Vandy will be tough test

Scouting the Dores'

Vanderbilt (45-19, 17-13 SEC) started the season on fire, compiling a 16-2 record before entering SEC play. The 'Dores dropped an early series to Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Arkansas and South Carolina along with what many considered a surprising mid-week loss to Louisville in Nashville.

Vandy was also ousted early in the SEC Conference Tournament, losing to LSU 11-1 and dropped as low as No. 20 in the national rankings. The 'Dores came back strong knocking off Xavier and Oregon in the Regional and ousting Stanford in the Super Regional.

Vanderbilt has qualified for the postseason in each of the last nine seasons and since 2010 has won 72 percent of its ball games. 2014 makes the Dores' second trip to the College World Series in Omaha in the past four years.

Vanderbilt next faces Louisville in the first game of the double-elimination tournament at 8 p.m. Saturday. It was Louisville that ended the Commodores' post-season run last year.

Let's Hear from the Coach

Commodores Road to Omaha

Vanderbilt, which has advanced to the Super Regionals in four of the past five seasons, improved to 5-1 in the NCAA tournament.

The Commodores went 3-0 during the Nashville Regional, then took two of three from Stanford during last weekend's eventful Super Regional series en route to Omaha.

Here's a recap of their Regional and Super Regional scores:

May 30 - NCAA Regional - Vanderbilt 11, Xavier 0

May 31 - NCAA Regional - Vanderbilt 7, Oregon 2

June 1 - NCAA Regional - Vanderbilt 3, Oregon 2

June 6 - NCAA Super Regional - Vanderbilt 11, Stanford 6

June 7 - NCAA Super Regional - Stanford 5, Vanderbilt 6

June 8 - NCAA Super Regional - Vanderbilt 12, Stanford 5

Like Christmas for Corbin

Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin:

"I think that's the thing that I'm proud of - the amount of consistency our program has had. It's like when your kids come down and get under the Christmas tree and start opening up the presents. That's what it feels like to me. I don't have to be a part of that. I can just sit in the dugout and watch the kids celebrate. That's all I need."

Who to Watch:

The most well-known Vanderbilt player is starting pitcher Tyler Beede. The right-hander was selected by the San Francisco Giants with the 14th overall pick last month. Beede was actually a first-round pick of the Blue Jays back in 2011, but chose to attend Vandy instead of turning pro.

He's 6-foot-4, 215 pounds and throws in the mid-90s. He's been inconsistent this year, but owns a 9-7 record with a 3.20 ERA for Vanderbilt. He's averaging 9.7 strikeouts-per-nine-inning in his 16 starts this year.

The team also has two Collegiate Baseball All-Americans: Second baseman Dansby Swanson made the third team, and outfielder Bryan Reynolds the freshman All-American list.

Swanson leads the team in average (.335), runs (51), doubles (24) and stolen bases (17). Reynolds was the leader in RBIs (49) and is second to Swanson with 23 doubles, the most ever by a freshman at Vanderbilt.

Sophomore pitcher Carson Fulmer has been a force for Vandy in his second season and enters the College World Series 6-1 with a team-best 1.78 ERA and 10 saves. The Lakeland, Fla. native began the season as the team's closer but moved into the starting rotation in mid-April.

As a starter, the Commodores are 6-1 with the sophomore not allowing a run in his first 29.2 innings of his first five starts. The right-hander tossed the Commodores' only complete game shutout in a 3-0 win at Florida in early May.

Tyler Beede Sounds Off:

Vandy is Co-Favorite

Vandy and Virginia, the highest remaining seeds left in the 2014 NCAA College Baseball Tournament, are the two favorites to win the College World Series. According to Las Vegas Bovada, here are your 2014 College World Series odds:

Team - Odds

Vanderbilt - 3/1

Virginia - 3/1

Texas - 4/1

Mississippi - 6/1

TCU - 6/1

UC Irvine - 7/1

Louisville - 8/1

Texas Tech - 12/1

Vanderbilt Baseball Summer Send-Off: College World Series Bound