College World Series Finals Game 1: Vanderbilt 5, Virginia 1
Vanderbilt’s Fulmer holds Virginia hitters two through six to a combined 0-of-19 on Monday night (Brad Williams/WBR)
The reigning 2014 College World Series Champions moved one win from repeating the feat on Monday night. Freshman third baseman Will Toffey hit a go-ahead two-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a scoreless tie, and the Commodores added three more runs an inning later to pad the lead.
On the mound, junior right-handed pitcher Carson Fulmer made a five-run lead look like a 20-run advantage with the way he was dealing against the Virginia offense. The Commodores ace, a 2015 first-round pick of the Chicago White Sox, threw seven and 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball. He struck out eight batters, scattering two hits, two walks, and two hit batters over his 119-pitch outing to stifle the Cavaliers, who entered the game with third-highest on-base percentage in this year’s College World Series.
“I thought he contained the strike zone,” Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin said. “I just thought he hit the strike zone all night. The times that he didn’t, a couple of breaking balls got away from him, but even with first and second and one out, that’s really where you see his compete factor. It’s almost like he’ll bend, but he’s not going to break. He did such a nice job of pitching out of those innings.”
“As the game progresses he just gets stronger. I’ve used Joe Frazier, the fighter, as an analogy, because he keeps coming and he keeps throwing punches, and he’s just looking for your jaw. He’s not trying to maneuver around you. As a kid, we just haven’t had many like him.”
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The two through six hitters in the Virginia lineup have been the catalyst for the Cavaliers offense throughout the season and in the postseason. On Monday night, Fulmer turned them into non-factors. Those five hitters — Daniel Pinero, Matt Thaiss, Kenny Towns, Pavin Smith, Robbie Coman — combined to go 0-for-15 against the Vanderbilt ace. They struck out six times, hit into six ground ball outs, and managed only one walk against Fulmer.
“He did a great job of starting off with the breaking ball for a strike,” Virginia junior left fielder Kevin Doherty said. “He started me off with fastballs, which I knew just to get right after if I was going to see fastballs in the zone, but through Kenny [Towns] and the middle of our lineup, he did a phenomenal job of getting ahead with the breaking ball and then working in from there. He did a great job with all of his pitches.”
With only two games remaining, at most, in the season, and a professional career waiting for him, chances are very good that this was probably the last time Carson Fulmer will set foot on the mound as a collegiate player. A fact that was not lost on Fulmer and his teammates when Tim Corbin came out to get him with two outs left in the top of the eighth inning and his team leading 5-0.
“When I saw Coach walking out, I knew that was it. … What made it big for me was not only did I have Coach there, but I had the whole infield. I consider those guys my friends, along with the other guys on my team. For me being able to spend that moment with them and just look back on the brotherhood that we created, and on top of it with a win at the end of the game. It’s definitely a moment I’ll remember for the rest of my life, and I couldn’t have asked for it to happen any better.”
If that is, in fact, his last time on the mound at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, in the College World Series, he leaves behind a legacy that won’t be easy for anyone to match. As a sophomore, in the 2014 title clincher, he allowed one earned run and struck out five batters in five and 1/3 innings of work to lead Vanderbilt to their first national championship in school history.
After tonight’s performance, he has a 0.69 earned run average and has struck 13 batters in 13 innings over his two career starts in the College World Series Finals.
“He’s a special, special competitor, and he’ll go down as one of the greatest pitchers to ever pitch at Vanderbilt,” Corbin said. “I don’t want to say the [greatest], because we’ve had some good ones, but I’ll tell you what, he’s a special guy.”
“He’s had so many good games. The first game against Louisville last year to open [the College World Series], and to come back on short rest against Virginia in Game 3 last year. I mean you go on and on about him. He just gives you a chance to win every single time. The game never gets away from him, and the mentality is so consistent. He takes such pride in gathering his teammates all the time. I mean, his legacy is the fact that every pitcher from this point forward for us won’t get off the field until the rest of their teammates do. That started from him. He just serves other people. He’s just different.”
Game 1 Highlights
Bottom of the 6th: With both aces mowing down opposing hitters, the reigning champs used a two-out rally to break through. After Virginia starting pitcher Connor Jones retired Commodores junior right fielder Rhett Wiseman and junior shortstop Dansby Swanson to start the frame, a dribbler to third base by junior first baseman Zander Wiel kept the inning alive for Vanderbilt. A four-pitch walk to sophomore center fielder Bryan Reynolds moved Wiel into scoring position, then freshman third baseman Will Toffey ripped a double down the left field line to bring home Wiel and Reynolds and give the Commodores a 2-0 lead.
Bottom of the 7th: The Commodores manufactured another run, and used some more timely two-out hitting to pad their lead. Sophomore catcher Karl Ellison led off with a single to left field. He moved over to second base on a sacrifice bunt, then came home to score on a single up the middle by 5-foot, 5-inch designated hitter Ro Coleman. Vanderbilt drove in their speedy lead off hitter with an RBI double into the right field corner by junior shortstop, and 2014 College World Series Most Outstanding Player, Dansby Swanson. They tacked on a third run when Bryan Reynolds hit a line drive into right field to bring in Swanson and make it 5-0.