NASHVILLE: Commodores win again

By Chris Lee - May 19, 2007

Vanderbilt's Ty Davis got LSU 1-2-3 in the ninth, and Vandy held on for a 6-2 win over LSU. The victory was the 45th for Vandy, tying a school record set by the 2004 Super Regional team that lost to eventual national runner-up Texas.

The big story, however, was the pitching of freshman star Mike Minor. Minor had struggled his three previous outings, but was superb tonight in a 7 2/3 inning, five-hit, six-strikeout performance.

"I came out here not thinking about anything about pitching and focusing on the mitt," said Minor, a freshman from nearby Chapel Hill, Tenn. "I've been working hard during the weeks trying to get on track to where I was at the beginning of the year . . . trying to keep the ball down. Lately, the balls have been up and have been getting hit."

Minor had been untouchable his entire career until the recent starts, and gave up just one earned run his entire senior year at tiny Forest High last season. Coach Tim Corbin has to be breathing a sigh of relief heading into postseason, knowing that Minor has reverted to prior form.

Vandy's 21 conference wins have shattered the previous school record of 16, set by the 2004 and 2006 teams. The Commodores probably aren't done yet, but even if everything went downhill from here, it's been a historic season in Nashville for sure.