Vandy's Pfeifer and Wright combine to shut out TCU

By Phil Stanton

CollegeBaseballInsider.com Co-Founder

@roadtoomaha

 

OMAHA, Neb. - It was another great pitching duel at the 2015 College World Series.

 

After Virginia edged fourth-seeded Florida 1-0 on Monday night, Phillip Pfeifer (right) and Kyle Wright combined on a five-hit shutout as Vanderbilt nipped No. 7 TCU 1-0 on Tuesday evening in front of 24,156 fans at TD Ameritrade Park.

 

The Commodores (49-19) will play on Friday at 7 p.m. CT in the finals of Bracket 2. The Horned Frogs (50-14) will meet No. 2 LSU on Thursday at 7 p.m. in an elimination game.

 

"It felt like a championship-style game in every way," VU head coach Tim Corbin said. "I think once we got through the third or fourth, you felt like one run could possibly make the difference. And that's the way it shaped up."

 

Pfeifer (6-4) worked seven strong innings with four hits, three walks and seven strikeouts. He threw 111 pitches, 67 for strikes.

 

"He made a lot of good pitches," Keaton Jones of TCU said. "He used his curveball. He was throwing that for strikes, and using his fastball and his curveball kept us off-balance. The use of the curveball was good for him, especially against the lefties."

TCU put two on with two away in the first, but Pfeifer coaxed a groundout to end the rally. The Horned Frogs again put two on in the second with one away, but a groundout and flyout kept TCU off the scoreboard. The Horned Frogs put runners in scoring position again in the six and seventh, but Pfeifer kept TCU from scoring.

 

Wright pitched the final two innings, allowing one hit and one walk with four punchouts in earning his fourth save. He allowed a two-out walk and a single in the eighth, but got a come-backer to end the threat. Wright worked a perfect ninth with two strikeouts to preserve the victory.

 

TCU made several mistakes in the top of the third. Jeren Kendall of Vanderbilt struck out to lead off the inning, but reached base on a passed ball. Karl Ellison reached first on an errant throw on a sacrifice bunt. Tyler Campbell did sacrifice to put a pair in scoring position  Leadoff hitter Ro Coleman drew a walk to load the bases with one away. Young fanned Rhett Wiseman and Dansby Swanson to keep the contest scoreless.

 

Through six innings, TCU's Alex Young already had a career-high 12 strikeouts and had not allowed a hit. That changed in the seventh. Zander Wiel belted his 15th home run of the season to lead off the top of the seventh, a long fly to left to give the Commodores a 1-0 advantage.

 

"He just did a great job against us," Wiel said. "He was locating the fastball in and out. He was able to backdoor the slider and he would throw them low and we were going after them today. So he was really able to keep us off balance. In that at-bat, he threw me a changeup and it had been higher than the rest of the ones he had thrown. It still wasn't a terrible pitch. But it was hittable. And I just put a good swing on it."

 

It was the lone blemish on Young's excellent effort.

 

"It was just one mistake and his bat just ran into the ball," Young said. "Every other pitch I was throwing for a strike. And it's bad luck."

 

Young (9-3) hurled 7.2 innings with three hits, one run, one walk and 12 strikeouts.

 

"Alex was just outstanding, as good as he's been all year long," TCU head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. "Never been more proud of him. Had an opportunity to fold early in the game against some of the very best hitters in the country and made great pitches."

 

TCU was shut out for the first time this season. The Frogs stranded nine, including six in scoring position.

 

"We had some opportunities," Schlossnagle said, "and either Pfeifer made pitches or Wright, or they made plays."

 

Pfeifer redshirted a year ago and did not pitch in Omaha during Vandy's championship run.

 

"It's lived up to expectations so far," Pfeifer said. "It's obviously the best venue for college baseball in the country hands down. I was just trying to soak in every minute of it that I could while I was out there on the mound. I've been looking forward to this moment for a long time and playing it over and over in my head and I feel like taking advantage of today's game was kind of what kept me at peace. I had seen that game before. So it was just enacting what had been playing in my head."

 

Even though he wasn't with the team, Pfeifer was in Omaha a year ago.

 

"I've got a lot of feelings about what Philip did today," Corbin said. "I think that this kid drove to Omaha last year by himself just to watch this thing because he wasn't a part of it. So him pitching the way he did tonight and him basically at peace -- all I remember tonight was him walking back and forth from the dugout with a smile on his face saying, 'Hey, fellas, we're in Omaha.' He continually said that. I think it showed. He was very tranquil on the mound, he was at peace with himself and he was executing his pitches. And I don't think that there was anyone here that enjoys being in Omaha, the moment more than he does. I credit him. I'm so happy for the kid in so many different ways."

 

That experience from 2014 aided the junior.

 

"I had no idea what Ameritrade Ballpark looked like until I drove up here and saw it," Pfeifer said, "other than through TV. But TV tends to distort things a little bit. Secondly, coming to terms with the fact that they didn't need me to win last year, as selfish as that is, I think once I swallowed that, my ego deflated and I had a realistic appreciation of myself, my skills. And lastly, I think just visualizing being in this scenario, in the situation like it was tonight. From one side of the ball, you would love to have 20 runs scored just because it makes things easy. But you know from a competitive side, you want that 1-0 ballgame. And they gave it to us. They really did. That's a very strong team. So I think just visualizing what playing in the College World Series is like is probably the biggest thing that helped me."

 

For the second consecutive year, Vanderbilt and Virginia both went 2-0 through their first two games in Omaha. They reached the championship series, with the Commodores taking two of three from the Cavaliers to claim their first national title.

 

Also for the second straight year, TCU suffered a one-run loss in its second game after winning its first. The Horned Frogs dropped a 3-2 decision to Virginia in 15 innings in 2014 to fall into the losers' bracket.

 

This is just the second time there have been multiple 1-0 games in a single College World Series. In 1972, there were three: Arizona State over Oklahoma, Arizona State over Temple and USC over Arizona State in the title game.