Who does Tennessee play in the next round of the College World Series? A closer look at the Stanford Cardinal baseball roster

The Tennessee Volunteers will face the Stanford Cardinal on Monday, June 19th, at 2:00 p.m. ET. Both teams dropped their first game of the College World Series, meaning that the loser will see their season come to an end. The winner will face the loser of the game between the LSU Tigers and Wake Forest Demon Deacons in an elimination game with a semifinals appearance on the line. Let's take a look at how Stanford's roster stacks up.

Stanford: Hitting

The Stanford Cardinal have had one of the best offenses in the nation this season. They rank 10th out of 295 teams in the country in runs scored, ninth in batting average, 32nd in on-base percentage, ninth in slugging percentage, and 10th in home runs.

Their offense is led by infielder Tommy Troy and catcher Alberto Rios, but they have talent throughout the lineup. Troy has hit .398 with 17 home runs, 58 RBIs and a 1.188 OPS. Rios has hit .381 with 18 home runs, 71 RBIs and a 1.187 OPS. Stanford has nine players hitting over .300, and their combined team average is .318.

Stanford: Pitching

The Stanford Cardinal pitching staff has not had the same success as they rank just 123rd in the nation in ERA, 17th in win-loss percentage, seventh in strikeouts and 72nd in strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Quinn Matthews leads their rotation. However, their starters and relievers have both struggled. Matthews is 10-4 with a 3.60 ERA and 152 strikeouts in 120.0 innings pitched. Their rotation has a combined 5.72 ERA.

---

What has been the Stanford Cardinal path to the College World Series?

The Stanford Cardinal have had a drawn-out path to Omaha. They beat the San Jose State Spartans before falling to the Texas A&M Aggies. After defeating the Cal State Fullerton Titans, they defeated the Aggies in back-to-back games to emerge from the Stanford Regional.

The Cardinal needed three games to defeat the Texas Longhorns and punch their ticket to Omaha for the third consecutive season. Stanford fell to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 3-2 on Saturday.

While the Cardinal have an elite offense, their rotation has struggled, particularly at preventing runs. In order to win the national championship for the first time since repeating as champions in 1987 and 1988, Stanford will need their pitching staff to step up. They cannot afford to lose another game in this double-elimination.