Vanderbilt baseball becomes first No. 1 overall seed to not make a regional final

New York Times

3 days ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tim Corbin's second Vanderbilt baseball team to enter the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed became arguably his biggest tournament disappointment — perhaps the biggest tournament disappointment.
Vanderbilt is the first No. 1 seed to not reach a regional final after falling 5-4 to Nashville Regional No. 4 seed Wright State at Hawkins Field. The Commodores (43-18) lost two of three games on their home field, managing 10 runs and a .132 average in those games. They had to come back late to beat Wright State (40-20) in the opener before falling to Louisville on Saturday — it's Louisville and Wright State for a spot in the super regionals — and Vanderbilt led for just one of the 27 innings it played.
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Miami in 1999 and Tennessee in 2024 are the only No. 1 seeds to win the College World Series. Vanderbilt in 2025 is the No. 1 seed that was furthest from doing so.
'I think they're all surprising when you lose,' Corbin said when asked if this is his biggest tournament disappointment. 'When you're out, you're out. There hasn't been a day when we've been out of the tournament where I don't feel the same way. Right now, at this moment, I feel great about the effort and how hard we played. I just wish the outcome was different for the boys. That stings. But that's the nature of the game. It's cruel. It can be cruel.'
Florida and No. 7 seed Georgia also were eliminated Sunday as part of a tough start for the SEC in this tournament, but Vanderbilt's misery stands out. Corbin, a national champion in 2014 and 2019, has failed to reach the second weekend of this tournament for the fourth straight year after coming within one win of the national title in 2021.
This was not a dominant No. 1 overall seed, not like his David Price-led 2007 team that was upset by Michigan in a regional final. But it was a team on a tear, strong defensively and on the mound all season, then adding offensive punch in the latter stages of the season to win the SEC Tournament and become a serious threat for Omaha.
But like the No. 6 seed Vanderbilt team of 2023, it came up small at the plate when the pressure was on. Corbin snapped at a reporter Saturday night for asking about the offensive struggles after the 3-2 loss to Louisville, but acknowledged the issues in an emotional presser Sunday and said: 'I just felt like I didn't equip (my players) properly in some way.'
'We just didn't find the holes,' said Vandy designated hitter Mike Mancini, who sparked a ninth-inning rally and would have scored the tying run on a Rustan Rigdon double — but the ball bounced into the stands in right center, forcing Mancini to stay at third.
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He was still at third as RJ Austin flew out to end the game. Wright State lefty starter Griffen Paige came into the game with an 8.90 earned-run average but completely dominated the Commodores, holding them to a single hit in eight innings.
Corbin said he believed this season helped his program take a step forward after a dip that has coincided with rival Tennessee's rise. But narratives in this sport are almost exclusively created in the postseason.
'I don't take anything for granted, I don't need a damn life scare to appreciate what I'm doing every day,' Corbin said. 'But you get to the ballpark, get to the yard every day and put on the pants, then the next week you put on the pants and no one is there. The locker room is cleaned out. It's a heavy, heavy hit. … It's just really, really tough. Really tough. It maxes you out.'