Game Four (Resumed Game): Vanderbilt 4, Cal State Fullerton 3
For six-plus innings, Rick Vanderhook’s underdog Cal State Fullerton club looked well on their way to sending the reigning College World Series champions to the loser’s bracket. The offense had their hands full with Vanderbilt ace Carson Fulmer. The junior right-handed pitcher struck out seven hitters over six innings, but when he allowed Cal State Fullerton hitters to reach base against him, the Titans made sure they made the opportunities count.
In the third inning, they turned a lead-off walk into a run thanks to a balk, a sac bunt, and an RBI single delivered by sophomore second baseman Taylor Bryant with one out to take a 1-0 lead.
Two innings later, a one-out walk, a double by junior catcher A.J. Kennedy, a run-scoring wild pitch, and an RBI single the opposite way by junior left fielder Josh Vargas was all it took to tack on two more runs against Fulmer and build a 3-run edge on the returning champs. While the offense was making everything count against Fulmer, Titans ace, junior right-hander Thomas Eshelman, held a talented Vanderbilt lineup to four baserunners over five and 2/3 innings of work.
Then everything changed. Lightning halted the game with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning and Vanderbilt junior first baseman Zander Wiel was facing a full count with a runner on third base against Eshelman. Shortly after the lightning came the rain washed away any chances that the game would finish on Sunday night, and as it turned out, it washed away the performance by Cal State Fullerton’s No. 1 starter.
When play resumed at around 2:00 p.m. on Monday afternoon, Wiel stepped in against sophomore reliever Chad Hockin and doubled to right-center field to score junior right fielder Rhett Wiseman and cut the deficit to 3-1 with three innings left to play.
“I knew I was going to get one pitch,” Wiel said of the resumed at-bat. “I was just trying to have a team at-bat, because we had Rhett on third and there were two outs. Since we had the delay I wanted to get the day started off right, and I knew he was probably going to come with something to hit — and he did. I was just trying to put a good swing on it.”
The Titans held the lead without much drama behind two three up, three down innings from senior closer and Nebraska-native, Tyler Peitzmeier. Then Wiel came to the plate once again and doubled to right-center to put a man in scoring position to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning. Sophomore center fielder Bryan Reynolds lined a ball down the left field line to bring home Wiel and reduce the Titans’ lead to 3-2. Then, freshman left fielder Jeren Kendall etched his name into College World Series history with a two-run blast over the right field bullpen to give the Commodores a walk-off, come-from-behind, 4-3 victory.
Kendall was the first hitter that Peitzmeier faced in the game. That first at-bat ended with a strikeout after five pitches — all three strikes were swings-and-misses by the Vanderbilt freshman. In his second time up against the Cal State Fullerton closer, he fouled the first pitch off, then sent the second one into the bleachers to win the game.
“I got some pretty good looks in my first at-bat,” Kendall said. “Even though my first at-bat didn’t end very well, I saw some good looks on some balls and got my reads. I came up the next at-bat with a clear mind.”
In the other dugout it was a bitter pill to swallow to have your ace removed in a key situation by weather, then to be three outs from advancing to the winner’s bracket game only to have it slip away with three outs to go.
“Hindsight is 20/20. I’m sorry, but [Eshelman] threw the ball pretty good to Wiel and all those guys,” Cal State Fullerton head coach Rick Vanderhook said. “[The delay] probably made a difference, but it probably made a difference for them on that, too. They had a little more time to go and we both had the same chance. That’s the way it is.”
“That was a good baseball game. I thought two teams went toe to toe. We’ve been doing this for a couple of weeks now. They got a couple of pitches late in the game and they hit them. That last one went over the fence, and give [Jeren Kendall] credit, you gotta hit it to do it. He hit it and he it good, and we lost.”
The Titans will now come back on Tuesday afternoon to face No. 2 national seed LSU and freshman ace Alex Lange. The Commodores will take on No. 7 national seed TCU after the conclusion of that LSU-Cal State Fullerton elimination game at 2:00 p.m.
Game Four Highlights
Top of the 3rd: Carson Fulmer’s own mistakes came back to hurt him the first time he faced the bottom of the order for the Titans. Fulmer started the inning by walking Cal State Fullerton sophomore shortstop Timmy Richards, then Richards, who was 8-for-9 on stolen base attempts entering the game, was awarded second base when Fulmer balked on a pickoff attempt to first base. Junior catcher A.J. Kennedy laid down a sac bunt to move Richards over to third base with only one out, and nine-hole hitter sophomore second baseman Taylor Bryant drove him in with a single to center field to put the Titans in front, 1-0.
Top of the 5th: Cal State Fullerton took advantage of the opportunities Carson Fulmer gave them in this frame. Another walk to Timmy Richards, followed by a double from Kennedy put two Titans in scoring position with one out. As the lineup turned over, Fulmer uncorked a wild pitch to Titans junior left fielder Josh Vargas that brought Richards in to score and allowed Kennedy to advance to third base. Vargas then pull single through the right side of the infield to bring home Kennedy and extend Cal State Fullerton’s lead to 3-0.
