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CWS Finals: How Virginia-Vanderbilt Matchup

FITT: Rematch Has Different Feel for ‘Cavs, ‘Dores

OMAHA — There’s something to be said about two teams playing for the national title in back-to-back seasons.

It tells you a lot about both teams, and how the two programs operate. The Cavaliers have one of the best coaches in college baseball in Brian O’Connor. And oh yeah, the rest of his staff is excellent as well. And UVa., despite losing some key cogs last season, still has a roster littered with veterans. Vanderbilt is in the same boat. The Commodores have one of the best in the business in Tim Corbin, and he, too, has an excellent staff, which possesses some terrific players in some key roles.

Despite the similarities in that regard, the two preseason top-five teams have taken vastly different paths to get to this point. It wasn’t that long ago that Virginia was pretty much left for dead because of a poor ACC record, but it wound up putting all the pieces together to make a strong postseason run. Vandy, meanwhile, was very consistent throughout the regular season, spent some time as the nation’s No. 1 team during that stint, and yet again, played very well in the first two rounds in the postseason, especially in the Champaign Super Regional against an elite Illinois club.

Now, the two teams have navigated through different brackets at the College World Series, using different approaches to get the job done. Vanderbilt has produced with a bit more power, while the Cavaliers have been a bit more balanced overall from an offensive standpoint. Meanwhile, the Commodores have pieced together some strong starts, while admittedly, the Cavaliers have had to use a rather unique approach on this stage, and are thankful for lefthander Brandon Waddell and righthanded closer Josh Sborz, along with offensive cog and Mr. Clutch, Kenny Towns.

“I mean, obviously last year was great and nothing against what happened last year, but I think especially with what we’ve been through this year, the ups and downs of the season, this is more satisfying,” Towns said. “It’s a little more satisfying because of where we came from and just how we’ve been able to piece it together in the postseason.”

As for the Commodores, their approach has been rather satisfying. We talked about their commitment to precision earlier in the week, but it’s not easy winning a national title and having the same drive the following season. However, Vandy never let that thought enter its mind.

“I think one of the things we talked about all year is you can’t defending something when you have a different team,” Vanderbilt shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “You can’t repeat when there’s a new team put in place and there’s new pieces. For us this year, we knew we had to battle each day because we know every team that we’re going to play against they’re going to try to play their best ball.”

The series between Virginia and Vanderbilt should be a dandy despite the Commodores having some glaring advantages. And the storylines in this one are great. For instance, could the Virginia team that was loaded and the favorite in last year’s CWS Finals not win a title, but this team does?

The 2007 Oregon State team comes to mind when talking about these Cavaliers, but let’s get down to business and stack these two teams up, plus a quick stat pack.

CWS Finals Stat Pack

Vanderbilt Virginia AVG .234 .262 OBP .284 .336 SLG .415 .361 HR 3 2 SB 4 6 ERA 1.33 3.86 BAA .163 .227 FIELD % .991 .982

STARTING PITCHING

You’re not going to find anyone that will argue about which team has the advantage from a starting pitching standpoint. Virginia lefthander Brandon Waddell has made two quality starts in Omaha, and there’s a big question mark on whether we’ll see him again. I’ll go on record as saying we will if the Cavaliers play a third game in the CWS Finals, but it would be a very limited role. The Cavaliers also have lefthander Nathan Kirby, who was sharp for a couple of innings against Florida with a fastball up to to 92-93, but again, he would only be available for 60 pitches — if even that. That goes without saying that righthander Connor Jones has to get the Cavaliers off to a great start in the series opener. Jones, a power-armed sophomore, has made one start in Omaha, where he allowed three runs on six hits in six innings. Stranger things have happened in the CWS Finals, but safe to say, the foundation of this series hinges on Jones.

As for the Commodores, they are in golden shape. The nation’s top pitcher in righthander Carson Fulmer is fresh and ready to pitch the series opener, lefthander Philip Pfeifer, who was terrific against TCU a few days ago, will be fresh and fully rested, and should the series go three games, you can bet righthander Walker Buehler will start the series finale.

