Tim Corbin figures that Vanderbilt might be better prepared for this trip to an NCAA baseball tournament super regional than it was its last.

That came in 2004, the season after Corbin took over the Commodores' program. Vanderbilt had a losing record in 2003. The next June, the Commodores found themselves in Texas playing for the right to advance to the College World Series.

“It all happened so quickly that year (2004) that, looking back, maybe we weren't ready for it,'' Corbin said. “We made our way through regionals, and the next thing we know, we're getting swarmed in Texas in that environment. That's a tough place for anyone to play.

“That was a big step for our program, but maybe the program didn't need to go that far that quick.''

Texas swept Vanderbilt in the best-of-three super regional, outscoring the Commodores 25-5 in the two games. While they continued to play at a high level — winning the powerful Southeastern Conference championship in 2007 and making the national tournament all but one of the seasons since 2004 — they never were able to make it back to the super-regional round.

Until this season. After finishing fifth in the SEC, Vanderbilt earned a No. 2 regional seed at Louisville, Ky. The Commodores lost their second-round game to Louisville, then battled back to win three straight, the last two coming over the host school.

That earned Vanderbilt a trip to the Tallahassee, Fla., super regional, where the Commodores will face Florida State beginning Friday. The winner advances to Omaha for the June 19 to 30 CWS at Rosenblatt Stadium.

“After 2004, I think some people started thinking that it (super regionals) would happen all the time,'' Corbin said in a phone interview from Nashville, Tenn. “But it takes a special team to get to the super regional, and to get to Omaha, you need a real special team.

“Louisville was an Omaha team. They were as talented as any team we've played this season, and we've played UCLA. To get to the super regional, you need to be playing really well and you have to have a little bit of luck.''

Not to mention an extraordinary performance or two. Vanderbilt got one in the first championship game against Louisville, when junior reliever Richie Goodenow stepped up to turn in a career effort in a 7-0 victory that forced a rematch.

Goodenow, making just his second start in 68 career appearances, threw a complete-game, two-hit shutout. He faced just two batters over the minimum and needed just 99 pitches to subdue a Louisville lineup that had scored a 7-1 win over the Commodores 24 hours previously.
In that game, the first five hitters in the Louisville lineup went 7 of 19, scored all seven runs and drove in five. Against Goodenow, those hitters were 0 for 15.

“Richie's performance against Louisville is something I'll never forget,'' Corbin said. “It's the best pitching performance I've ever seen.''

One thing that made it so special was that Goodenow had never pitched more than 4-2⁄3 innings in a collegiate game. A second was that although he wasn't used, Goodenow warmed up several times during the afternoon elimination game against Illinois State.

“He then goes out and beats one of the best lineups we've seen all year,'' Corbin said. “The only thing that surprised me was the longevity of Richie's performance. He's been in so many crucial situations for us over the years, so it didn't surprise me he pitched so well.

“But I never thought he'd go that far. I think after a certain point, he was pitching on adrenaline.''

Monday night, the Commodores wrapped up the regional title with a 3-2, 10-inning victory. Vanderbilt let a 2-1 lead slip away in the ninth, then won it in the 10th on a suicide squeeze bunt by Connor Harrell, who had bunted just once all season.

Harrell is Vanderbilt's fourth-leading hitter with a .307 batting average. Anthony Gomez leads the Commodores with a .378 average, while Jason Esposito is hitting .359 and Aaron Westlake .308. Esposito and Westlake have combined for 24 of Vanderbilt's 58 homers this season.

Vanderbilt's three primary starters are Sonny Gray (9-5, 3.51 ERA), Taylor Hill (6-5, 4.15) and Jack Armstrong (7-3, 4.32). Six pitchers have registered at least one save, with Russell Brewer leading the team with six.

“With us, it all starts with pitching and defense,'' Corbin said. “At the regional, offense was tough to come by, but we got enough to get it done. But our pitching and defense were phenomenal, especially in those last three games.''

Corbin knows that his team is trading one difficult environment for another as the Commodores play at Florida State. The Seminoles have made it to the super-regional round for the third straight year and for the 10th time since the NCAA adopted the present format in 1999.

Vanderbilt hopes to counter Florida State's home-field advantage with its bulldog-tough attitude. Corbin said he first saw that early in the year when his team posted a 17-6 road win over Western Kentucky, a day after the Hilltoppers had embarrassed Vanderbilt with a 17-2 win in Nashville.

“At that point, I knew this team had a little more in it than some,'' Corbin said. “It has good fight-back ability. We've had some tough moments, and this team just finds ways to get it done.''

Vanderbilt has posted a 13-5 record in one-run games.

“Battling back has become part of our DNA,'' Corbin said. “In this game, you're going to have emotional downs during games. Our guys have overcome them. It's a part of who we are, but for a coach, that's not always easy to watch.''

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

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