Walkoffs rule in Omaha

OMAHA, Neb. – One got the sense that Mother Nature provided Vanderbilt with a huge favor Sunday night. With Thomas Eshelman on the mound and dealing opposite Vandy's own ace, Carson Fulmer, lightning and heavy rain forced the game to be suspended until Monday with the Titans up 3-0.

It also forced Eshelman from the game.

Continued rain pushed the game even further back than inititally scheduled, and once play did resume Vanderbilt wasted no time getting on the board on their way to a dramatic, walkoff win that saw the Commodores come out on top, 4-3, thanks to a two-run home run by freshman outfielder Jeren Kendall.

“Yeah, I dream a lot,” Kendall said after the game about the poise he displayed as a young player to deliver the game-winning blow. “So I dream a lot about big moments. But obviously just hearing the guys talk about their experiences last year kind of made me a little more comfortable, obviously coming in here as a freshman not knowing what it's like. So, yeah, I felt pretty comfortable today.”

Down by three with a 3-2 count, two outs and a runner on third in the bottom of the sixth inning when play resumed, Zander Wiel promptly delivered an RBI double that put the Commodores on the board and proved they weren't dead in the water. Although Chad Hockin gave up the hit, the run was charged to Eshelman who was responsible for the runner, Rhett Wiseman. Wiseman hit a booming double with one out over the head of Fullerton center fielder Tyler Stieb on Sunday night shortly before the game was halted.

“I actually thought it was comical that's how it played out and I had that 3-2 count,” Wiel said of the amount of time he had to think about finishing his at-bat. “I'm not a guy who tries to put pressure on myself by thinking too much about things like that. I obviously knew what the situation was I just knew I had to put a good team at-bat together and I went up there with a clear head.”

Although Titans' closer Tyler Peitzmeier did an excellent job silencing the Vanderbilt bats in the seventh and eighth innings, Wiel once again came up big to open the ninth with another double. Two batters later Bryan Reynolds brought him home with a double of his own and freshman outfielder Jeren Kendall made himself an instant hero with a no-doubt two-run shot to left-center that gave Vanderbilt a huge walkoff win.

Kendall also hit a double off of Eshelman earlier in the game on Sunday, while he, Reynolds and Wiel each went 2-for-4.

“That was unbelievable,” Wiel added. “I'm so happy for (Kendall) because he works so hard. Really in the second half of the season he's come on for us huge. He's just hitting really well, showing the power he obviously showed. In that first at-bat he kind of fell victim to that slider that Peitzmeier had, and he was working well against us, getting a lot of guys off balance. For Jeren to come back in that second at-bat against him and put that swing on the ball was incredible.”

On a team full of first-round picks it wasn't the No. 1 overall pick, Dansby Swanson, or even their staff ace, Carson Fulmer, who emerged as the hero in this game, but one of their talented young freshmen. Kendall came to campus as part of yet another talent freshman class that includes starting third baseman Will Toffey and righthanded pitcher Kyle Wright, who provided two key outs in the top of the ninth while also earning the decision to move to 6-1 on the year.

“He's just a young kid who has some maturity,” Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin said of Kendall after the game. “He has a very consistent behavior whether it be in the classroom or socially and I think that kind of points to performance. He never really gets too up, he never really gets too down, and I think it's why he's been able to continually better himself, especially the last half of the year.”

Kendall arrived on Vanderbilt's campus after being selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 30th round of the 2014 MLB Draft. On talent alone he never would have fallen that far, as he was ranked the 67th player in the nation according to Perfect Game's rankings of the top high school players from the class of 2014. He displayed true five-tool talents, running the 60-yard dash in 6.49 while throwing 93 mph from the outfield and showing exciting gap power at the 2013 National Showcase.

He was also the first Vanderbilt hitter to face Peitzmeier in the seventh inning and made sure he was the only Commodore that faced him twice. However, in his first at-bat he struck out, and yet proved to have the mental fortitude to make the proper adjustments to put both himself and his Vanderbilt teammates in a position to emerge as champions.

“I got some pretty good looks my first at-bat, even though my first at-bat didn't end very well,” Kendall said of the approach he took against Peitzmeier the second time. “I saw some good looks on some balls and got my reads and came up next at-bat with a clear mind and just play the game.”

His coach was quick to point out the maturity his young players display.

“It points back to smart kids, not overanalyzing things but being able to retain information that they think will help them,” Corbin added. “He did it, Zander did it, Reynolds did it. Those second and third at-bats are sometimes the most key. You can get beaten out the first time around by a pitcher and your adjustments throughout the game and your ability to stay centered and not get yourself down are so important in this game.”

Vanderbilt advances to the winners' bracket and will play TCU at 7:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday.

To read more about Eshelman and the game action prior to Sunday night's suspension of play, please visit Sunday's College World Series feature recap.



Heyward plays hero in Game 2

At the completion of two games played at the College World Series on Monday both winners emerged in walkoff fashion, as the Miami Hurricanes ended Arkansas' season with a 4-3 win. Jacob Heyward, Miami's No. 9 hitter, enjoyed a perfect day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a walk, a two-run home run in the fifth and the game-winning RBI single.

That hit scored Willie Abreu, who opened the bottom of the ninth with a booming double hit to the deepest part of the ballpark just to the right of straightaway centerfield.

“I told Willie before that at-bat, “no matter what we do right here we're not getting beat with fastballs.” We know that we're one of the best teams in the country, and I don't see anybody else in the country in the eight- and nine-hole doing what we did today,” Heyward said after the game. “You don't have a eight-hole (hitter) like Willie Abreu hitting balls off the centerfield wall. You don't. You don't have nine-hole (hitters) hitting home runs trying to win games for their teams.

