Vanderbilt and Ole Miss have punched their tickets to Omaha, advancing to the College World Series which starts this weekend.
The Commodores clinched a spot by posting a 12-5 victory over Stanford in Game 3 of the Super Regional before a sold-out crowd of 3,626. The victory, which was propelled by a five-run first inning and the stellar relief pitching of freshman Hayden Stone, sends Vanderbilt (46-19) to the College World Series, where the Commodores will face Louisville in their opener on Saturday.
Stone (2-0) worked the final six innings of Sunday’s game, limiting Stanford to one unearned run. The right-hander seemingly got stronger as the game went along, holding the Cardinal (35-26) to just one hit over the final three innings. He recorded the game’s final out by getting Zach Hoffpauir to pop out to Vanderbilt shortstop Vince Conde.
Conde, Bryan Reynolds and John Norwood finished with three hits each in Sunday’s win for the Commodores, who built a 5-0 lead in the first inning.
Vanderbilt will be appearing in the College World Series for the second time in the program’s history. The Commodores also advanced to Omaha in 2011.
Ole Miss (46-19) went on the road and won game three of its Super Regional at Louisiana-Lafayette (58-10) by a score of 10-6 to secure a berth in the College World Series.
Scott Weathersby (3-1) picked up the win, working 2.0 innings in relief of starter Sam Smith, allowing two hits with a walk and two strikeouts has he helped hold the Ragin’ Cajuns in check as Ole Miss built on its lead. Josh Laxer then picked up his sixth save of the season, working the final 3.1 innings with one unearned run on two hits with a walk and three strikeouts.
Cody Boutte (9-1) took the loss as he allowed four runs on five hits with a walk and two strikeouts in 4.0 innings of work in the start.
The Rebels will face Virginia on Sunday night at 7 p.m. in the final game of the day at TD Ameritrade Park. It marks the fifth College World Series appearance for the Rebels and first since the 1972 season.
The Sports Inquirer 
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