OMAHA, Neb.,
— In what looked like a scene right out of “Twister” or “The Day
After Tomorrow,” the winner’s bracket contest between Florida
(51-17) and Vanderbilt (53-10) was suspended due to a high-wind
advisory and severe thunderstorms at 9:02 p.m. Eastern
time.
The NCAA
announced the game was officially postponed until 11 a.m. Tuesday
on ESPN. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for
the area until 3 a.m.
In a 3-1
game in the bottom of the sixth, blustery weather rolled into
downtown Omaha as the sky ominously darkened and sheets of rain
began to fall.
A
ringing siren went off with one out in the inning, but the game
wasn’t stopped for another three pitches and another out.
While the grounds crew rushed to cover the field, high winds
whipped around TD Ameritrade Park, throwing trash and dirt all over
the stadium.
On
the back of Preston Tucker’s monster three-run bomb, the Gators
were leading 3-1 when the game was halted.
Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year Greyson Garvin carved
up the Gators for the first three innings, but after walking
shortstop Nolan Fontana and then booting a routine swinging bunt,
Vanderbilt’s southpaw got behind in the count to Tucker and a hung
a fastball.
Florida’s right fielder smashed just the second homer during the
CWS.
Aside from the single mistake, Garvin — the Tampa Bay Rays first
round supplementary pick — toyed with UF’s hitters, throwing 17
first-pitch strikes and punching out nine in six innings.
Freshman flamethrower Karsten Whitson made the start for UF,
displaying unwavering poise for a rookie by matching Garvin
pitch-for-pitch through the first four innings.
The
right-hander had a wicked breaking ball, which he almost used
exclusively to escape a pair of jams.
Whitson flashed his seasoned moxie in the third, pitching around
Tony Kemp’s one-out triple. With Florida’s infield in, the freshman
induced a weak ground out from SEC hits leader Anthony Gomez and
then punched out All-SEC first baseman Aaron Westlake with a diving
slider.
Vanderbilt plated its lone run in the fifth — ending a 22.2 innings
scoreless streak against the Gators — when Gomez ambushed a
fastball for an RBI single. Whitson, who had tired, was relieved
for southpaw Steven Rodriguez, who struck out Westlake to end the
threat.
