Mississippi State wins 1st national title, beats Vanderbilt 9-0 in CWS finals

OMAHA, Neb. — Heading into Game 3 of the College World Series finals, Mississippi State University had never won a team national title. Until now. No. 7 Mississippi State beat No. 4 Vanderbilt 9-0 on Wednesday at TD Ameritrade Park to win its first national championship in program history.

The Bulldogs (50-18) scored one run in the first inning, two in the second, two in the fifth and four in the seventh.

MSU sophomore starting pitcher Will Bednar and sophomore closer Landon Sims combined to allow just one hit. The Commodores (49-18) broke up the no-hitter in the bottom of the eighth inning when sophomore Carter Young singled to center field.

Bednar (9-1), who was coming off just three days of rest, tossed six hitless innings with four strikeouts and three walks. Bednar struck out 15 batters in his CWS debut against Texas on June 20. And for his pitching performances, he was named CWS Most Outstanding Player.

Sims then struck out four batters, walked one and allowed one hit in the final three innings to earn his 13th save.

Senior Rowdey Jordan finished with three of MSU’s 12 hits and accounted for one RBI and two runs. Junior Luke Hancock and sophomore Logan Tanner added two hits and two RBIs apiece, while senior Tanner Allen recorded two hits and a run.

The CWS All-Tournament Team included Tanner, Hancock, freshman Lane Forsythe, Allen, Jordan and Bednar.

For Vanderbilt, junior starting pitcher Kumar Rocker (14-4) allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings.

In the top of the first inning, Jordan lined a single to right field. After a strikeout, sophomore Kamren James hit a ball to Rocker, but his throw to second sailed to the right of the bag, allowing James and Jordan to stand at first and third base. Hancock’s sacrifice fly gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.

Walks to graduate student Scotty Dubrule and senior Brayland Skinner began the top of the second inning before a groundout advanced both runners. Another groundout scored Dubrule before Jordan’s RBI double down the left-field line made it 3-0.

MSU began the top of the fifth inning with singles by Jordan and Allen. After a strikeout, Hancock and Tanner hit back-to-back RBI singles to increase the lead to 5-0.

In the top of the seventh, Tanner hit a one-out home run to left field before Dubrule singled and Skinner drew a walk. Freshman Kellum Clark then hit a three-run homer to make it a 9-0 ballgame.

MSU was in the CWS for the third straight season and 12th overall. It was 36 years in the making, and now the Bulldogs are national champions.