Vanderbilt baseball became the first No. 1 overall seed to fail to reach the regional final and the fourth No. 1 seed to be eliminated in regionals with a 5-4 loss to Wright State on June 1 in the NCAA tournament.
Vanderbilt’s Austin Nye gave up four runs in the first inning. Vanderbilt’s only hit until the ninth inning was a solo home run by Brodie Johnston in the second inning.
Mike Mancini hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to make the score 5-3. Rustan Rigdon hit a ground rule double to score one runner. RJ Austin then flew out to end the game.
The Commodores did draw eight walks and reached on an error.
Vanderbilt (43-18) has been eliminated in regionals four straight seasons, tying the program high under Tim Corbin, and has not advanced to the regional final in any of the last three seasons.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Vanderbilt’s Austin Nye has a shaky start
Vanderbilt opted to start Austin Nye, its lone remaining pitcher who has seen significant time in the rotation this season. But Nye wasn’t sharp, giving up four runs in the first inning including two home runs.
After that one inning, Nye was pulled from the game and replaced by Alex Kranzler. Kranzler hit as high as 98 mph with his fastball, according to the stadium gun. He largely held Wright State at bay. He allowed one unearned run in his four innings of work, walked one and struck out five.
Miller Green came in for the sixth inning and escaped a jam with the bases loaded and nobody out as he got a strikeout and then induced a double play. Green recorded four strikeouts and did not allow a run in his three innings of work.
Vanderbilt’s offense struggles again
Brodie Johnston hit his 15th home run of the season in the second inning, the most single-season home runs for a Vanderbilt player since 2021. But outside of Johnston, the offense largely no-showed the same way it had in the first two games.
Across the three games of the regional, the Commodores recorded just 12 hits, four of which were home runs. Johnston had three of those 12 hits.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or on X @aria_gerson.
