Michigan just had an astounding game 1 win forcing Vanderbilt into its first elimination game. Can they keep it up against freshman sensation Kumar Rocker?
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Location: TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, Nebraska
Time: 7 p.m. ET.Â
How to watch: ESPN
History and Preview
Today we have game two of the college world series between Michigan and Vanderbilt. Both teams have been cruising the competition throughout this tournament. Neither team has had to play in an elimination game yet. As for making it to the big stage, this is a familiar scene for powerhouse number 2 ranked Vanderbilt as they have been to the World Series final four almost every year in the past ten years including their only Championship win in 2014. For Michigan, this is their first championship appearance since 1962. That being said they are definitely the underdog in this title match. So far Michigan has just been playing out of their minds. Winning pressure match-up after pressure match-up including a 15-3 win over Texas Tech in the last round. Howver, I think the recent experience of Vanderbilt in this championship atmosphere will play a huge role in deciding the champion.
To go into more detail this game is being played in Omaha at TD Ameritrade Park. In this park, Vanderbilt is 11-6 while Michigan is 12-12. The Commodores also have won their previous title here in 2014 so it is clear they already have a winning culture built in this park. They also have one of the top pitching prospects set to pitch in this game. He recently made history throwing the 1st no-hitter in Super Regional history and the 8th all-time in the NCAA. During this movie performance, he had 19 strikeouts yes 19! En route to a 131 pitch masterpiece. In the MLB I would hate a pitcher coming off this amount of pitches but he has had plenty of time to recover. Being that the game was on June 9th he has had two weeks.Â
Game 1 Recap
Michigan did what they had to do and that was to win the first game. Now they have even more confidence that they can take game two or three and take home the championship. They took a four-run lead by the second inning and never looked back winning 7-4. This was in large because of their ace pitcher T.Henry who pitched 8.1 innings with eight strikeouts and got the win. Michigan also went yard twice, one coming from the third generation star Kerr. They had fourteen hits in the game while they held Commodores to only seven. They definitely had a couple of things go their way in this one and I do not think they will have the same luck in game two.Â
Game 2 Preview
Game two will be the first elimination game Vanderbilt is playing in and they will show up big time like they have been all season, especially with the freshman sensation coming to the mound. Michigan will not be putting up 14 hits against Kumar Rocker and his 100MPH fastball. Pitching has been the reason that Michigan has made this far. They have had a pitching advantage in almost every matchup. In this game, they will be on the other end of things they will now have the pitching disadvantage. Vanderbilt has had the opposite, they have had the bats to overpower teams regardless of their pitcher. In this game, they will have both the better pitcher and the better bats. Not to mention the Commodores also have recent experience in the NCAA tournament. Now IÂ am not saying that Michigan will roll over at all. They have been playing phenomenal all-tournament taking down the defending champion and the number 1 seed on their way to this championship birth and game 1 win. But in this spot I just see Vanderbilt being too much for them to handle they have the pitching, the bats, the experience and the clutch.
Important Statics
Vanderbilt has the 6th best batting average in the NCAA .314 Michigan is not in the top 50
Michigan has the 9th best ERA in the NCAA 3.40 Vanderbilt is 24th 3.74
Kumar Roker’s Fastball can reach 100 mph and he averages over a strikeout per inning
In TD Ameritrade Park, Vanderbilt is 11-6 while Michigan is 12-12
Michigan has taken down the #1 seed and the defending champion already in this tournament
Pick – Vanderbilt Commodores -210 @ Draftkings
