After a crushing defeat in Game 1 of the College World Series, where they gave up 9 runs in one inning, the Cavaliers were looking to bounce back against the Commodores in game two of the College World Series. They decided to put Brandon Waddell on the mound, knowing they would need to have some better defense and pitching then they did perform yesterday.
But Vanderbilt would get an early edge in the game, in the top of the second inning, when center fielder John Norwood got on base with a walk. Then he was able to steal second, and right fielder Rhett Wiseman hit a single to advance him over to third base. He scored when designated hitter Chris Harvey hit a grounder to the Waddell to score Norwood from third base. This gave the Commodores an early one run lead.
The Cavaliers struck back offensively right in the top of the third inning. Center fielder Brandon Downes and then catcher Robbie Coman hit back to back singles and Downes advanced to third to get runners in scoring position early in the inning, with only one out. Second baseman Branden Cogswell then laid down a sacrifice bunt for the Cavaliers to tie up the game on a suicide squeeze.
First baseman Zander Wiel reached base in the bottom of the fourth inning on an error by Cavaliers third baseman Kenny Towns. Wiel then would score on a RBI double by Norwood on the next at bat. The Commodores would hold a 2-1 edge at this point, but a one run advantage is not that much of a lead.
Cavaliers were able to string together several hits and then Downes hit a triple to bring home the final run of the inning. First baseman Mike Papi, left fielder Derek Fisher, and Towns all scored in the inning. The Cavaliers now had a 2 run advantage. Tyler Beede had given the lead up to the Cavaliers. He continued to struggle in the top of the seventh inning. Papi and right fielder Joe McCarthy scored in the top of the seventh after the bases were loaded. Jason Delay, the catcher for the Commodores had a fielding error on the play. The Cavaliers were now up 6-2 and they had a lead they would not give away. The Cavaliers got another run in the top of the ninth when McCarthy scored on a RBI single by John La Prise.
Waddell was looking for the complete game in this one though. Pitching a complete game for the Cavaliers, he only gave up the 2 runs, 1 earned, with 5 strikeouts, and only allowing 5 hits and 3 walks on the night. The Commodores tried to make it interesting in the bottom of the ninth though, with Wiel getting a walk and Norwood hitting a single to put runners on first and second, but Waddell forced Wiseman to ground out to Cogswell to end the game. Waddell definitely was the MVP of the game for the Cavaliers, helping them to be able to advance to a third game in the series against the Vanderbilt Commodores, and this time it's for all the marbles.