Vanderbilt Crushes San Diego 14-4, Advances To Corvallis Regional Final

After struggling in their first matchup against San Diego Friday night, the Vanderbilt Commodores have looked incredibly dangerous. They bounced back from their 3-2 defeat with a dominant 21-1 win over New Mexico State, and on Sunday afternoon they advanced to the final of the Corvallis Regional with a 14-4 win over the Toreros.

Vanderbilt jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, and while San Diego managed to score 2 runs in the bottom of the third to make things close, the Commodores kept pouring on runs. They scored 2 runs in the fourth and 1 in the fifth to go up 6-2, and scored 8 runs in the final three innings to truly put the game away.

Vanderbilt starter Nick Maldonado got the win, pitching for 7.2 innings, striking out five while allowing 7 hits. Vanderbilt’s bullpen didn’t get pushed much, with reliever Nelson Berkwich coming in in the eighth and throwing 23 pitches over 1.1 innings. If you were hoping Vanderbilt might be worn out for their matchup against Oregon State tonight, I wouldn’t pin too many hopes on that.

That matchup against the Beavers is set for 6:00 PM tonight. If the Beavers prevail, they’ll advance to the Superregional, hosting either Auburn or UCLA in Corvallis. If Vanderbilt wins, there will be a final game tomorrow to determine who will move on to Supers.