Vanderbilt played with fire and got burned this time.
The Commodores fell in the Regional Final to top-seeded Louisville 5-3 on Monday to close the year at 37-27. After falling in the opener to Middle Tennessee, they rattled off three straight wins to reach the championship game but couldn't push through.
They still are without a berth in a Super Regional since 2004, so this one, as season-ending losses tend to do, stung.
"Not much to say, really," said Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin. "The proverbial car has slammed on the brakes, and the season is over."
Pitching on two days rest, starter Mike Minor gave a gutsy effort but only lasted 3 2/3 innings and allowed three earned runs on four hits. All of the runs scored in the fourth inning on a three-run home run by Cardinal right fielder Ryan Wright on a hanging breaking ball to put Louisville ahead to stay.
Minor threw 70 pitches after throwing over 120 on Friday.
"I was going on two days rest but the arm felt good," Minor said. "Breaking pitches were a little off so I stayed with the change-up. Then I left the slider up, and it cost me."
"I was looking for change-up and he left it in the middle of the plate, belt-high, and I was lucky I didn't miss it," Wright said.
The Cardinals added the eventual winning run in the seventh with John Dao tripling in Phil Wunderlich off Commodore reliever Russell Brewer. They added an unearned run in the eighth off a throwing error by third baseman Jason Esposito.
The last game of the year gave Vanderbilt a glimpse into who it was losing and also what lay ahead in its future. Minor made his final collegiate appearance, as he is going to the major league draft. Also, center fielder Jonathan White and pitcher Nick Christiani have both graduated. Christiani won his final start on Sunday against Louisville, and White sparked a rally on Monday with a double in the eighth, one of his team-high three hits, and scored on a single by Curt Casali to get Vanderbilt within two.
That was as close as the Commodores got. However, there is a promising corps of young talent remaining that was on full display throughout the regional.
Redshirt freshman Aaron Westlake and freshman Joe Loftus poled solo home runs for the team's first two runs, and freshman pitcher Sonny Gray, after throwing eight innings of shutout ball against Indiana on Saturday, got the final five outs of this game, striking out the side in the ninth inning.
After a rocky end to the regular season, Vanderbilt advanced to the finals of both postseason tournaments before coming up short.
"I know they had higher goals, but they are such a young team," said Louisville coach Dan McDonnell. "How well they played in the conference tournament and how well they played in the regional, they were only a swing or two away from winning the thing."
