(photo by Craig Jackson, @leftfieldlounge)
OMAHA, Neb. – One game to decide the 2019 National Championship.
Kumar Rocker and Tyler Brown combined on a four-hitter with 13 strikeouts as No. 2 Vanderbilt topped Michigan 4-1 on Tuesday evening in Game 2 of the Championship Series of the 2019 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park.
The Commodores (38-12) and the Wolverines (50-21) split the first two games of the Championship Series. The teams will play for the national title on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT.
Rocker (12-5) worked into the seventh inning, hurling 6.1 innings with three hits, one run, two walks and 11 strikeouts.
“We had the right guy on the mound,” VU head coach Tim Corbin said. “I know how he thinks. I know how he attacks, and I felt like we had a chance today with him on the mound. He got us deep into that ballgame.”
Rocker threw 104 pitches on the night.
“The big story line tonight was Kumar Rocker,” UM skipper Erik Bakich said. “He’s as advertised. He’s got a special breaking ball that’s tough to see. You try to sit on a fastball, and he throws enough of those breaking balls for strikes. You try to sit on the breaking ball, and he gets you with a 95 mile-an-hour fastball. I’m glad that the college game has players like that in it. The college game is better when guys like that come to school. And he was good tonight. He had our number. We had some chances that we didn’t cash in. We didn’t get the two-out RBIs tonight.”
Those 11 punchouts were a record for strikeouts by a Vandy pitcher in the CWS.
“He’s a director,” Corbin said. “He’s not an actor. You don’t have to tell him what to do. There’s a clear difference. He directs himself. When he’s coached, he doesn’t sit there and just “yeah, yeah” you. He’s curious. He asks good questions. He’s a sponge. I just see a kid that wants to really learn and wants to really, really be good. He wants to be special. And he’s got a chance to, because he pitches for his team. He said that, but that’s not manufactured, that’s a real feeling.”
After being retired in order in each of the first two innings with five strikeouts, UM threatened in the third and the fourth. But the Wolverines stranded two in scoring position in each frame.
“I remember looking back my past times at runners on third,” Rocker said. “I needed a good defense behind me and I needed to make pitches, because the past times I think I put that runner in every time with two outs, so that was a big moment for me.”
VU broke through in the top of the fifth. Harrison Ray had a leadoff single and moved to third on a mishandled grounder up the middle. Austin Martin was out on a slow roller to third, allowing Ray to score the game’s first run. The Commodores loaded the bases, but a groundout ended the inning.
The Commodores added to their lead in the sixth. Pat DeMarco had a leadoff single and moved to second when Stephen Scott walked. Ray sacrificed both runners into scoring position and Jack Weisenburger came in to pitch for the Wolverines. Both runners would score on wild pitches as VU went up 3-0.
Philip Clarke homered for the Commodores in the top of the seventh, his ninth of the season, as VU took a 4-0 advantage.
The Wolverines finally got on the board in the bottom of the frame. Jack Blomgren led off with a hit to left and moved to second on a balk. Rocker ended his night by fanning Joe Donovan. Tyler Brown took over on the mound and surrendered a single to Ako Thomas that drove in Blomgren, making it a 4-1 contest. Brown struck out Dominic Clementi looking before Jesse Franklin walked. With Jordan Brewer representing the tying run, Brown struck him out looking to end the inning.
Brown set UM down in order in each of the final two innings to preserve the victory.
Will the coaches have to be sports psychologists with their teams prior to Wednesday’s game?
“No, I don’t worry about this group,” Corbin said. “I haven’t worried about this group all year. They’re that middle child that you don’t discipline, you don’t give a curfew to, you don’t do anything to, and they give you no reason to worry.”
“I just read their faces in the dugout and they were smiling,” Bakich said. “This is a bounce-back team. We’ve had so many bouts of adversity where we’ve been knocked down. I didn’t sense that they were totally bummed out and would come into tomorrow still dragging their feet. They walked out of here with their head held high. They know once we hit the pillow tonight, this one is over, and we’ve got a chance to play again tomorrow, and we’ll just have to play better.”
Notes
Vanderbilt had reached the CWS Championship Series three times and all have been extended to three games. The Commodores beat Virginia in 2014 and lost the Cavaliers in 2015.
VU is the ninth team to force a Game 3 after losing the opener. Five of the previous eight won the title, including each of the past three (Oregon State in 2018, Coastal Carolina in 2016, Virginia in 2015).
The Commodores now have 58 wins, an SEC record. They broke a tie with LSU (1997 & 2013) and South Carolina (2002).