Benchwarmer Hits Walk-Off Grand Slam To Send UCSB To College World Series

"I still can't believe it," Sam Cohen said.

He went from benchwarmer to Big Shot in a hurry.

Sam Cohen, a little-used freshman catcher for UC Santa Barbara, walloped a pinch-hit, walk-off grand slam Sunday against one of the best pitchers in the nation to send the Gauchos to their first College World Series, outlets reported.

Cohen stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with UCSB down 3-0 and Zack Burdi pitching for host and No. 2 national seed Louisville in a super-regional game. Burdi is no ordinary reliever, having just been drafted in the first round by the Chicago White Sox.

But Cohen, who had just 26 at-bats and one home run all season, pulled a pitch over the right field wall to spark a raucous on-field celebration that nearly swallowed the umpire.

"I still can't believe it," Cohen told the Los Angeles Times afterward.

Cohen didn't even appear on a player page in UCSB's pregame media packet, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.

Now he's behind "one of the greatest moments in Gaucho history," according to a certain UCSB alum and sports radio host:

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