood homered for Louisiana Lafayette, which committed four errors.

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The NCAA Division I baseball Committee suspended Clemson outfielder Casey Stone for one playoff game next season for shoving a Louisiana Lafayette player after Clemson was eliminated from the World Series with a 5-4 loss to the Ragin’ Cajuns on Wednesday.

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College World Series

THURSDAY’S GAMES

* Stanford 19, Louisiana Lafayette 9

* Louisiana State 6, Florida State 3

SATURDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

* Stanford (50-15) vs.

Louisiana State (51-17), 11:30 PDT.