Vanderbilt entered the Southeastern Conference tournament in a rut, having been swept by the lowly Volunteers and in danger of seeing its NCAA Tournament bubble burst.
After three rousing wins to reach the championship game before falling Sunday to top-seeded LSU 6-2, the Commodores, the lowest seed in the tournament, got themselves off the bubble and surely into the Big Dance.
Vanderbilt (34-25) got solo home runs from Curt Casali and Steven Liddle for its only offense. Nick Christiani (4-5) took the loss, going four innings and allowing three earned runs as the Commodores missed out on their second title in three years.
"We really could not get anything going offensively, and I think that was the story of the game," said Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin. "Hand it to LSU, sometimes when things are not going well, the other side has a lot to do with it."
More importantly though, the team extended its season with wins over solid opponents in LSU, South Carolina and Arkansas in the opening three rounds to prove themselves to be tournament-worthy. Solid starting pitching was the key, as Mike Minor, Sonny Gray and Caleb Cotham all pitched terrifc ballgames to give the bullpen rest and take pressure of the Commodore batters.
The Commodores averaged nearly seven runs a game in the tournament before cooling off in the championship, getting just six hits. LSU's Ryan Byrd (1-0) went seven innings and got the win, striking out three.
"He pitched a really good game today," Casali said. "He kept the ball low and he put the ball where he wanted it at the times that he needed to."
The Tigers (46-16) rallied back from their opening round 4-1 loss to the Commodores with five straight wins to capture the title, just the way Vanderbilt did in 2007.
"We had that same path," Corbin said. "If you have tough kids, and you have kids that will take the ball, then you can get through it."
The Commodores will learn their seeding and regional location on Memorial Day at 11:30 CT on ESPN.
