2019 CWS Championship Preview
TWO TEAMS - AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME - BEST 2 OUT OF 3
OMAHA, NEBRASKA-- The Wolverines are hitting on all cylinders right now. And you can call them Cinderella but your comment would be rebuffed. This is where they planned to be and this is what they have worked for.
Regardless, this team is a complete turnaround from 6 weeks ago.
“I feel like I handed the keys off and I'm letting someone else drive right now and I'm just a passenger, said Coach Bakich. We were playing not to lose the regular season conference title. And we were squeezing it. And you could tell we were just puckered up, and we weren't playing well. And now they're loose and they're laughing and smiling and having a great time. And they're not thinking ahead. They're not making the moment too big like they mentioned We’re not here if we're not staring down not even making the postseason a month ago and seeing the difference in how we play. And we're not here if we don't get knocked to the ground and have those moments of adversity along the way with the Corvallis Regional meltdown and then the Super Regional Game 2.
They speak of ‘slowing the game down’ and seeing the ball well. Timely hits, effective pitching. That’s where they are right now. And the credit goes to someone else. Players are quick to speak of other’s accomplishments when asked about theirs. When Jimmy Kerr was asked about his CWS RBI’s, he immediately replied, “A lot of credit goes their ways because RBIs are just guys in front of you doing their job.” That’s an impressive statement and a true Team Attitude. Kerr leads all 2019 CWS Teams in Hits/Runs Scored/RBI/Total Bases and Team Michigan leads team in Team Batting Average/Runs/Walks/Stolen Bases and Team Fielding.
Hitting on all cylinders at the right time is big. And the Wolverines have the Bats, the Defense and Pitching Staff to stay hot through the Championship Series.
Michigan is hot. Vandy is SOLID. That’s going to make for an outstanding Championship Series tonight.
Both players and Coach Corbin talk of being ‘Centered’.
“You can't play this game angry. You just can't. You have to contain your emotions. You have to breathe, and you have to center yourself in order to deliver a pitch or get the barrel to the ball”, says Coach Corbin.
When you look at the stats from the CWS Games, you certainly don’t see Vanderbilt leading outright in many categories. Harrison Ray is at the top of the list in Stolen Bases but he’s tied with Jack Blomgren of Michigan. Austin Martin has 2 Home Runs-So does Jimmy Kerr. But you do see Vandy mentioned in a majority of the top 5 in all categories. Solid.
“What I have the most confidence in is their ability to understand their skill set and not go outside of that.” Seems as though Coach Corbin, too, has handed off the keys.
The Dores last loss was on June 7th to Duke in the Super. Before that, Vanderbilt rattled off 12 straight wins and have since won their last 5. Their pitching and defense have been stellar since arriving in the Cornhusker State- and their hitting has been timely, to say the least.
With the even keel attitude of this club, they will be hard to beat. You will need to bring every strike you have to the mound and the bat with the most hits to the plate. And if a team blinks, Vanderbilt will take advantage of the moment they do.
This should be a good one.
Baseball can be a crazy game. Baffling at times. Sometimes the easier aspects of this game are turned into difficult tasks while at other times the difficult bits are made to look easy. Wonderful!
