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Championship Series (Best of Three) Game 3: Vanderbilt 3, Virginia 2
Vanderbilt celebrates as the 2014 College World Series Champs (Brad Williams/WBR)
In a tournament that has been criticized both locally and nationally for the lack of offense and lack of excitement, Vanderbilt center fielder John Norwood silenced all of the talk in one special moment. With the game tied in the top of the 8th, Norwood came to the plate against the 19th overall selection in the 2014 MLB Draft in Virginia closer Nick Howard, and smoked a 1-0 offering into the left field bullpen to give the Commodores a 3-2 lead and propel them to their first national championship in school history.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Norwood said of his big moment, “but it’s not just myself. You don’t get there without the rest of your team, and that is the biggest thing. Home run is awesome, but like I said, we don’t get there if Carson doesn’t throw or Dansby doesn’t play great D and hit. It’s just everybody. Everyone’s picking each other up no matter what.”
It wasn’t pretty in the beginning as the scoring opportunities seemed to be created more by defensive mistakes rather than offensive execution. Throughout the series, Vanderbilt hasn’t had to do it all in order to create run-scoring opportunities, instead they’ve just pressed the issue and forced Virginia to make a mistake that they can capitalize on. This was again the case in the top of the first inning. A single by Dansby Swanson and a walk issued to Bryan Reynolds put two on with one out for Vanderbilt. The duo attempted a double steal and Virginia catcher Robbie Coman threw the ball into center field when he attempted the get the trail runner. The error allowed Swanson to score easily and put the Commodores in front 1-0 before Carson Fulmer even took the mound.
Once Fulmer did take the field, he looked every bit the projected 2015 first-round talent everyone talks about him being. The 5-foot-11-inch right-hander allowed only a walk and a single in the first five innings. At one point he retired 10 straight hitters to keep the Cavalier bats quiet heading to the 6th inning.
“Going out there, I just had to throw strikes and let the defense work,” Fulmer said. “I mean, you get out No. 1 and it’s a whole different ballgame. If you make a mistake they’re going to make you pay.”
Another Virginia mistake led to another run in the top of the 6th when Kenny Towns fielded John Norwood’s grounder to third and one-hopped a throw that skipped by first baseman Mike Papi moving Norwood into scoring position. Norwood came home two batters later on an infield single to shortstop Vince Conde for a 2-0 Commodore lead. It was the fifth unearned run of the three-game series for the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers bounced back in the bottom half of the inning getting a single by Coman to lead it off and then brought home their first run of the game two at-bats later on Daniel Pinero’s RBI single to right center off of Fulmer. The Commodores brought Hayden Stone out of the bullpen to escape the jam, but he hit Joe McCarthy to load the bases instead. With two outs in the inning, Cavaliers third baseman Kenny Towns lined a ball right to Conde at short, but he couldn’t control the ball and the tying run came home to make it 2-2 after six innings and paved the way for John Norwood’s heroics.
The Cavaliers threatened again in the bottom of the 8th, but junior right hander Adam Ravenelle came on to get the Commodores out of a bases loaded jam with two routine grounders. He then shut the door in the 9th with a 1-2-3 frame, including the game-ending strikeout of Pinero to kick off the dog pile celebration. An emotional Carson Fulmer described the moment as one he’ll never forget.
“I just can’t describe the love and respect that I have for every one of my teammates,” he said. “You know, I looked back on my first day here, and I knew then that I got into something very, very special. I look at all my teammates as my brothers. I look at Coach (Corbin), our pitching coach, I look at them as father figures. Words can’t describe this experience. This is definitely a day that I’ll never forget, and I just can’t thank enough for everyone being there to pick each other up. This is something that we’ve always dreamed of doing as a team, and we finally accomplished it.”
It was Ravenelle’s third save of the College World Series and the second of the three-game championship series after entering the tournament with zero career saves. But, that’s not what people will remember most. Instead, the thing that TD Ameritrade Park Omaha lacked and continued to keep it in the shadow of Rosenblatt Stadium was something that could stand out in our memories. Something will forever be part of the legend of the College World Series. With one swing on a 97 MPH fastball, John Norwood provided that unforgettable defining moment.
Virginia head coach, and former CWS participant as a player with the Creighton Bluejays, Brian O’Connor echoed the sentiment. “I said it the other night, a lot of times in the history of this series somebody has a defining moment. Norwood stepped up, took a great swing, and drove the ball out of the ballpark.”
2014 College World Series All-Tournament Team
- Catcher – Nate Irving (Virginia)
- First Base – Kevin Cron (TCU)
- Second Base – Branden Cogswell (Virginia)
- Third Base – Tyler Campbell (Vanderbilt)
- Shortstop – C.J. Hinojosa (Texas)
- Outfield – John Norwood (Vanderbilt)
- Outfield – Rhett Wiseman (Vanderbilt)
- Outfield – Brandon Downes (Virginia)
- Designated Hitter – Dansby Swanson (Vanderbilt)
- Pitcher – Artie Lewicki (Virginia)
- Pitcher – Brandon Waddell (Virginia)
- Most Outstanding Player: Dansby Swanson