TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Down 7-3 in the bottom of the ninth Vanderbilt rallied for three runs and had the tying run at first base but couldn’t complete the comeback to fall to Florida State in the deciding game of the NCAA Tallahassee Regional.
The Seminoles (47-18) advanced to their 20th College World Series appearance, while the Commodores (46-20) season ended with the team one game short of their first CWS appearance.
Sherman Johnson’s three-run double in the top of the eighth broke open a 4-3 game to give the Seminoles a 7-3 lead.
Pinch-hitter Riley Reynolds led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk and Brian Harris singled to center off of FSU closer Mike McGee. Anthony Gomez struck out and Aaron Westlake doubled to right to plate a run. Jason Esposito struck out before Curt Casali hit a single to right off of the glove of second baseman Devon Travis to make it 7-6. McGee then struck out Loftus to end the game.
Stephen Cardullo’s solo homer to lead off the second sparked a four-run inning for the Seminoles. VU starter Jack Armstrong struck out Jayce Boyd before giving up a single, double and a walk to the 7-8-9 hitters to load the bases. The Commodores went to Drew Hayes out of the bullpen and he gave up a two-run double to Tyler Holt. FSU plated the final run in the frame on a RBI groundout by Sherman Johnson to make it 4-0.
Armstrong allowed four run on four hits in 1.1 innings with a walk and a strikeout.
The Commodores got on the board in the fourth on a RBI single by Jason Esposito on a hit and run. Anthony Gomez was hit by FSU starter Geoff Parker and Aaron Westlake walked before Esposito’s hit through the left side. He stole second base before Curt Casali lined out to third for the first out. Joe Loftus was hit to load the bases and the Seminoles went to Friday’s starter southpaw Sean Gilmartin to face the left-handed hitting Mike Yastrzemski. Gilmartin struck him out and then got Andrew Giobbi to ground out to third to end the inning with the bases loaded.
Hayes held the Seminoles scoreless in 4.1 innings of four-hit relief. He struck out three and walked four before getting relieved by Richie Goodenow in the sixth.
The Commodores plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh on a RBI single by Anthony Gomez and a RBI double by Aaron Westlake.
Yastrzemski led off with a single to left-center and moved to second on Giobbi’s single through the left-side. The inning appeared to be short-circuited when Connor Harrell lined into a double play on a hit and run. He faked to bunt and roped a shot right to left-fielder Ohmed Danesh who threw to second for the double play.
Brian Harris was hit by a pitch and Gomez then lined a single to left off of Gilmartin to score Giobbi to cut the lead in half. The Seminoles stuck with the lefty to face Aaron Westlake and he lined a double off the wall to score Harris to make it 4-3.
FSU then brought in ace closer Mike McGee to face Esposito and he hit him on a 1-2 pitch to load the bases. McGee came back to strike out Curt Casali to end the inning.
Goodenow gave up a lead-off double to Jayce Boyd in the eighth and then the umpires pulled the players off of the field due to lightning and rain in the area.
The delay lasted for 58 minutes before restarting at 4:05 CT. When play resumed Goodenow hit Rafael Lopez while he was attempting to bunt the runner up. The Commodores then went to the bullpen and Chase Reid who fielded a sacrifice bunt attempt by Devon Travis and threw to first to get him out. Reid struck out Ohmed Danesh for the second out in the inning and intentionally walked Tyler Holt to load the bases. Sherman Johnson cleared the bases with a double into the gap on a 2-2 pitch to make it 7-3.