Bottom of the 6th: The game resumed on Monday afternoon after inclement weather suspended play when Vanderbilt was threatening with a runner on third and two outs against Cal State Fullerton ace Thomas Eshelman. When things picked back up, junior first baseman Zander Wiel finished his at-bat with an RBI double off Titans sophomore right-hander Chad Hockin to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Bottom of the 9th: Down two runs with only three outs remaining, Wiel started a big rally for the reigning champions with a leadoff double to right-center field. With one out, sophomore center fielder Bryan Reynolds brought the Commodores within a run with an RBI double off Cal State Fullerton senior closer Tyler Peitzmeier. Two pitches later, freshman left fielder Jeren Kendall completed the comeback with a two-run blast over the bullpen in right field to give Vanderbilt a 4-3 win.
Game Five: #5 Miami 4, Arkansas 3
In the first elimination game of the 2015 College World Series, the No. 5 national seed Miami Hurricanes never trailed, but had to fight off several rallies before surviving to play another day.
Sophomore left fielder Jacob Heyward, younger brother of St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jason Heyward, led the Hurricanes with a 3-for-3 day at the plate that included a go-ahead two-run home run to the power alley in left-center field. Heyward’s blast off Arkansas freshman starting pitcher Keaton McKinney was his fourth of the season, and it broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, with the game tied, 2-2, Heyward singled up the middle with one out. Then he stole second base to move into scoring position. In the next at-bat, junior center fielder Ricky Eusebio grounded a ball right at Arkansas junior shortstop Michael Bernal. That’s normally a play where you hold up, especially if you’re already in scoring position, but Heyward had other ideas. He took off for third base on contact, drew a throw to the bag from Bernal that went wide of junior third baseman Bobby Wernes’ glove and rolled into foul territory. Heyward got up and hustled home to put Miami in front once again.
“Honestly, it was just reaction,” Heyward said of his gutsy decision to try for third. “I knew I had the speed to get to third base on that play. Just knowing in the College World Series every time somebody was aggressive in the game they always made the other team make a mistake. I wanted to be aggressive and take the opportunity. When I slid in I saw the ball go away and [Miami associate head coach Gino DiMare] was yelling, ‘go home, go home.’ I just went straight home.”
After an RBI single by Razorbacks junior designated hitter Brett McAfee in the top of the eighth tied the game, Arkansas loaded the bases in the top of the ninth, looking to take their first lead of the game. Hurricanes sophomore closer Bryan Garcia wiggled out of the jam, however, inducing a ground ball to second base against Arkansas junior second baseman Rick Nomura to strand the threat and keep the game tied.
That said the stage for heroic finish to an already career day for Miami’s young left fielder. Sophomore right fielder Willie Abreu led of the bottom of the ninth with a double to center field against Arkansas sophomore closer Zach Jackson. Four pitches later, Jacob Heyward ended Arkansas’ season and extended his own with a walk-off RBI single to the gap in left-center field. Pinch-runner Carl Chester scored without a play at the plate, and the Hurricanes stormed out of the dugout and raced towards Heyward to celebrate the 4-3 victory.
Coming into the game, Heyward had only started in 20 of Miami’s 65 games this season, but his patience paid off, and when given the opportunity on college baseball’s biggest stage, his talent and his perseverance won the day.
“I had fun,” Heyward said after the game. “It’s a blessing to be here at the College World Series with my teammates, and just playing hard for my teammates. I wasn’t playing at the start of the year, and I just appreciate [Miami head coach Jim Morris] for having faith in me, and all of my teammates for having faith in me … I just wanted to do the best I could for my teammates. I felt they deserved that.”
Game Five Highlights
Bottom of the 5th: The Hurricanes drew first blood in the middle portion of this elimination game. Senior catcher Garrett Kennedy singled to center field to leadoff the frame against Arkansas freshman starting pitcher Keaton McKinney. After the Razorbacks brought in senior right-handed pitcher Jackson Lowery, and with two outs, Hurricanes nine-hole hitter Jacob Heyward greeted him with a go-ahead two-run home run to left-center field. It was the first pitch Heyward saw against Lowery and it gave Miami a 2-0 lead.
Top of the 6th: The Razorbacks scratched across a run immediately after falling behind. Junior right fielder Tyler Spoon stole second base with two outs after reaching on fielder’s choice. He advanced to third on the stolen base when Miami catcher Zack Collins’ throw down went into center field. Arkansas junior second baseman Rick Nomura didn’t let the opportunity go to waste, smacking an infield single to the third base side to bring in Spoon and cut the deficit to 2-1.
Top of the 7th: Miami went to the bullpen to start the inning, and Arkansas jumped on freshman left-hander Michael Mediavilla right away. A base hit on an 0-1 pitch by Razorbacks sophomore first baseman Clark Eagan and a four-pitch walk drawn by junior shortstop Michael Bernal started the rally. After the next two hitters failed to bring in the tying run, junior third baseman Bobby Wernes fought off five straight pitches after falling behind 0-2 before sending an RBI single up the middle to tie the game, 2-2.
