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Game 12 (Bracket Two Championship Game): Virginia 4, Ole Miss 1
As play resumed after last night’s game was suspended in the top of the second, the Rebels called on reliever Scott Weathersby to get out of a two-on, no-out jam. He retired each hitter he faced to keep the game scoreless.
The Ole Miss offense got on the board with their first opportunity as action resumed. A base hit by designated hitter Will Allen led off the bottom of the second. He moved into scoring position on a passed ball. Then right fielder J.B. Woodman hustled out an infield single to put runners on the corners with only one out in the inning. Woodman didn’t take long to press the Virginia defense into action as he took off for second trying to put two in scoring position. Cavaliers catcher Robbie Coman gunned down Woodman at second, but Allen made a head’s up play to come home on the throw and give the Rebels a 1-0 lead with their backs against the wall.
Virginia responded two innings later against Ole Miss righty Chris Ellis. The Cavaliers made the Rebels’ ace work hard with 31 pitches in the inning, capitalizing on the opportunity with a two-run single by Coman after the Cavs loaded the bases.
“I’m sure I was a little nervous to start,” Coman said. “You get second opportunities in this game, and I really wanted to take advantage of it. I was just trying to hit the situation; wasn’t trying to do too much, just got a usable pitch that I could send somewhere in the outfield and it worked out for the best.”
Lead off hitter Branden Cogswell followed up Coman’s big hit with a perfect RBI squeeze bunt to the first base side, and just like that the Cavaliers had a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Cavaliers added another run in the top of the seventh. Shortstop Daniel Pinero led of the inning with a single and after a sacrifice bunt and a grounder to second moved him to third, right fielder Joe McCarthy worked the count full to Ole Miss reliever Wyatt Short before smoking an RBI double to the gap in right-center field to push the Virginia lead to 4-1. McCarthy’s big hit added to the growing momentum for the Cavaliers and left them nine outs away from a berth in the championship series.
The run support was more than enough for the Virginia trio consisting of starting pitcher Josh Sborz, starter-turned-reliever Artie Lewicki, and lights out closer Nick Howard. The three right-handers didn’t allow a runner to reach third base from the fourth inning on, scattering three hits and three walks over the final six innings.
With the win, Creighton alum and Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor’s club earns a spot in the best-of-three championship series for the first time in school history. They will look to end a 58-year championship drought in baseball for the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“I don’t think there’s any pressure,” O’Connor said. “We’ve never been in this scenario before. Maybe if we had been in this situation multiple times before and hadn’t done it. We’re not really concerned about it. We’re concerned about playing a good baseball game on Monday night.”
Game 13 (Bracket Two Championship Game): Vanderbilt 4, Texas 3 (10 innings)
A wild first inning by Texas starter Parker French allowed the Commodores to scratch home a run in the bottom of the first. French allowed two singles, issued two walks, and uncorked a wild pitch with the bases loaded that somehow didn’t yield a run. Center fielder John Norwood’s fielder’s choice RBI on a sharp grounder to third brought home the only run of the inning despite the Commodores having the bases loaded at two different instances in a 38-pitch first inning for French.
More shaky play from the Longhorns led to another Vanderbilt run in the bottom of the third. An error by third baseman Zane Gurwitz, his second of the game at that point, put Commodores’ shortstop Vince Conde on first. Shortly after a bunt single by Norwood, the Commodores executed a double steal, and Texas catcher Tres Barrera sailed the throw to third over Gurwitz’s head allowing Conde to come home to make it 2-0.
Not wanting to allow the momentum to swing any further in Vanderbilt’s direction, the Longhorns responded right away in the top of the fourth. A lead off double by C.J. Hinojosa and a bunt single by Collin Shaw put runners on the corners for the Longhorns. Vanderbilt starter Carson Fulmer walked the next hitter, Ben Johnson, on six pitches to load them up for the son of a former Longhorn legend. Entering the day with a .211 batting average and just 19 RBI on the season, Texas first baseman Kacy Clemens came through in an unlikely spot, driving a two-run single through the middle of the infield to tie the game up at 2-all in the top of the fourth inning.
Vanderbilt got the lead back momentarily in the bottom of fifth. With two on and one out, right fielder Rhett Wiseman smoked a ball off the right field wall for an RBI double. But with two on and one out, the Commodores tried and failed to squeeze another runner home, instead running themselves into an inning-ending double play and letting the Longhorns escape major damage for the second time in the game.
Texas didn’t waste anytime tying the game up as Barrera tripled over Norwood’s head in center field to lead off the inning. He came around to score on an RBI single to left by Gurwitz and once again the game was tied.
Both bullpens traded zeroes for the next four-plus innings as the game went into extra innings and promised another exciting ending here at TD Ameritrade Park. Vanderbilt’s Hayden Stone was the star in relief of Fulmer, who struggled with his command all night. Stone went 5.2 innings, striking out eight, scattering a walk and three hits. His only blemish was Gurwitz’s RBI after Barrera’s triple in the 6th.
“The story of the game for us was that turnaround in pitching. Hayden Stone certainly picked up Carson Fulmer in such a big way,” said Commodores head coach Tim Corbin. “He has the right temperament. He has the right heartbeat. You put him on the mound and bases are loaded and I say here you go again, Hayden. He said, yep, let’s go.”
His offense got him all the run support he needed in the bottom of the 10th. After Texas closer John Curtiss retired the first two hitters in the inning, Rhett Wiseman drove a 2-1 pitch into center field for a single. Curtiss then walked pinch-hitter Ro Coleman before plunking catcher Karl Ellison to load the bases for third baseman Tyler Campbell. Campbell tapped a 1-1 offering from Curtiss to shortstop, Hinojosa fielded the slow roller and fired it to first, but Campbell beat the throw and Wiseman scooted him for the winning run for the Commodores.
Everyone in a Vanderbilt rushed out of the dugout to celebrate their historic win. Just like Virginia a few hours prior, the win also marks the first time in school history that Vanderbilt will play for a national title in college baseball.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Corbin said. “I said it last week, it’s the parent just watching your kids open the Christmas gift. You don’t hustle under the tree and start opening yours with them. I don’t want to be in that mess, I just want to watch it. I think that’s the part that coaches get. That’s the gratification of watching your kids celebrate moments like that and just being able to take it in and I just enjoy it.”
Best-of-three Championship Series Schedule:
- Mon., June 23, 7:00 pm (CT): Vanderbilt vs Virginia
- Tue., June 24, 7:00 pm (CT): Virginia vs Vanderbilt
- Wed., June 24, 7:00 pm (CT): if necessary
