David Esquer evaluates emotional impact of blowing late lead vs. Wake Forest

Stanford baseball is down to its final loss. After falling against Wake Forest in the College World Series, the Cardinal now face elimination if they cant win in their next matchup against Tennessee. Sunday’s loss was especially tough to swallow given the way it played out — with Stanford leading almost all day and even throughout a rain delay only to barf over the lead in the bottom of the eighth and putt up a goose egg in the top of the ninth to lose by one run.

After the game, one reporter asked Stanford coach David Esquer about the abruptness of the loss since the team lead practically all day before allowing the Demon Deacons to steal it at the very end. Esquer had to say on that:

“Good way to think about it, we were only behind for three or four minutes. Yeah. I wouldn’t want to check with what time of game was.” He then went on to add that losses in the CWS sting no matter how they happen, since you’re so close to the ultimate goal.

“You know, it hurts no matter what,” he continued. “You come this far and you play with your guys. And that’s why I appreciate our team.”

Esquer hopes having their backs against the wall will make a difference their next time out, as it has in the past for his program. There’s something about having to win or go home for good that just wakes players up and gives them a little extra juice in closeout games. Stanford will certainly need that edge vs. Tennessee. For Esquer, it’s a test of the club’s culture.

“When people ask why we’re so good in elimination games, I think a lot has to do with the culture of on your program,” he added, before explaining why these players tend to bring their best in elimination games.

“They don’t want to give that jersey up. They don’t want it to be the last day they spend with their teammates,” said Esquer. “I think they fight harder knowing that that’s a possibility. And I think that’s kind of hats off to the brotherhood and the culture that our program has.”

We’ll see what kind of mettle this Stanford group is really made of when they face the Volunteers this afternoon for all the marbles. That one is coming up at 2 p.m. ET and 11 a.m. PT on ESPN. One team’s tremendous season is about to come to a close.

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