Well, this is just getting ridiculous.
For the fifth time this season, less than 24 hours after Kumar Rocker absolutely dominated on the hill, Jack Leiter got the ball and doubled down for the Commodores -- making history on Saturday.
MLB Pipeline's No. 6 overall Draft prospect tossed a complete-game, nine-inning no-hitter while punching out 16 of the 28 batters he faced to pace Vanderbilt's 5-0 blanking of South Carolina. The right-hander's only blemish in his first SEC start came on the first batter of the game, a 3-2 walk.
"It felt good in the bullpen. It felt pretty good in the first inning, but walking the first guy, obviously not what you want to do," Leiter told the SEC Network after the game. "But, honestly, not really until the sixth, seventh inning it felt like it was a little bit different than other games."
Leiter retired the final 27 batters he faced, striking out the side in the second on 15 pitches while whiffing at least a pair in seven of his nine frames. All 16 of his strikeouts came on the fastball, and his final swing-and-miss that ended the game came in at 97 mph. The 20-year-old threw 81 of his 124 pitches for strikes and watched his ERA on the season shrink to 0.24.
"The results were there, in terms of the hitters, but I was grinding through the at-bats a little bit," he said. "I didn't have either of my breaking balls [until the sixth or seventh]. But, I was a one-pitch pitcher for a while there and just hoping to find it, and I felt like I really did, and got comfortable with my slider and even my curveball at the end. But, definitely fastball dominant today."
Over his five starts this season, Leiter has allowed one earned run on seven hits and 12 walks over 38 innings. The son of two-time All-Star and World Series champion Al Leiter, has yet to yield an extra-base hit.
It's the first no-hitter for Vanderbilt since June 8, 2019, when -- no surprise here -- Rocker twirled one for the Commodores against Duke in the Super Regionals en route to being named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player. It also marks the program's first regular-season no-hitter since 1971 and the first nine-inning no-no in a Southeastern Conference game since 2016.
"It's just so special to have, honestly it's our whole pitching staff, but particularly Kumar. He's a really special pitcher and a special individual," Leiter said. "The way he goes about his business and how he carries himself in the locker room, it's something to model yourself after. I'm just glad I'm on the same team as him."
Vanderbilt's second baseman Tate Kolwyck provided all the offense Leiter would need with a pair of dingers and four RBIs.