Stanford’s mid-April trip to Corvallis was an absolute horror show. The Beavers won the first two games by scores of 3-0 and 1-0, the first time since 1975 that the Cardinal had been shut out in back-to-back games. Game three was even worse, a 12-1 seven-inning drubbing that saw more Stanford errors (3) than hits (2). The Cardinal headed back to California having accumulated just ten hits and a single run in the lost weekend.

Following a midweek loss to the University of San Francisco, Stanford’s record stood at 15-15, and the cause was not hard to pinpoint – hitting. The Cardinal ranked last in the Pac-10 in batting average (.260), slugging (.372), and runs per game (4.6). Then, something happened.

The bats woke up. No one can tell you whether their slumber was caused by something as complicated as the hitters failing to breathe out of their eyelids, or jammed shockers, or whatever, but everything seems to have been straightened out. Since that weekend in Corvallis, Stanford’s batting average (.317), slugging (.458), and run production (6.93 per game) have been excellent.

Those numbers really spiked in the Cardinal’s three games in Texas. Though Disch-Falk Field is one of the nation’s better pitcher’s parks, the Cardinal batted .439, slugged .626, and averaged 12 runs per game for the weekend.

Stanford’s bats are led by Austin Regional MVP Chris Minaker. The senior shortstop has healthy team leads in all three triple crown categories (.363 BA, 11 HR, 68 RBI). Minaker, who has played every inning of every game at shortstop for two years in a row, is coming off his best game of the season. Against NC State in the championship game, he went five-for-five with two doubles and a triple and scored six times.

Sophomore right fielder Michael Taylor is another one to keep an eye on. The 6’6”, 250-pound five-tooler is expected to be one of the top picks in next year’s draft. Curiously, the one tool that he has displayed least often is power – he has only five homers this season, though he did hit one of them during his four-hit, four-RBI performance in the regional championship game.

Stanford’s pitching staff features several guys whose win totals don’t reflect their huge talent. Greg Reynolds (7-5, 3.36 ERA) is the ace. The junior, who was selected 2nd overall in the recent MLB draft, has pitched especially well late in the season. He went through a three-start stretch where he threw three consecutive complete games and allowed a total of three runs. The highlight of that stretch was a duel in Seattle against fellow first-rounder Tim Linecum – Reynolds shut out the Huskies and struck out nine, including three in the ninth inning. Reynolds also shut down NC State in the opening game of the regional, throwing a complete game 7-hitter to get a 7-2 win. Sophomore Nolan Gallagher (5-4, 3.75 ERA), who is also expected to be a first-rounder in 2007, and freshman Jeremy Bleich (4-4, 4.05) round out the Cardinal weekend rotation.

Stanford is really looking forward to this trip. It’s about more than a ticket to Omaha, it’s about atonement for a miserable performance in Corvallis in April. After Sunday’s championship game in Austin (and before the completion of Oregon State-Hawaii), a Cardinal player was asked which team he’d prefer as a Super Regional opponent. He gave the standard cliché answer – they’re both great teams and we’ll be happy no matter who we play, yadda yadda yadda. After he had completed his interview, I grabbed him and said, “I know you guys want another shot at OSU.”

A smile lit up his entire face as he replied, “Oh yeah, definitely!”

Get ready Corvallis, because a different Stanford team will be coming to town this weekend.