OMAHA, Neb. -- When Chris and Jason O'Riordan approached Mark Marquess about joining Stanford's baseball team as walk-ons, the Cardinal coach told the twin brothers to reconsider.

That was enough to persuade Jason, but Chris stubbornly decided to give it a shot. He not only made the team, but ended up having a three-year run as Stanford's starting second baseman.

"It's kind of funny,'' said O'Riordan, a senior playing in his third College World Series. "I'm not the most talented guy, the biggest guy or strongest guy. I think it's just a testament to how hard I work.''

O'Riordan, who is 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, is fourth among Cardinal starters with a .328 batting average. He was 1-for-4 Tuesday with a double as Stanford eliminated Notre Dame 5-3 and stayed alive in the CWS.

The Cardinal (47-17) play Texas (55-15) on Thursday night in the double-elimination tournament and would need two wins over the Longhorns to make it to a third straight championship game.

The thought of playing in one CWS championship seemed unlikely for O'Riordan a few years ago. He didn't even make the trip to Omaha when Stanford made the first of four straight CWS appearances in 1999.

He played in just two games in his freshman season as a defensive replacement, making an assist on his only attempt, but he impressed Marquess during practice.

"Chris felt confident in his ability,'' Marquess said. "He went the whole year without one at-bat, he didn't travel one time. It's a real credit to him.''

O'Riordan established himself early in his sophomore season. His first hit at Stanford was a homer in the 10th inning of an 8-6 win at Florida State, and he went on to start 46 of the final 47 games.

Stanford advanced to the CWS final that season, only to lose to Louisiana State 6-5. He led the Cardinal with a .366 average in 2000 and last year batted .359 with a team-high 101 hits when Stanford made the CWS title game again and lost to Miami 12-1.

Marquess said O'Riordan has always been a talented hitter, but worked hard to make himself a top defensive player. The Texas Rangers picked him in the eighth round of the draft earlier this month.

"It's a guy that walked into my office and I told him about the scholarship guys and the drafted guys and he said, 'All I want is a chance,''' Marquess said. "When somebody sees somebody make it and have some success, that just sends the right message to his teammates.''

Marquess' first words to the O'Riordan brothers in the fall of 1998 were something along the lines of, "Are you sure?''

Stanford, the coach told them, was difficult enough academically and he wasn't sure they could handle the extra demands of playing baseball.

Jason, a pitcher, opted to concentrate on academics, while Chris took on Marquess' challenge.

"He didn't want to paint a picture that he didn't think would happen,'' Chris O'Riordan said of Marquess. "I felt that I could do it, so I still came out and worked as hard as I could and earned a spot.''

As it turns out, both brothers made the right choice. Jason O'Riordan graduated Sunday Phi Beta Kappa, while Chris was practicing in Omaha. It was Chris' graduation, too, but Cardinal players annually give up the ceremony for the chance to play for the national title.

Jason, their parents, William and Cindy, and several other family members have flown in to Omaha the past few days to see Chris' final college games.

"It's a great story that I will always tell,'' Marquess said. "He beat out a lot of guys that were heavily recruited and on scholarship. He got in on his own. I didn't know anything about him.''