OMAHA, Neb. – Vanderbilt came to the College World Series ranked in the top five among Division I baseball teams this season in all the major offensive categories. The Commodores have a .400 hitter, the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s MLB draft and three of the top-20 run producers in the nation.
Through 8 1/3 innings against Louisville pitcher Luke Smith on Friday night, they did virtually nothing. Once Smith started to go through the order a fourth time, though, Vanderbilt couldn’t be held back any longer.
Pat DeMarco chopped a grounder over third base in the ninth inning to give his team its first lead of the game, and the Commodores held on to beat Louisville 3-2 Friday night and advance to the CWS finals.
The Commodores (57-11), seeded second nationally when the NCAA tournament field was announced, will play Michigan (49-20) in the best-of-three finals starting Monday night. Vanderbilt last played in the title series in 2015, the year after it won the program’s lone national championship.
Like Vanderbilt, Michigan went through its double-elimination bracket undefeated.