Bottom of the 7th: Miami sophomore left fielder Jacob Heyward was the center of attention as the Hurricanes regained the lead. He started things off with a one-out single against Arkansas senior right-hander Lance Phillips. Then, after stealing second, his aggressive baserunning led to him scoring a go-ahead run after a throwing error by Bernal. Heyward tried to take third without hesitation on a grounder to Bernal, drawing a throw to third that rolled towards the Miami dugout and allowed Heyward to trot home safely.
Top of the 8th: With six outs remaining in their season, the Razorbacks weren’t about to go down quietly. Miami sophomore relief pitcher Danny Garcia gave up singles to the first three hitters he faced. The third, off the bat of Arkansas designated hitter Brett McAfee, brought home Tyler Spoon for his second run of the game to tie things up at 3-3.
Bottom of the 9th: Arkansas left the bases loaded in the top half, and Miami needed to see only six pitches before they ended the game. Sophomore right fielder Willie Abreu led off with a double off the center field wall against Arkansas sophomore closer Zach Jackson. Next man up Jacob Heyward capped off his career day with some College World Series heroics by delivering a line drive, walk-off RBI single into left-center field to bring home the winning run and extend Miami’s season for at least two more days.
Game Six: Virginia 1, #4 Florida 0
What else is there to say about the Virginia Cavaliers baseball team? Injuries up and down the roster to several key contributors who played significant roles on last year’s team that came one game and one run short of winning the school’s first national championship in college baseball, but they keep competing and keep relying on the experience they have on the field to find ways to win games in postseason play.
On Monday night, the Cavaliers improved to 7-0 since the start of the NCAA Tournament behind a two-hit shutout from junior starting pitcher Brandon Waddell and junior closer Josh Sborz.
Waddell, in his third career College World Series start, lowered his career earned run average in Omaha to 0.78 behind seven scoreless innings. He walked three hitters and allowed two singles, but that was it against a Florida Gators lineup that came in averaging more than 11 runs per game in the NCAA Tournament.
“Certainly a tremendous outing by Brandon Waddell,” Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor said. “I think that was really the story of the game, and why we are sitting up here right now was his performance. It just felt like from pitch one to when he came out of the game there in the eighth inning, he was in really good command of the game, the best he’s been all year. He certainly saved his best outing of the year for a really, really important time.”
Things weren’t easy for the Virginia offense against Florida sophomore starting pitcher A.J. Puk, but they got the only run they would need in the bottom of the sixth inning. Three straight singles by sophomore catcher Matt Thaiss, senior third baseman Kenny Towns, and freshman first baseman Pavin Smith loaded the bases with one out and chased Puk from the game after the sophomore held the Cavaliers to just one hit through five and 1/3 innings prior to facing Thaiss for third time in the game.
Florida brought in junior closer Taylor Lewis to deal with the inherited runners. Virginia junior designated hitter got the first crack at bringing in a run, and did so successfully, skying the first pitch he saw into center field for a sacrifice fly. It was deep enough to score Thaiss from third and give the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead.
The Gators would fight back, however, getting what turned out to be their only chance in the top of the eighth inning. Freshman second baseman Dalton Guthrie worked a full count against Waddell before drawing a base on balls to lead things off. Then sophomore right fielder Ryan Larson singled on a 2-2 pitch to put runners on the corners with nobody out.
That brought an end to Waddell’s night as O’Connor summoned Josh Sborz from the bullpen to get the final six outs and preserve the 1-0 lead. It almost came unglued for the Cavaliers as Florida lead off hitter Harrison Bader lined a ball right back up the middle. Fortunately for the Cavaliers, it hit Sborz’s glove, knocking it off his hand. The ball dropped in front of him, and the veteran picked it up, looked Guthrie back to third, then took the out at second base.
A liner to second by Florida junior shortstop Richie Martin and a ground out to second by senior third baseman Josh Tobias ended the threat and kept Virginia in front.
“It was basically all reaction,” Sborz said of his play on Bader’s line drive back to him. “From there I just got lucky throwing it to second. After I got that first out and the guy didn’t score I just tried to get the double play, and from there it just kind of played out.”
The ninth inning went much more smoothly for Sborz. He needed only 11 pitches to retire the middle of the Florida lineup in order to send the Cavaliers into the Bracket One Championship Game. They will get three days off before facing the winner of an elimination game between Florida and Miami where they will then have two chances to clinch their second consecutive trip to the College World Series Finals.
The Gators and Hurricanes will play for the second time in this College World Series on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. They winner will play the Cavaliers and the loser will see their season come to an end. Florida dominated the first match up, 15-3, on Saturday night.
Game Six Highlights
Bottom of the 6th: Florida’s A.J. Puk and Virginia’s Brandon Waddell threw up zeros all over the place until the Cavaliers finally wore down the Gators left-handed sophomore. Three straight singles with one out chased Puk from the game. Florida turned to junior closer Taylor Lewis, but Cavaliers junior designated hitter Robbie Coman sent the first pitch he saw into center field for a sacrifice fly to give his team a 1-0 lead. Lewis induced a weak pop up to leave the bases loaded in the inning and minimize the damage to just the lone run allowed.