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College World Series 2019: Championship Bracket, TV Schedule and More
June 23, 2019
The Michigan Wolverines are on a roll, and they have no intention of stopping now.
The Vanderbilt Commodores have been a dominant team since the start of the season, and they get a chance to finish what they started. The Commodores (57-11) and the Wolverines (49-20) square off in a best-of-3 championship matchup at the College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.
The series gets underway Monday at 7 p.m. ET, and the second game will be played Tuesday at the same time. If the series is tied after two games and a third game is necessary, it will be played Wednesday night.
2019 College World Series: Championship
Monday, June 24
Game 1, Michigan vs. Vanderbilt, 7 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday, June 25
Game 2, Michigan vs. Vanderbilt, 7 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday, June 26
Game 3, Michigan vs. Vanderbilt, if necessary, 7 p.m., ESPN
The Wolverines and Commodores are both undefeated since commencing play in Omaha. Michigan has beaten Texas Tech twice and Florida State, while Vanderbilt has two victories over Louisville and one other win against Mississippi State.
Vanderbilt won the national championship in 2014, while Michigan has reached the championship round of the CWS for the first time since the current double-elimination format was initiated in 2003.
Michigan has won two previous national championships, with the most recent coming in 1962.
First baseman Jimmy Kerr credits togetherness for the team's success this year.
"We saw the end of our season right in front of us against Illinois," Kerr said, per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. "We were down to our last strike. And I think that kind of made the whole team appreciate every single game that we've had together since then.
"And that's kind of the bigger picture. It's not that we're playing in a regional, super regional, College World Series championship—it's just that we get another game with each other."
Michigan is led by Jordan Brewer and Jordan Nwogu. Brewer has a .320/.389/.564 slash line with 12 home runs and 57 RBI. Nwogu has also been delivering with a .326/.440/.569 slash line along with 12 home runs and 46 RBI.
Those two are getting plenty of support from Kerr, who has hit 14 homers and driven in 62 runs, while Jesse Franklin has hammered 13 home runs and driven in 54 runs.
Starting pitchers Tommy Henry, Karl Kauffmann and Jeff Criswell will try to slow down Vanderbilt's powerful offense.
The Commodores have strong hitting up and down the lineup, with Austin Martin, JJ Bleday and Stephen Scott serving as Vanderbilit's biggest hitters.
Martin is a remarkable igniter, and he comes into the championship series with a slash line of .406/.498/.629. Bleday is the Commodores' biggest power threat, and he has hammered 26 home runs and driven in 70 runs in addition to his .354/.470/.711 slash line.
Scott has belted 14 home runs and knocked in 59 runs.
Drake Fellows, Kumar Rocker, Patrick Raby and Mason Hickman are Vanderbilt's starting pitchers, and they will attempt to slow down Michigan's hot offense.
Head coach Tim Corbin knows he also has a special weapon in closer Tyler Brown, who manages to stay calm under pressure.
"He contains his emotions unlike anyone I've ever seen before," Corbin said, per Adam Sparks of The Tennesseean. "I understand what the statistic save means, but his saves are critical. If you go back and look at the nature of each one of those, his ability to focus and his ability to execute and his ability to stay in his lane and not get outside of himself is admirable."
These two teams have come from different directions, and the title series has a chance to go the distance.