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Vanderbilt falls to NC State at College World Series despite amazing effort by Jack Leiter
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Any time Jack Leiter takes the mound for Vanderbilt, it’s probably going to be a low-scoring game for the opponent.
That was certainly the case on Monday night against NC State in the College World Series. Leiter set a school College World Series record with 15 strikeouts against the Wolfpack. None were bigger than his 14th strikeout, which got the Commodores out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning:
Left 'em stranded for his 14th K of the night‼️#VandyBoys | #CWS pic.twitter.com/2SxH72zj8P
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) June 22, 2021
However, NC State pitcher Sam Highfill actually out-dueled Leiter in his 7.1 innings of work. Highfill didn’t allow a single run, striking out 7 and walking 2 while allowing only 2 hits.
Leiter worked 8 innings, but he gave up 1 run. That 1 run was a big one, though, as Terrell Tatum got ahold of this pitch and sent it way past the outfield fence:
Wolfpack POWER!
Terrell Tatum totally tattooed that baseball!#CWS x ? ESPN pic.twitter.com/2ez0w1sVrn
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 22, 2021
That home run came in the bottom of the fifth inning. In the top of the seventh inning, the Wolfpack got some great defense on this play:
WHAT A CATCH!
Devonte Brown lays out to end the top half of the 7th.#CWS x @NCStateBaseball x ? ESPN pic.twitter.com/n9W2sj1gnw
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 22, 2021
Vanderbilt had a runner at third base with 2 outs in the top of the eighth inning, but couldn’t bring it home. A rough double play in the top of the ninth killed Vandy’s momentum, and NC State held on for the 1-0 win. It was the first time Vanderbilt had been shut out all year long.
Now, NC State is 2-0 and advances to Friday’s winner’s bracket game. Meanwhile, the Commodores have to play on Wednesday night against Stanford in an elimination game. Stanford eliminated Arizona on Monday.
Wednesday’s game begins at 7 p.m. Eastern time and can be seen on ESPN.
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.
