College World Series 2021: Vanderbilt vs. Miss. St. Game 2 TV Coverage and Pick

The last time the College World Series took place, Vanderbilt had the last laugh as champions of the college baseball world.

The Commodores now sit just nine innings away from defending their throne.

With co-ace Jack Leiter on the mound, Vandy didn't figure to need much offensive support to gain a leg up in its best-of-three series with Mississippi State. The Commodores batters delivered anyway.

They plated seven runs in the first inning, giving Leiter more than enough cushion to pitch his team to within one win of a second straight national championship. It was essentially a stress-free night in Omaha, Nebraska, from there, as Leiter allowed just three hits and two runs while striking out eight across his six innings in an 8-2 victory.

"Tough first inning. We just couldn't get out of it," Bulldogs skipper Chris Lemonis told reporters. "We gave them too many freebies there in the first. When you give Jack Leiter seven runs in the first—a great pitcher, which he is—he just took it and ran with it."

With the Bulldogs suddenly backed into a win-or-go-home contest and the Commodores close enough to taste championship victory, the stakes could not be higher for Tuesday's tilt.

Tuesday's CWS Schedule

What: CWS Finals Game 2

Who: Vanderbilt vs. Mississippi State

When: 7 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Breakdown and Prediction

It's never easy to get a great read on a game that was effectively over after the first inning.

To that end, despite the lopsided score, both clubs might have reasons for optimism heading into Game 2.

For Vandy, it's obvious. The Commodores won the game, their offense awakened after some relatively quiet outings between the regionals and Monday night, and they still have co-ace Kumar Rocker in their back pocket after he worked six innings on Friday.

For Mississippi State, it's about everything other than Monday's opening frame.

The Bulldogs were down 7-1 after the game's first six outs were recorded. For the non-math majors in the audience, that means the rest of the contest was a 1-1 draw.

Now, there obviously isn't a prize for tying the final seven-and-a-half innings. But after that disastrous first, Mississippi State's bullpen went five full innings without allowing a hit. From the second inning on, the Bulldogs had four hits, three walks and one hit by pitch, while the Commodores had just two hits (one of them a bunt single) and three walks.

"I'm not a big moral victory guy, but I did tell our kids I was proud of them afterward because after the first inning, we locked in and played great baseball," Lemonis said. "They should feel confident in some ways in the fact when we did go out there and execute pitches and make plays, man, we're right there."

Sometimes, that's just how baseball works.

But maybe Mississippi State simply had trouble with the environment. After all, while the Commodores are angling to win their third national championship since 2014, the Bulldogs are trying to take home their school's first national title—in any team sport.

Mississippi State could convince itself that it took an inning to settle into this stage, but once it got there, it at least equaled the opposition—if not played better ball. It might be right. If the Bulldogs are now comfortable and confident, they might have what it takes to recover from this loss.

However, history likes Vandy. Since the CWS adopted a best-of-three format for its final round in 2003, 11 of the 17 teams that won Game 1 went on to claim the crown.

With momentum behind them, the offense perhaps prepared to keep up the scoring and Rocker sitting there as a literal ace in the hole, the Commodores are the pick to conquer this series.

Prediction: Vanderbilt 7, Mississippi State 4