“You just have to trust and have confidence in all of us. We know the talent we have, you just have to respect the game and play hard.”

Heyward is the younger brother of St. Louis Cardinals star outfielder Jason. While Jason opted to enter the professional ranks out of high school after the hometown Atlanta Braves took him with their first-round pick in 2007, younger brother Jacob decided to honor his commitment to Miami after falling to the 38th round of the 2013 draft.

That's something Head Coach Jim Morris was extremely appreciative of after Monday's walkoff win.

“It was a huge win; at this time of year every win's big,” Morris said. “It was a great effort by our team, and their team. Arkansas kept battling, they got the leadoff hitter on five innings in a row and battled back when we got ahead. Our guys kept battling too as it was a great effort by both teams.

“We were fortunate enough to have Heyward on our team today because he was the man.”

After the Hurricanes and Razorbacks traded zeros through the first four innings Miami got on the board first with Heyward's fifth inning blast. Arkansas scraped and clawed their way back numerous times, scoring single tallies in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, twice battling back to tie the game.

Miami starter Thomas Woodrey stepped up big in the elmination game, providing six innings of three-hit ball, striking out seven and allowing just one unearned run. Closer Bryan Garcia, one of four relievers used by Miami, moved to 6-2 on the season with the win.

“That's the way he pitches,” Morris said of Woodrey's performance. “He mixes it up, moves it in and out. He throws changeups, he throws breaking balls and he holds the runners pretty well. He's a lefthanded pitcher that doesn't throw that hard but he can pitch.”

The Razorbacks went with freshman righthander Keaton McKinney, a 2013 Perfect Game All-American, to start the game, and he performed admirably over the first 4 1/3 innings, allowing only one run on two base hits and a walk while fanning three Miami hitters. Jackson Lowery, Lance Phillips and Zach Jackson combined to go the rest of the way, with Jackson taking the loss.

Arkansas second baseman Ricky Nomura had a big day at the plate in the loss, going 3-for-4 with a walk, a double and an RBI. Right fielder Tyler Spoon scored two of Arkansas' three runs.

Miami will play the loser of the Florida/Virginia game at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday.



Waddell shines in Omaha, again

Lefthanded pitcher Brandon Waddell looked sharp early on and didn't slow down until the eighth inning, providing seven shutout innings for the Virginia Cavaliers in their 1-0 win over Florida. Throwing his fastball in the low-90s early in the game while mixing in his signature cutter, Waddell allowed only two base hits and three walks on his way to earning his 20th career victory for Virginia.

“This is probably by far the best that I felt all year,” Waddell said enthusiastically after the game. “I was fortunate it came at a good time. But just trying to keep it rolling, feel good as long as you can, make quality pitches as long as you can.”

Virginia advances to the championship bracket as a result, and will play the winner of the Florida/Miami game – which is set to be played at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday – on Friday.

Waddell's last start in Omaha was a complete game win over eventual national champion Vanderbilt in the second game of their best-of-three series a year ago. In thee College World Series appearances, Waddell now has a 2-0 record with a 0.78 ERA spanning 23 innings.

“You take it back to your childhood,” Waddell said of his success in Omaha. “When you're out there playing in the backyard, throwing with your dad, throwing with your friends, you're dreaming about the biggest stage. You put yourself pitching in a World Series game (etc.), it could be anything. You want to be in that situation and I think any person in our clubhouse if you asked them they'd say 'yeah, I want the ball in that situation.'

“I've been fortunate enough to have success when I go out there. The key is to keep it simple. We're facing a really good team, day in, day out, we're in Omaha at the College World Series. Keeping it simple, keeping your head right is probably the best thing.”

For as good as Waddell was on Monday night in Omaha, his regular season had its fair share of ups and downs, as Waddell moved to only 4-5 on the year with the win. His ERA continues to drop, now 3.86 spanning 17 starts, and aside from this game, his command in particular hasn't been as sharp, with 44 walks in 98 innings of work.

“This year throughout most of the season he was just kind of hot and cold,” Virginia Head Coach Brian O'Connor said of Waddell's season. “He really couldn't find his rhythm and certainly we're glad that he found it here in Omaha. But he's been pitching some pretty good baseball for us, in the Super Regional and Regional. He kept getting better and better and maybe tonight was that final one that put him over the hump.”

Righthander Josh Sborz came on to secure the win collecting his 15th save in the process by tossing two nearly perfect innings, allowing just one runner to reach on a fielder's choice.

The only run of the game crossed home plate in the bottom of the sixth. After Matt Thaiss, Kenny Towns and Pavin Smith all hit consecutive singles, Robbie Coman hit a fly ball to centerfield, scoring Thaiss.

Florida starter A.J. Puk was impressive in 5 1/3 innings, routinely throwing 93-95 mph fastball from a pronounced downhill plane while mixing in his big sweeping breaking ball. Puk was responsible for the run that scored, taking the loss, and was removed due to his elevated workload count, which reached 95 pitches with the bases loaded and one out.

Florida was threatening in the eighth inning when Sborz was summoned from the bullpen. The Gators had runners on first and third with no outs after Dalton Guthrie walked to lead off the frame and Ryan Larson singled, with Guthrie advancing to third. With Sborz on the mound he promptly produced a comebacker, a lineout and a weak ground ball to end the threat with no runs crossing home plate.

Now 2-0 in the College World Series, Virginia has the next three days off before they face the winner of the Florida/Miami game on Friday at 2:00 p.m.

“We're having an unbelievable amount of fun,” Waddell said with a smile. “We knew what we were capable of, and the fact we're playing our best baseball all year makes it that much more exciting, and like I said, that much more fun.”