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Big first inning launches Vanderbilt to Game 1 win over Mississippi State in College World Series
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Game 1 of the College World Series didn’t get off to a great start for the Vanderbilt Commodores. Ace Jack Leiter gave up a home run to Kamren James.
That gave the Mississippi State Bulldogs a 1-0 lead, as you can see below:
OMADAWGS HOME RUN!#CWS x @HailStateBB x ? ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/lAFN4bkKwu
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 29, 2021
But, that lead didn’t last long. The Commodores came roaring back in the bottom of the first inning, scoring 7 total runs in the frame.
That was highlighted by a 3-run blast by Jayson Gonzalez:
GONZO‼️ ?#VandyBoys | #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/ihvFvjEmQM
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) June 29, 2021
From that point on, only 1 run was scored by each team as Vanderbilt cruised to an 8-2 victory to take the all-important 1-0 lead in the final series.
After that one bad pitch in the first inning, Leiter settled down, recording 8 strikeouts in his dominant performance:
Jack struck out 8️⃣ in his #CWS Finals debut.
Watch them all. ?#VandyBoys pic.twitter.com/5bDmutcbJ5
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) June 29, 2021
Leiter continues to rack up the wins in clutch situations for his squad. But, the hitters carried the Commodores on Monday night. We’ll see if that hot hitting continues moving forward.
Vanderbilt is now 1 win away from winning its third title since 2014. However, it’s likely that Kumar Rocker won’t be able to pitch until Game 3 after throwing earlier this week.
There’s still hope for the Bulldogs, so we’ll see if their bats can come alive a bit more in Game 2 tomorrow night.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
