Leiter follows Rocker's Super Regional gem

June 13th, 2021

As it has been for much of Vanderbilt's season, so it went in NCAA Super Regional play.

After Commodores fireballer Kumar Rocker tossed a gem on Friday, teammate and fellow likely first-rounder Jack Leiter went to the bump on Saturday and punched out 10 over seven innings of two-hit ball, walking three and allowing a run in Vanderbilt's 4-1 win over East Carolina University. The victory makes for a Super Regional sweep, sending the Commodores to the College World Series.

Leiter, MLB's No. 3 Draft prospect, surrendered a leadoff single to Connor Norby (the No. 84 Draft prospect) in the first but did not permit another hit until giving up a homer to Josh Moylan to start the seventh. He shrugged off a walk to the next batter by getting a flyout and inducing an inning-ending double play.

The 21-year-old righty and son of two-time Major League All-Star Al Leiter lowered his season ERA to 2.16 while improving to 10-3 with 156 strikeouts over 96 innings. He was selected out of New Jersey's Delbarton School as a high school senior by the Yankees in the 20th round of the 2019 Draft, and his stock has soared as a Draft-eligible sophomore with the Commodores.

Rocker, the No. 5 Draft prospect, outdueled No. 42 Draft prospect Gavin Williams on Friday, fanning 11 over 7 2/3 shutout innings.

Other top performers and scores from Saturday's Super Regionals:

No. 1 Arkansas 21, N.C. State 2
Left-hander Patrick Wicklander got plenty of run support in Game 1 of their doubleheader, but didn’t need much with a strong six-inning start -- he gave up one run on six hits, walking two and striking out six in the Razorback win.

N.C. State 6, No. 1 Arkansas 5
In Game 2 of the Fayetteville Super Regional, N.C. State salvaged a split thanks in part to shortstop Jose Torres’ two-run homer in the fourth. It was Torres’ second home run of the day -- the No. 72 MLB Draft prospect also launched a solo shot in Game 1. Left-hander Evan Justice tossed 2 2/3 innings of relief for the Wolfpack, yielding an unearned run on two hits while walking none and striking out four.

No. 2 Texas 4, South Florida 3
Right-hander Ty Madden, the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year and No. 9 Draft prospect, threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up just three hits while walking four and striking out nine.

No. 3 Tennessee 4, LSU 2
Right-hander Chad Dallas was fantastic for the Volunteers, turning in six innings in which he gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits, walking none and fanning 12.

No. 7 Mississippi State 9, No. 10 Notre Dame 8
Outfielder Tanner Allen, ranked 149th among Draft prospects by MLB Pipeline, launched his ninth homer of the season to help spark the Bulldogs.

No. 9 Stanford 15, No. 8 Texas Tech 3 (Game 1)
No. 9 Stanford 9, No. 8 Texas Tech 0 (Game 2)

Stanford punched its ticket to the College World Series with a doubleheader sweep, and right-hander Brendan Beck set the tone in Game 1 with a dominant performance. The No. 62 Draft prospect struck out 13 and walked only one over 7 1/3 innings for the Cardinal, allowing two runs on six hits. In the same game, second baseman Tim Tawa belted a solo homer.

No. 12 Ole Miss 12, No. 5 Arizona 3
Left-hander Doug Nikhazy, the No. 67 Draft prospect, got 10 of the 16 outs he recorded via strikeout in a strong 5 1/3-inning start for Ole Miss. He gave up two runs on six hits and walked three.

Dallas Baptist 6, Virginia 5
Second baseman Jackson Glenn led the way at the plate for Dallas Baptist, going 2-for-4 with a double, home run and two RBIs. The homer was the 21st of the season for Glenn.