Vanderbilt (36-23-1) @ No. 1 Oregon State (52-4)
Goss Stadium, Corvallis, Oregon, capacity, 3,315
Coaches:
Tim Corbin, VU, 15 seasons, 643-312-1, 67%, 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, 7 Super Regionals, 3 CWS appearances, 2014 National Championship, 2015 national runner-up. 2 players selected first overall in MLB draft, David Price (2007), Dansby Swanson (2015).
Pat Casey, Oregon State, 23 seasons, 830-444-5, 69%, 2 National Championships, 2006, 2007.
Oregon State: No.1 in the country. 52-4 overall, 29-1 Pac-12. Pac 12 Champions. Regional victories over Holy Cross and Yale twice.
Vanderbilt: Clemson Regional winner. Beat St. John’s 13-4, Clemson, 9-4, loss to Clemson 6-0, Win over Clemson to clinch, 8-0.
Game times: Tonight: 8 CT, ESPN2. Saturday, 8 PM CT, ESPN. Sunday (if necessary) 8 PM CT, ESPN2.
Starting pitchers: Vanderbilt, tonight; RHP Patrick Raby, 10-3, 2.36 ERA, 27 walks, 85 strikeouts, opponents average, .223. Oregon State, probable: LHP Luke Heimlich, 11-1, 0.76, 22 walks, 128 K’s, opponent’s average, .129.
Saturday: VU, RHP Kyle Wright, 5-5, 2.98, 28 walks, 113 K’s, .210. Oregon State, probable, RHP Jake Thompson, 13-0, 1.30, 34 walks, 106 K’s, .180. Pac-12 pitcher of the year.
Sunday: To be determined.
Leading hitters: Vanderbilt; Third baseman Will Toffey, .350, 11 Hrs, 62 RBIs. 1B Julian Infante, .322, 11 Hrs, 62 RBIs. CF Jeren Kendall, .312, 15 Hrs, 52 RBIs, 19 for 23 stolen bases. Ro Coleman, .311, 7 for 9 stolen bases. In his last 11 games, Will Toffey is 24-for-48, .500 average, with 6 home runs and 22 Ribbies. Wow. VU hitting .283 as a team.
Leading hitter for Oregon State is 2B Nick Madrigal, .380, 4 Hrs, 34 RBIs. 15-of-17 SBs. Pac 12 player of the year. The Beavers hit .294 as a team.
VU has hit 50 homers this season and OSU has hit 27. We have 337 RBIs, they have 305. We have 111 doubles and 17 triples and they have 100 doubles and 17 triples.
Our team ERA is 3.54 and our fielding % is .976. Oregon State’s team ERA is 1.78 and they are fielding at .977%
For us to win:
Corbs would say, we have to be good in all 3 phases of the game, take it pitch by pitch, on the mound, on defense and at the plate. And that’s exactly what we need to do to be victorious tonight. We need to play like we did against Clemson in games 2 and 4. We were spectacular in those games. The Beavers have excellent starting pitching, so we’ll have to be locked in at the plate and take advantage of scoring opportunities.
And while OSU’s first 2 starters are very good, so are ours. Rabes and Kyle are 2 of the best in college baseball, if not the best. We have developed depth in our pitching staff with Matt Ruppenthal pitching spectacularly well Monday Night at Clemson, and Drake Fellows having a good outing on Sunday Night versus the Tigers. We also have Chandler Day, who could start for us if necessary. Zach King, Jackson Gillis, Collin Snider, Maddux Conger and Reed Hayes are very good out of the pen.
While they are a very well rounded club, we have a super team as well, and have been really battle tested having the toughest strength of schedule in the country, and with 6 SEC teams in the Supers, that says something about the strength of the SEC. This will be very, very challenging, but I like our chances.
We just need to be the best Vanderbilt baseball team we can be. Corbs likes it one game at a time, even moreso, one pitch at a time, both on the mound and in the field, and one pitch in one at bat at a time. He wants us to do that tonight before we think about anything else. Tonight is the key. Gotta lock in on every pitch. If we do that, we’ve got a really good chance. Tonight is all that matters right now.
