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No. 1 national seed Vanderbilt falls to Wright State, eliminated from NCAA Tournament
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No. 1 national seed Vanderbilt was on the verge of a magical comeback on its home field on Sunday afternoon, with its season hanging in the balance.
But in an elimination game at the Nashville Regional, the Commodores couldn’t muster that final big hit with runners on second and third. Those tying and go-ahead runs were stranded in scoring position when RJ Austin flied out to right field, and Wright State hung on for a 5-4 victory that saved its season. It was a bitter way for Vandy to see its season end, with the Commodores being the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history.
This has been a remarkable era of Vanderbilt baseball, with the Commodores making all 5 of their College World Series trips since 2011, winning 2 national titles in 2014 and 2019. But a potential return to Omaha this season went up in smoke with Sunday’s heartbreaking loss and Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Louisville that put Vandy into an elimination game on Sunday.
Vanderbilt baseball’s social media account posted the bad news on Sunday, with the simple headline: “Final”.
Here is the post:
Vanderbilt looked done going into the top of the ninth on Sunday, down 5-1 and with little offense to show for itself on a day it needed it the most. But then the bats suddenly came to life with the Commodores down to their last out, as Vandy scored 3 runs to make it a 1-run game and had those tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position.
But that’s where it all ended. It ended in their home regional, short of the College World Series and short of even getting to the Super Regionals.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
