Why Vanderbilt baseball's pitching couldn't counter Oregon's pesky lineup in regional

Vanderbilt baseball's pitching wasn't sharp enough Saturday night to take down a pesky Oregon lineup as the Commodores dropped to the losers bracket of the Nashville Regional with an 8-7 loss at Hawkins Field.

With one 11-pitch at-bat and one 13-pitch at-bat, the Ducks consistently worked long at-bats and fouled off pitches with two strikes. Both Hunter Owen (four runs in four innings) and Ryan Ginther (four runs in one inning) got hit hard as Grayson Moore (four hitless innings with four strikeouts) was the lone pitcher who appeared to find success.

For Vanderbilt (42-19) to advance out of the regional, it will need to beat Xavier (38-24) on Sunday (2 p.m., ESPNU), then vanquish the Ducks (39-20) on Sunday at 8 p.m. and again on Monday. To do that, it will need to figure out the best plan of attack for this lineup. Oregon leadoff hitter Rikuu Nishida had two infield singles and was hit by a pitch, but the Ducks had contributions up and down their lineup. Third baseman Sabin Ceballos drove in two runs and first baseman Jacob Walsh drove in three, with Drew Smith and Bennett Thompson each hitting solo home runs.

"You got to give them credit, that's a really good team," Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin said. "Physical, they're like the teams we see in our league. Physical, they move, Nishida was a pain in the ass, Jesus. He gets on base. It's tough to keep off base."

Owen, who is in his second start back after missing two weeks due to injury, "wasn't as sharp," Corbin said, though Corbin said both he and Ginther, who missed the SEC Tournament, were healthy.

As they did in the SEC Tournament, the Commodores will now need to win three straight games to advance out of the losers bracket. In all, they will need to play five games in four days to advance to super regionals.

With 13 pitchers on the regional roster, Vanderbilt will likely face a depleted pitching staff even if it can force a winner-take-all game Monday, with several relievers appearing on short rest in the SEC Tournament. Corbin said he did not know who would pitch against Xavier.

"It's a one-game regional," Corbin said. "That's all it is. It was a one-game (SEC) tournament when we lost to Florida and that's how you have to look at it."

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt baseball pitching can't figure out Oregon lineup in loss