Sam Cohen hits pinch hit, walk-off grand slam to send UCSB to College World Series
UCSB reached its first ever College World Series in perhaps the most dramatic way possible.
Freshman Sam Cohen delivered a two-strike, pinch-hit walk-off grand slam in the top of the ninth inning Sunday off Louisville’s star closer to send the Gauchos to their first ever CWS.
This is real…
A walk-off GRAND SLAM to go to Omaha by UC Santa Barbara's Sam Cohen! #CWShttps://t.co/avSzj06I9t
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) June 12, 2016
Here’s a photo of the awesome celebration:
Sam Cohen! Touch em all! UCSB is bound for the College World Series! pic.twitter.com/2ef1PYlijT
— UCSB Baseball (@UCSB_Baseball) June 12, 2016
Let’s put this incredible home run into proper perspective.
First off, Cohen is just a freshman and he entered the game with only one career home run, though he was batting .346 with three doubles and seven RBIs in just 26 at-bats, so he was swinging the bat well in limited action.
Secondly, Louisville was 47-0 when leading after eight innings this season. Cohen’s grand slam came off Zack Burdi, who had 11 saves, a 2.20 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 28.2 innings this season. Burdi was just drafted in the first round by the White Sox during the week.
Lastly, UCSB was down 3-0 and rallied for all four runs in the 9th. Not only did they beat Burdi, but they had to face starter Drew Harrington, who entered the game 12-2 with a 2.08 ERA.
UCSB advances to its first College World Series on a two-strike, walk-off grand slam by a freshman pinch hitter to help them take out the nation’s No. 2-ranked team. You can say they deserved it.
