Virginia tops Vanderbilt for first College World Series championship
For the third time in the past 10 seasons, Division 1 college baseball had a chance to crown a back-to-back champion. Instead, the University of Virginia Cavaliers denied history while creating a piece of their own, knocking off the Commodores from Vanderbilt University 4-2 in Game 3 of the College World Series to win the school’s first baseball national championship.
The 2015 finals were actually a rematch of the 2014 finals, which Vanderbilt won in three games. This year, Vanderbilt took Game 1 on Monday, 5-1, before Virginia forced the decisive third game with a 3-0 win on Tuesday.
In Wednesday’s clincher, UVA rode the left arm of starting pitcher Brandon Waddell through seven excellent innings. After allowing two runs in the first, Waddell was really only once threatened for the rest of his outing before turning it over to ace Nathan Kirby, whom the Brewers took 40th overall during this month’s MLB draft. Kirby closed the door, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out five over just two innings.
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UVA’s stellar pitching performance was aided by a sensational defensive play from third baseman Kenny Towns, who dove to his left to take away what would have been a go-ahead hit for Vanderbilt in the fourth.
Towns, a 20th-round pick of the Los Angeles Angels, kept the game even. Later, he tacked on an insurance run with a run-scoring single in the seventh.
Freshman Pavin Smith was the true offensive star for UVA. In the fourth inning, he tied the game with a ringing two-run homer to right field. One inning later, he gave them the lead with an RBI single to left.
Virginia right-handed reliever Josh Sborz was named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player after tossing 13 scoreless innings in the tournament. He’s a Los Angeles Dodgers draft pick.
Dansby Swanson, this year’s No. 1 overall draft pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks, won the same award last season. He was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and an RBI in Wednesday’s final game.
Overall, the tournament made for interesting viewing, with this final game being especially thrilling to watch. Unless of course you were a Vanderbilt fan or alum.
Among the disappointed was Detroit Tigers left-hander David Price.
Price made the trip to Omaha from Cleveland, where the Tigers dropped Wednesday’s finale 8-2.
Detroit plays at home on Thursday afternoon but the Vandy alum isn’t scheduled to pitch again until Sunday. In other words, his trip to Omaha will not impact his preparation and should not be viewed as a major deal. He was just supporting his squad.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
