Vanderbilt Commodores

Vanderbilt Faces a Long, Difficult Sunday After Loss to Louisville

The Commodores will need to win two games Sunday to have any hope of advancing out of its own NCAA Regional and has one less starting pitcher to do it with.
Taylor Hodges|
Louisville’s Matt Klein (25) is congratulated after hitting a home run off Vanderbilt pitcher Cody Bowker during the first inning of the Nashville Regional NCAA Baseball Tournament game at Hawkins Field Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.
Louisville’s Matt Klein (25) is congratulated after hitting a home run off Vanderbilt pitcher Cody Bowker during the first inning of the Nashville Regional NCAA Baseball Tournament game at Hawkins Field Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sunday will be a long and interesting day for the NCAA Tournament's No. 1 overall seed Vanderbilt.

The Commodores lost Saturday night’s game to Louisville, 3-2, and will face Wright State in an elimination game at 2 p.m. The winner of that game will play Louisville in the regional final at 8 p.m.

Updated 2025 Nashville NCAA Regional Bracket
Updated 2025 Nashville NCAA Regional Bracket | NCAA.com

The potential double-header puts Vanderbilt in a difficult position based on the pitching decisions made in Saturday’s loss.

Vanderbilt started its regular second game starter, Cody Bowker, and he pitched roughly half of the game. But the Commodores’ third game starter, Connor Fennel, was brought into the game after Levi Huesman relieved Bowker and extinguished the Cardinals' scoring threat.

Fennell held the Cardinals scoreless (and two hits) in three innings and threw 44 pitches. That removes him as an option for Vanderbilt on a day they’ll need two starting pitchers. The only other pitcher Vanderbilt was with significant starting experience is Austin Nye (2.90 ERA).

In what’s becoming a trend for Vanderbilt, they found themselves down before its turn at the plate. Louisville’s Matt Klein hit a solo home run off of Cody Bowker in the second at-bat of the game and Zion Rose hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning, also off of Bowker, to give the Cardinals enough runs to get the win.

The Commodores’ offense that had found its power at the plate was mostly silent against the Cardinals. Tucker Biven gave up just one run on two hits and two walks to limit Vanderbilt’s offense and also had five strikeouts. Vanderbilt had its chances to score runs, but was 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Vanderbilt’s biggest offensive play came on a Biven wild pitch that saw Mike Mancini tie the game at 1-1. The Commodores only other run came on a Louisville throwing error that made the score 3-2.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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