COLLEGE BASEBALL

• Stanford's 11-run ninth stuns Florida State in CWS opener

  
  

  Omaha, NE (Sports Network) - Stanford exploded for 11 runs in the ninth inning, breaking a tie ballgame and sending the Cardinal to a 16-5 rout of the Florida State Seminoles in the first of two Men's College World Series games at Rosenblatt Stadium on Saturday.

  Toby Gerhart went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and three runs scored, while Brent Milleville homered and accounted for four RBI to pace the Cardinal to their seventh straight opening-game victory in the CWS. Sean Ratliff knocked in three runs for the victors.

  Starter Jeremy Bleich shut down the potent FSU lineup, hurling five-plus innings of one-run ball, while Drew Storen got the win despite giving up a three-run homer during his two-inning appearance out of the bullpen.

  Florida State, which leads the nation in wins and came into the CWS hitting .384 and averaging better than 13 runs in its eight NCAA tournament games, tallied 11 hits, but were done in by three errors and a rough outing from the bullpen.

  Jason Stidham hit a game-tying three-run home run in the eighth, while Dennis Guinn roped a solo shot for the Seminoles. John Gast, who pitched 1 1/3 frames, was credited with the go-ahead run in the ninth en route to the loss.

  After Stidham's home run made it 5-5 in the eighth, the Cardinal went to work in their last at-bat.

  An error by FSU shortstop Tony Delmonico loaded the bases with no outs, and Milleville hit a sacrifice fly to center to give Stanford the lead.

  A two-run single by Ratliff was followed by a two-run error from Delmonico, and Milleville capped the big inning several runs later by hammering an 0-1 offering into the left field seats for a three-run round-tripper.

  On Monday, Stanford will play the winner of the Georgia/Miami-Florida matchup, while Florida State will square off against that game's loser.

  06/14 18:59:34 ET