July 1, 2019

Last week, on June 26, Tennessee’s Vanderbilt University Commodores defeated the University of Michigan Wolverines 8-2 to win the College World Series (CWS). Vanderbilt won the best-of-three series two games to one for its second national baseball title. After a hard-fought series filled with future Major League Baseball (MLB) stars, the final out in the ninth inning—a pop fly to center—prompted a happy black-and-gold Commodore “dogpile” in the infield at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.

J.J. Bleday of the Vanderbilt Commodores singles in a run in the fourth inning of game three of the College World Series Championship Final on June 26, 2019, at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. Credit: © Peter Aiken, Getty Images

The College World Series is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Baseball Championship tournament. The tournament begins with 64 teams, but only the final 8 advance to the CWS. (World Series is an MLB trademark licensed to the NCAA.) Michigan finished second in the Big Ten Conference before battling its way to the tense CWS bracket. Michigan downed Texas Tech and Florida State on the way to the finals. Vanderbilt won the east division of the Southeastern Conference and rolled through the early parts of the tournament to reach the CWS. The Commodores then knocked off Louisville and Mississippi State to reach the finals.

The first NCAA College World Series was played in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1947. Credit: © NCAA

In game one of the CWS Finals, Michigan jumped out to a 2-0 first inning lead, and then steadily pulled away for a 7-4 victory. Lefty Wolverine ace Tommy Henry (drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the June 2019 MLB draft) pitched into the ninth, striking out eight Commodores and allowing three earned runs. First baseman Jimmy Kerr (a Detroit Tigers draft pick) and catcher Joe Donovan went deep for Michigan, and Vanderbilt outfielder J.J. Bleday—the fourth overall pick (Miami Marlins) in the draft—blasted his 27th home run of the season, the most in NCAA Division I this year. (Thirteen Vanderbilt players were chosen in this year’s MLB draft, the most of any CWS team.)

In game two, Vanderbilt rolled to a 4-1 win behind the power pitching of freshman Kumar Rocker, who struck out 11 Wolverines in 6.1 innings. The Commodores scored first on a fielder’s choice in the fourth. An inning later, wild pitches by Michigan allowed two more Commodores to cross the plate. Vanderbilt catcher Philip Clarke (drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays) clubbed a solo homer in the seventh, and reliever Tyler Brown recorded the final eight outs to seal the Commodore victory.

In the deciding game three, Michigan notched a run in the top of the first, but Vanderbilt centerfielder Pat DeMarco (drafted by the New York Yankees) ripped a long ball to left to tie the game in the bottom of the second. A bases loaded walk and a clutch two-out, two-run single gave Vanderbilt a 4-1 lead in the third. A pair of runs in the fourth and a single tally in the seventh padded the Commodore lead. Michigan scraped a run across in the eighth, but Vanderbilt too added a run for a commanding 8-2 advantage. Desperate for a rally in the ninth, all Michigan could muster was a base on balls before the series-ending third out. Towering Vanderbilt starter Mason Hickman struck out 10 batters over 6 innings for the win.

The CWS win was Vanderbilt’s second. The team’s previous title came in 2014 over Virginia. Michigan won the CWS in 1953 and 1962. The CWS has been held in Omaha, Nebraska—a central and generally neutral location—since 1950. The series was played at historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium—once the largest minor league stadium in the United States—through 2010. TD Ameritrade Park has hosted the CWS since it opened in 2011.

April 3, 2018

On Sunday night, April 1, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish women’s basketball team defeated the Mississippi State University Bulldogs 61-58 to win the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament. Notre Dame junior guard Arike Ogunbowale hit a 3-point shot as time expired to win the game and complete a stirring comeback. It was Notre Dame’s second NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) women’s basketball title (the team’s first came in 2001). For Mississippi State, it was the team’s second-straight heartbreaking loss in the championship game. The Bulldogs lost to champion South Carolina in 2017.

Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale drives to the basket against Roshunda Johnson of Mississippi State during the championship game of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on April 1, 2018. Credit: © Justin Tafoya, Getty Images

The Irish struggled early, trailing 30-17 at halftime. But Notre Dame stormed back in the third quarter, making up the deficit and battling to a tie to start the fourth. Led by Ogunbowale (18 points) and junior forward Jessica Shepard (19 points), the Irish overcame Mississippi State’s scoring tandem of junior guard Victoria Vivians (21 points) and sophomore center Teaira McCowan (18 points). Tied at 58 in the final seconds of the game, Notre Dame’s Ogunbowale dribbled into the corner and threw up a contested shot that swished through the net as time expired. For Ogunbowale, it was her second-straight gigantic game-winning shot. In the Final Four semifinal against perennial powerhouse Connecticut, Ogunbowale drained a jumper with 1 second left to give Notre Dame a thrilling 91-89 victory in overtime. Ogunbowale was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player (MOP). Mississippi State downed Louisville in its Final Four semifinal.

Villanova’s Mikal Bridges goes high to the basket against Michigan’s Zavier Simpson during the championship game of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on April 2, 2018. Credit: © Ronald Martinez, Getty Images

On Monday night, April 2, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, the Villanova University Wildcats downed the University of Michigan Wolverines 79-62 to win the men’s NCAA title. Michigan, led by junior forward Moritz Wagner, started strong and carried a 21-14 lead beyond the 11-minute mark in the first half. From that moment on, however, it was all Villanova. Wildcat sophomore guard Donte DiVincenzo alone outscored Michigan in the waning minutes of the first half, which ended 37-28 solidly in Villanova’s favor. The second half was Villanova’s, too, and the team steadily pulled away, leading by as many as 20 points. The Wildcats’ national player of the year, junior guard Jalen Brunson, had a lackluster 9 points, but a third guard, junior Mikal Bridges, added 19 points, and redshirt freshman forward Omari Spellman was a force inside, pulling down 11 rebounds, adding 8 points, and repeatedly getting under the skin of the Wolverines’ Wagner. The red-headed and Italian-named DiVincenzo—affectionately known as “The Big Ragu”—began the game on the bench as the sixth man, but finished with 31 points and earned tournament MOP honors.

It was the second national title for Villanova head coach Jay Wright, and Villanova’s third title overall. The Philadelphia school previously cut down the final nets in 1985 and 2016. It was Michigan’s seventh championship game. The lone title for the Wolverines of Ann Arbor, Michigan, came in 1989. Villanova dominated this year’s tournament, winning all games by 12 points or more, including the team’s 16-point pasting of Kansas in the Final Four semifinal. Michigan hoed a tough road to the title game, eclipsing tournament darling Loyola University Chicago in its Final Four semifinal.