All host Stanford needed was three more outs to win Game 1 of its Super Regional against Texas on Saturday.

Instead, a three-run Cardinal lead turned into a 7-5 Longhorns victory thanks to a jaw-dropping collapse in the top of the ninth inning.

First came two walks and a hit-by-pitch as closer Ryan Bruno loaded the bases. Freshman Matt Scott took over for Bruno and got Mitchell Daly to fly to right, only to see right-fielder Saborn Campbell muff the running catch, allowing two runs to score. Center fielder Eddie Park had flashed in front of Campbell.

A groundout drove in another, and after two walks loaded the bases again, Texas left fielder Porter Brown completed the comeback, lacing a ball into right field to drive in two more Texas runs.

Longhorn reliever Zane Morehouse made quick work of the middle of the Cardinal order to close out the victory.

Stanford now faces elimination when the best-of-three series resumes today.

Stanford started almost as quickly as it imploded, getting on the board in the first inning.

Freshman Malcolm Moore drew a walk with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first,

Following two more quick innings by starting pitcher Joey Dixon, Moore did more damage against the Longhorns in the bottom of the third.

Braden Montgomery got on second with a standup double, and then Moore drove the Mississippi native in with an opposite-field double to give the Cardinal a 2-0 lead.

Texas equalized in the fifth inning, when Eric Kennedy belted a two-run homer over the right field wall. Dixon ended his day after 4 2/3 innings, six strikeouts, four hits allowed and no walks.

Bowser’s seventh home run, a solo shot in the sixth inning, put another Drew, relief pitcher and Serra alum Drew Dowd, in position to earn his team-leading 10th victory.

Moore’s two-run homer, his third in as many games, with two outs in the seventh inning padded the lead.

— Joseph Dycus

WNBA

Griner, Mercury confronted >> Brittney Griner and her Phoenix Mercury teammates were confronted by a “provocateur” at a Dallas airport on Saturday, per the WNBA, which said in a statement it was looking into the team’s run-in with a “social media figure” whose “actions were inappropriate and unfortunate.”

“The safety of Brittney Griner and all WNBA players is our top priority,” the league said, without specifying what exactly happened.

Griner and her supporters had lobbied for charter flights after she returned from detainment in Russia, saying the highly publicized case compromised her and others’ safety. The league granted Griner permission to book her own charter flights to road games. Mercury player Brianna Turner said in a tweet people at the airport followed the team with cameras “saying wild remarks.”

“Excessive harassment,” Turner tweeted. “Our team nervously huddled in a corner unsure how to move about. We demand better.”

Ionescu shines >> Walnut Creek native Sabrina Ionescu scored a career-high 37 points, including 20 points in the second quarter, and the New York Liberty defeated the Atlanta Dream 106-83 on Friday night.

Ionescu made a franchise-record and career-high eight 3-pointers, the last putting the Liberty at the 100-point mark for the first time this season. She made 10 of 18 shots from the field, including 8 of 13 3-pointers and added 9-of-10 from the free-throw line. Her 20 points in the second quarter were two shy of the WNBA record.

The game was part of the Commissioner’s Cup. New York hosts Dallas today.

Soccer

Man City completes treble >> Manchester City won the Champions League title for the first time by beating Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul’s Ataturk Olimpiyat Stadium. Rodri struck in the 68th minute to see the Premier League champions and FA Cup winners complete a treble of trophies this season.

City became just the second English club to complete a sweep of the two biggest domestic trophies and the Champions League, after Manchester United did it in 1999. The team’s European crown added to its Premier League and FA Cup titles.

Golf

McIlroy in hunt >> Rory McIlroy put himself in position for a run at a third straight Canadian Open title, shoot a 6-under 66 on Saturday at Oakdale, leaving him two strokes behind leader C.T. Pan. McIlroy won in 2019 in at Hamilton, then — after the event was canceled for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic — won last year in Toronto at St. George’s.

Pan, from Taiwan, birdied the final two holes for a 66 to get to 14-under 202.

Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood (64) and Justin Rose (66) — McIlroy’s European Ryder Cup teammates — also were two strokes back at 12 under along with Mark Hubbard (66), Harry Higgs (67) and Andrew Novak (67). Nick Taylor was the top Canadian, shooting a course-record 63 to get to 11 under.