Florida State junior Mike McGee sure knows how to close out a game—after hitting a walk-off blast to give FSU (47-18) a victory in the first game of the Tallahassee Super Regional, he struck out Vanderbilt (46-20) right fielder Joe Loftus to notch the save in the Seminoles’ 7-6 victory over the Commodores on Sunday afternoon. The win catapults the Florida State baseball program to its 20th appearance in the College World Series, with Vanderbilt again falling just short of an elusive first trip to Omaha.
“I’d like to first congratulate Florida State,” said Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin. “They’ve got a fine team and I’m not just saying that. They’re a scrappy bunch…But I’m proud of my kids, what can I say?
“(They) put themselves in this situation to fight back.”
True to form, the Commodores rallied with their season on the line. After Florida State third baseman Sherman Johnson hit a bases-clearing double to push the Seminole lead to 7-3, FSU needed just three outs to punch their ticket to the College World Series. However, clutch hits by Commodore first baseman Aaron Westlake (an RBI double that plated pinch hitter Riley Reynolds) and designated hitter Curt Casali (a two-out, two run single that scored Westlake and shortstop Brian Harris) reduced the Vanderbilt deficit to one with the potential game-tying run on first base when Loftus stepped into the batter’s box.
Unfortunately for the Commodore faithful, Loftus became the third Vanderbilt hitter to strike out in the ninth—joining third baseman Jason Esposito and second baseman Anthony Gomez—as Dick Howser Stadium breathed a collective sigh of relief after the roller coaster ride that was the ninth inning.
“I don’t even know what I was thinking,” McGee said of the wild final frame. “I tried to refocus (after allowing the three late runs). I knew if I made my pitches I would be ok and I had one more out to get.”
McGee got that out, leaving Vanderbilt ousted before the College World Series for the sixth time since Corbin took over eight seasons ago. This loss was especially sour for Corbin, who had hoped to get this year’s senior class to Omaha for the first time in school history.
“I hate that (Andrew) Giobbi is leaving,” Corbin said. “I hate that Brian Harris is leaving. That hurts me because I really, really, really wanted them to go a little bit further to see what I’ve seen as a coach and enjoy what’s out in the middle part of the country in a lot of a part of June. That’s the way it goes, and it stinks.”
Even so, members of this Commodore squad still saw their season as a success that ultimately, according to Giobbi, came as a result of resounding faith in each other.
“I think this team, more than anyone else, just believes in each other,” Giobbi said. “We believe in ourselves. There is no game that we weren’t in, there is no game that we were out of. There are so many memories and so many great plays throughout the year and I’m just happy for us.”