Thanks for your concern.

That was Quinn Mathews' message Thursday to people who criticized Stanford coach David Esquer for allowing him to throw a career-high 156 pitches in a super regional game against Texas.

Mathews went out for the ninth inning even though his team had a five-run lead in what turned out to be an 8-3 win Sunday. The senior left-hander was lauded for his toughness in some quarters.

In others, Esquer was called abusive for putting so much wear on Mathews' arm and potentially jeopardizing his pro career.

Pitch counts for all teams are not available, but Mathews' outing surely was one of the longest, if not the longest, in the nation this year. Only two pitchers in the major leagues have thrown 150 pitches in a game since 2000.

Mathews said he was drained mentally more than physically after his most recent outing, and he is the probable starter for his team's College World Series opener against Wake Forest on Saturday.

Mathews said he has prepared himself through training to handle extreme workloads. He has thrown more than 100 pitches in 16 of his 17 starts.

“To the critics out there, I’m just appreciative of them, honestly, that they’re willing to put the time and energy to write stuff about me and talk about me and do all that,” he said with a straight face. “I’m blessed that they care about my well-being and my health.”

Esquer said he let Mathews run up a high pitch count because he wasn't taxing himself and athletic trainers and strength coaches were on board with letting him continue.

“He is not cranking off 75% sliders or breaking pitches. He is throwing maybe 80 change-ups during the game, right?” Esquer said. “I thought between the change and the fastball that his stress pitches were down.”

Mathews was drafted in the 19th round last year and decided to return to school to help the Cardinal get back to the CWS.

Given Mathews' resilience, and his desire to have the ball with the season on the line, Esquer said he couldn't deny him the opportunity to finish.

“You struggle with yourself whether to give him that opportunity or not,” Esquer said. “Again, with his safety in mind, it seemed like the right thing to do for him.”

SKENES WINS HOWSER TROPHY

LSU's Paul Skenes, projected to be the first or second pick in the amateur draft next month, on Thursday was the winner of the Dick Howser Trophy as the nation's outstanding college baseball player.

The junior right-hander leads the nation in strikeouts (188) and the Southeastern Conference in wins (12), ERA (1.77), innings pitched (107) and opponent batting average (.170). He will go into the College World Series within 14 strikeouts of Ben McDonald's SEC-record 202 for LSU in 1989.

Skenes is the second LSU player to win the Howser. Eddy Furniss was the first in 1998.

The award is presented annually by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and is named for Dick Howser, an All-America shortstop and coach at Florida State and major league player and manager.

ORAL ROBERTS LOCAL FAVORITE

Omahans traditionally adopt a team to root for, and Oral Roberts undoubtedly will be it. The Golden Eagles, on paper, are underdogs because they've made it this far as a No. 4 regional seed. They also play in the Summit League and make annual visits to play the Omaha Mavericks.

This actually is their third trip to Omaha this year. They also played a series against North Dakota State in neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa, because of poor field conditions in Fargo.

“We’ve been here before,” first baseman Jake McMurray said. “Not necessarily at this stage, but we feel comfortable here. Just the city has been embracing us a lot. On the way to dinner last night we had a lot of people come up to us and say, ‘We’re rooting for you, you guys can do this.’ The city has been great, and I think our guys are comfortable here.”

DAY JOB CAN WAIT

Florida catcher BT Riopelle has hit 31 homers, driven in 120 runs and was first-team All-SEC in 2022. Chances are he would have had an opportunity to play professionally after this season. Thing is, he doesn't want to.

Riopelle announced in February he would take a job at a firm in the financial sector once the Gators' season ends. He hopes that is the last week in June, in the championship series. He said he knows his future co-workers will be watching.

“They’re super excited," Riopelle said, "and I’m very happy to be joining them in a month. Not too soon, though.”