For those counting out the Cavaliers because of Vandy’s freshness on the mound, remember South Carolina’s first national title when it faced a UCLA team with Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer and Rob Rasmussen fully rested and ready to go.

THE EDGE: Vanderbilt

BULLPEN

Here’s another area where it doesn’t seem like much of a contest. The Cavaliers obviously have an absolute stud in Josh Sborz, who has pitched in Omaha three times the past couple of weeks and has yet to allow a run in nine innings, along with seven strikeouts and two walks. However, with his workload as of late, others such as Alec Bettinger and David Rosenberger will likely have to pick up the slack in the series opener.

But then again, you never know with the hard-nosed and new and improved Sborz. He might be ready for pretty much any situation.

As for the Commodores, they haven’t had to rely on the bullpen much, but when the situation has presented itself, freshman Kyle Wright has been explosive with a low-90s fastball and great overall stuff, and lefty John Kilichowski has worked 4.2 scoreless innings in Omaha. The Commodores have plenty of other options, but again, those two are the leaders. Other potential options out of the bullpen include Jordan Sheffield, Ryan Johnson, Ben Bowden and Collin Snider — all very good options.

THE EDGE: Vanderbilt

OFFENSE

Who we go with in this category might be surprising considering the discrepancies in batting averages in Omaha, but we’re giving the Commodores the edge here, too, going into the CWS Finals.

Let’s start with the Cavaliers. They’re hitting at an impressive clip in Omaha, and beyond Kenny Towns getting every clutch hit imaginable, Daniel Pinero (.571) and Matt Thaiss (.429) are seeing the ball very well. There’s also a feeling that outfielder Joe McCarthy (.077) could heat up in this series. Virginia hasn’t been an overwhelming offensive force in the CWS, but it has been very opportunistic and clutch, and that counts for plenty at this point in the season.

Looking at the Commodores, conventional wisdom suggests shortstop Dansby Swanson, the top overall pick to the Diamondbacks, will get things rolling after recording just one hit in 13 at-bats thus far. But outside of Dansby, the Vandy offense has been productive with Bryan Reynolds (.500), Zander Wiel (.333), Rhett Wiseman (.333) and Jeren Kendall (.333) leading the charge. The Commodores have one more home run than the Cavaliers in Omaha, but a significantly higher slugging percentage of .415 vs. .361 for UVa.

Both offense have found ways to get it done in Omaha, from Jeren Kendall’s home run against Cal State Fullerton to Kenny Towns’ big hits. And those happenings set the stage for what could be an exciting three-game series.

THE EDGE: Vanderbilt

DEFENSE

You have to love both of these teams from a defensive standpoint. Both the Cavaliers and ‘Dores have played terrific defense throughout and have some impressive players at various positions.

For the Cavaliers, Pinero has been very good at shortstop despite having one error during the two weeks here, while Towns has been solid over at third base. Center fielder Adam Haseley and right fielder Joe McCarthy are good athletes, while Thaiss has been a quality backstop for O’Connor’s club.

For the Commodores, the left side of the infield is in great shape with Will Toffey and Dansby Swanson leading the way, while Campbell is a strong defender at second base and the tandem of Jason Delay and Karl Ellison are both good behind the plate. The Commodores also have a strong outfield with Jeren Kendall and Rhett Wiseman on the corners, and one of the nation’s elite defenders in Bryan Reynolds patrolling center field.

THE EDGE: Vanderbilt

EXPERIENCE/INTANGIBLES

Both of these teams are off the charts in this category. The Cavaliers, with a few veterans and a strong mix of younger players leading the charge, have navigated one of the craziest and surprising roads to the CWS Finals, while the Commodores have a strong nucleus of veterans, but also have hinged on freshmen Jeren Kendall and Kyle Wright in some big situations.

Virginia is ready for this series and certainly battle-tested. But there’s no substitute for having won a national title, and that’s something the Commodores accomplished last season with many of the same players that will play in the series over the next few days.

THE EDGE: Vanderbilt