Friday, June 10, 2011

Commodores Roll 11-1; One Game Away From Omaha

There hasn't been a team more dominant in the NCAA tournament than Tim Corbin's Commodores. That streak continued tonight as Vanderbilt welcomed the Oregon State Beavers to Hawkins Field, only to thoroughly dismantle the two-time National Champions 11-1. Frankly, as the box score makes clear, the game wasn't that close. In fact, since the NCAA tournament started, Vanderbilt has out-scored their opponents 37-4.

Vanderbilt jumped out to an early after a two-out walk to Aaron Westlake kept the Commodore first alive. 2 more walks and 3 singles later, Vanderbilt jumped out to a 4-0 lead. It would be all they'd need, but not all they'd get. Offensively, the Commodores were paced by Mike Yastrzemski's 2-4, 4 RBI night, including a 3 run blast in the 4th. 3B Jason Esposito was an impressive 3-4, with a 2-run shot in the 6th. He also drove in 3.

Vanderbilt chased the Oregon State ace Sam Gaviglio in the 5th, after he allowed 10 earned runs, 9 hits, and 6 walks in 5 1/3 IP. By any measure, this was Gavilgio's worst outing of the season. This was only the second time all season Gaviglio didn't complete more than 5 innings, and the only time he allowed 10 earned runs. Given the unavailability of Josh Osich, the Beavers' usual number 2 starter, Coach Pat Casey's squad could ill-afford such an outing from their ace. Fortunately, that's exactly what the Commodores got, who now find themselves 9 innings from their first ever trip to Omaha.

Sonny Gray's last game at Hawkins Field was a decidedly better outing. The #18 overall pick form the Oakland A's was dominate, allowing just 1 earned run and 4 hits through 6 2/3. Gray likely would ahve gone longer had the Beavers not played a run in the top of the 7th, thereby breaking up his shut-out bid. Correy Williams entered the game in relief, shutting down the Beavers, and now allowing a runner to reach base.

As the Commodores pitching line makes clear, the Beavers offense was stymied all night. Looking at the box-score however, it becomes clear just how over-matched they were all night. Of Oregon State's 4 hits, 3 came off the bat of 2B Jake Rodriguez, who was 3-4, and scored the team's only run. Facing elimination, the diminutive freshman is likely to move up in the Beavers' batting order given that the second baseman is hitting .500 in the NCAA Tournament.

For a great recap of all of Day 1's Super Regional action, check out this from ESPN.com's Eric Sorenson, who was very, very impressed with Vanderbilt's performance. The Commodores have a chance to punch their ticket to Omaha tomorrow night at 8pm on ESPN2 with Grayson Garvin taking the hill for Tim Corbin against an currently TBD hurler. Tickets are still available, and can be purchased online or by calling the Vanderbilt Ticket Office tomorrow morning.

1 comment:

even more anonymous said...

I followed the game tweet-by-tweet from western Canada. Go Commies go!