Vanderbilt University baseball was already off to a good start in the first game of its best-of-three College World Series championship matchup against SEC rival Mississippi State, then it got even better.
The Commodores were already up by four runs in the bottom of the first inning at TD Ameritrade Park when former Bristol Blue Jayson Gonzalez stepped to the plate with two runners on. Gonzalez worked a 3-2 count, then blasted a pitch deep into the bleachers for a three-run home run to cap a seven-run outburst in the first. Vanderbilt went on to win, 8-2, Monday night behind Jack Leiter, son of former Major Leaguer Al Leiter, and is a win away from a CWS championship. Gonzalez scored two runs and added a walk.
“I think the biggest thing was just trying to look for a ball over the plate,” Gonzalez said about his home run. “The guys in front of me had great at bats and they were just passing the line along, so the biggest thing for me was trying to keep the line going and continue that first inning.”
During the regular season, Gonzalez had a pair of two-hit games against Mississippi State, including one where he also drove in a pair of runs. Gonzalez’s two home runs in the CWS, including the one on Monday. On Tuesday, Vanderbilt looks for another win and a national championship.
Photo credit: Vanderbilt athletics.
