Wright State stunned top-seeded Vanderbilt with a 5–4 victory Sunday in the Nashville Regional, eliminating the Vanderbilt Commodores from the NCAA tournament.
With the loss, Vanderbilt becomes the first No. 1 seed to fail to reach the regional finals since the current tournament format was introduced in 1999.
Wright State’s Boston Smith and Luke Arnold launched back-to-back home runs in the first inning to give the Raiders a quick 4–0 lead. Both teams tacked on one more run between the second and eighth innings, but the Raiders held off a furious three-run rally by Vanderbilt in the ninth to seal the massive 5–4 upset.
Vanderbilt (43–18) was stifled at the plate by Wright State’s Griffen Paige, who allowed just one run on one hit over eight dominant innings.
“Biggest game I’ve ever pitched in, and I showed up and went out there trying to get guys out, one out at a time, one pitch at a time. You can’t do anything else,” Paige told reporters.
When they did manage to get on base, the No. 1 seed continued to struggle in clutch situations. Vanderbilt went just 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left five stranded in Sunday’s loss. Through their first two regional games, the Commodores were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
The Raiders will take on Louisville in the final round of the Nashville Regional on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.
