Stanford routs Illinois to win Fullerton Regional

FULLERTON, Calif. — Ben Clowe hit two two-run homers to left field and Stanford beat Big Ten champion Illinois 14-2 on Sunday night to win the NCAA Fullerton Regional.

Stanford (35-20), which went 3-0 on the weekend, won its fifth straight game to advance to play at No. 3 overall seed North Carolina next weekend in the best-of-three super regionals.

"We're proud we were able to win it," Cardinal coach Mark Marquess said. "It was a tough regional. Obviously, we're very excited and proud of our team. ... There's parity, it's not like it was 15 or 20 years ago. It's changed for the better."

Clowe was 4 for 5 with two doubles and four RBIs. His first two-run shot came in a four-run third that put Stanford ahead 3-0. Clowe's two-run shot in the sixth and gave Stanford, which had 20 hits, an 8-2 lead. It was the senior's first four-hit, four-RBI and two-homer game.

"It's nice as the career's winding down to contribute like this," Clowe said. "When everyone's hitting like that, there's good confidence in the dugout."

Stanford starter Danny Sandbrink (4-1) lasted seven innings, allowing eight hits and striking out six.

"I kind of felt sluggish," Sandbrink said. "I didn't have that downward sink that I should have. I changed it."

Illinois (30-27) scored a run in the third on Justin Parr's triple and another in the fourth on Willie Argo's fielder's choice. Lee Zerrusen (0-3), who came in with a 7.82 ERA and only 25 1-3 innings, was the loser.

"We kind of ran out of pitching," Illini coach Dan Hartleb said. "Even when the game got out of hand, our guys played hard and with class."

Stanford's Tyler Gaffney singled in the third, extending his hitting streak to 20 games.

Earlier Sunday, Illinois beat Cal State Fullerton 7-5.