Sam Cohen’s Walk-Off Grand Slam | UC Santa Barbara vs Louisville, 12/06/2016

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• published: 12 Jun 2016
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sam cohen ucsb sam caohen baseball ucsb baseball Sam Cohen’s Walk-off Grand Slam With One Out Earned UCSB A 4- 3 Win vs Louisville, Walk-off grand slam crushes Louisville Sam Cohen put UC Santa Barbara into its first College World Series with a pinch-hit grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 4-3 victory over second-seeded Louisville 4-3 on Sunday. LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sam Cohen, a freshman from JSerra High, sent UC Santa Barbara to the program’s first College World Series with a pinch-hit grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 4-3 victory over second-seeded Louisville on Sunday. Cohen, a catcher who had 26 at-bats with one home run and seven RBI before Sunday, turned on a 98-mph fastball from Cardinals closer Zack Burdi (1-3) and sent the 1-and-2 pitch over the right field fence to stun a red-clad crowd and ignite a wild home plate celebration by the Gauchos (42-18-1). Until then, UCSB couldn’t touch Louisville left-hander Drew Harrington, who struck out a career-high 12 and allowed just six hits in seven-plus innings. Burdi struck out Gauchos slugger Austin Bush to open the ninth, but struggled after that. He yielded two walks and a single to set the stage for Cohen’s dramatic no-doubt shot that improved the Gauchos to 5-0 in the tournament and sent them to Omaha, Neb., for the CWS. Louisville, the national No. 2 seed, finished 50-14 and lost consecutive home games for the first time this season. Looking down and out and on the verge of playing an extra game in Louisville, instead UCSB stayed on the field for about a half hour after gutting out perhaps its most improbable victory. It started with J.J. Muno’s single up the middle, his second hit Sunday. Dempsey Grover’s six-pitch walk and another free pass to pinch hitter Billy Fredrick followed. Up strolled Cohen, who entered the best-of-three series batting .346 with a homer in 19 games with five starts. Cohen shrugged off the pressure-filled moment, taking a ball, fouling off a pitch and then a strike before delivering the biggest blow of his young career. Out rushed his teammates from the dugout to greet him as he jumped for joy at home plate and begin one of several on-field celebrations. The Cardinals, meanwhile, were left bewildered after entering the weekend as heavy favorites to reach their third CWS in four years. They had 11 hits and seemed to be cruising behind one of three 12-game winners, but couldn’t hold on to ensure another day. UCSB, which finished third in the Big West Conference behind Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State, becomes the second consecutive Big West team to reach the CWS. Fullerton beat Louisville in a three-game super regional last season to advance. UCSB is anchored by a trio of starting pitchers with Orange County ties - Joe Bieber (Laguna Hills High), Joe Record (El Dorado High) and Noah Davis (Huntington Beach High)