May 31, 2015
Swanson is Mr. Clutch
After a relatively quiet start to the NCAA postseason, Dansby Swanson made his presence known in a big way Saturday by blasting a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning and then making an unbelievable backhanded play and throw deep in the hole to rob Austin Cangelosi of a hit for the first out of the inning. The plays sealed a 6-4 Commodore victory over Indiana to send Vanderbilt to the NCAA Regional Championship game.
Swanson’s bomb came off Indiana’s Luke Harrison who entered the game with a 1.69 ERA. Rhett Wiseman got the inning started for Vanderbilt with a one-out double to right field in which he sprinted out of the box on a hit that would have been a single for most. The Hoosiers then elected to pitch to the All-American and Swanson made them pay on the first pitch.
In the bottom of the ninth, Swanson’s heroics continued with his defensive gem that isn’t seen very often even at the MLB level.
His defensive gem was the final exclamation mark on what was an inning Vanderbilt fans will not forget anytime soon. It was one that even Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin was amazed by.
“The ninth inning was one of those innings–at least if you’re a Vanderbilt fan–that you’ll probably remember for quite some time,” Corbin said. “There’s things that have happened in this ballpark–at least in the 13 years that I’ve been here–that stand out. That was certainly one of them. Rhett’s hit, Dansby just leaning on a pitch and putting it in the stands and backing that up with a play that’s tough to put into words, really.”
When Swanson stepped to the plate in the ninth inning, he was not expecting to get a quality pitch. He had been pitched around the entire night and it was plausible that he would even be intentionally walked.
“With the way they had been pitching me all night, with a base open, I was just looking for a breaking ball and they left it up in the zone and I was able to get a good swing on it,” Swanson said.
It was the latest chapter in what has been a remarkable career for Swanson. Performances like Saturday are why Swanson is primed to be a top selection in next week’s MLB Draft.
“He seems to come up big in crucial situations,” Corbin said. “He’s a great player and great players have a game twitch to them that doesn’t exist with a lot of people.”
The performance was emotional for Swanson, who was hit deeply by the tragic loss of former Vanderbilt men’s basketball player Dai-Jon Parker. Parker died of an apparent drowning on Thursday. The two had known each other since eighth grade when they played on the same basketball team.
After the game, Swanson went on Twitter and posted the following message.
That one was for you Dai-Jon.
— Dansby Swanson (@LieutenantDans7) May 31, 2015
Regional Championship Bound
For the seventh year in a row, Vanderbilt will play for an NCAA Regional title at 7 p.m. against the winner of the Radford-Indiana game. The last time Vanderbilt did not play for a regional championship was 2008 when the Commodores were eliminated in three games.
The last time Vanderbilt lost its second game of regional play was in 2010 at Louisville. That year, Vanderbilt rallied back by winning three straight games to win the regional, including a memorable 3-2 triumph over Louisville in 10 innings over Louisville.
Vanderbilt has now outscored opponents 61-20 in NCAA Regional play since 2013.
Pfeifer with Solid Outing
After allowing three runs in the first two innings, starting pitcher Philip Pfeifer found his groove on the mound, and seemed to get stronger as his teammates overcame a three-run deficit to take a 4-3 in the third inning.
Pfeifer recorded 10 strikeouts over six innings, including four in a row from the end of the third through the fourth inning. He had nine strikeouts through four innings and struck out 19 batters over the course of his last two outings.
In Pfeifer’s final inning, Indiana was able to get another run on the board, tying the game at four, on a softly hit grounder to second base that allowed the runner from third to score with two outs.
Despite not getting a decision, it was a strong outing for Pfeifer who allowed five hits and four runs.
“You go back to the beginning, I think Phil helped us turn the game around from a momentum standpoint, at least after I guess it was the third inning,” Corbin said. “The first couple of innings he couldn’t run his fastball and breaking stuff. But then he got in a rhythm and we had the big inning that was clutch for us and got the momentum on our side.”
The last time Vanderbilt fans saw Pfeifer in the NCAA postseason came in 2013 when he started the regional championship game against Georgia Tech and pitched five scoreless innings to help send the Commodores to Super Regionals. Pfeifer earned the win while allowing just four hits, while striking out two.
For Pfeifer, the performance in 2013 was redemption after coming out of the bullpen and allowing a three-run home run to the only batter he faced in a season-ending loss to NC State in the 2012 Raleigh Regional Championship.
Rain, Rain Go Away
Weather has wreaked havoc on many NCAA Regional sites this weekend with multiple delays and even a few postponements. After making it through Friday without any delays, the Nashville Regional was not spared on Saturday.
Lipscomb and Radford made it to the bottom of the sixth inning in Saturday’s elimination game before the clouds opened up and lightning was detected within eight miles of Hawkins Field. The weather prompted an 80-minute weather delay. Play was halted at 5:10 p.m. and resumed at 6:30 p.m.
Seven in a Ro
Ro Coleman continued his NCAA Regional on-base streak Saturday by reaching base in his first two at bats, running his streak to seven straight through two games. The streak ended at seven after he popped out to the catcher trying to sacrifice bunt in the top of the fourth inning.
Freshmen Hitters Come Up Large … Again Vanderbilt freshmen Jeren Kendall and Will Toffey continue to produce timely hits in the postseason. On Friday, Jeren Kendall drove in three runs and on Saturday he knocked home another. Toffey doubled home two runs on Saturday to even the score at three in the top of the third inning.
His RBI double came after going 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs against Lipscomb.
Randomly Random Fact
The NCAA provides baseballs at each regional site. This year, Vanderbilt received 30 dozen (360) baseballs for this weekend’s games.
Lipscomb Coach Complimentary of Vanderbilt
Lipscomb Head Coach Jeff Forehand was asked after the team’s loss to Radford Saturday about Vanderbilt’s team and whether he thought the Commodores could repeat what they accomplished in 2014.
“Absolutely. You guys all know how well they are coached,” Forehand said, “but they’ve got such great leaders. Dansby (Swanson) is such a dynamic player, but also a leader. Carson (Fulmer), when he gets the ball in the first game of any tournament, you like your chances. I think they are just a solid, solid team. You look at where they were at this time last year, maybe a little ahead of where they are right now, but if you are going to like the odds, you have to go with the defending national champions because they are a very good team.”
Another Sellout at Hawkins Field
For the fifth game in a row, Hawkins Field was sold out with an attendance of 3,626. The Commodores also played in front of capacity crowds for all three games against Florida to close the regular season.
