Vanderbilt’s Riley Nelson celebrates with R.J. Austin after hitting his 2-run homer giving Vanderbilt the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning of the Nashville Regional NCAA Baseball Tournament game against Wright State at Hawkins Field Friday, May 30, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. Vanderbilt won 4-3. Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Instant Analysis: Vanderbilt Baseball 4, Wright State 3 In Nashville Regional At NCAA Tournament

Originally posted on Vanderbilt Commodores on SI
By Graham Baakko | Last updated May 30, 2025 11:12 PM ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Vanderbilt avoided disaster Friday night with a 4-3 victory over Wright State on the first day of the NCAA Tournament.

The story of the game was the bottom of the eighth inning. Entering the bottom of the eighth down 3-1, the Commodores put up three runs to come from behind, led by a two-run home run from Riley Nelson.

Nelson blasted a pitch deep to right field over the pole. The original call on the field was a foul ball, but an umpire meeting immediately after overturned the call and gave Vanderbilt the lead. The call on the field got more dramatic as the umpires then went to review the call. After looking at angles that seemed impossible to give a definitive answer, the home run was upheld and the home run turned out to be the knockout punch.

"Yeah, I mean, I saw it, and then nobody was, like, giving the home run sign," Nelson said about the review. "And then I looked back at the home plate umpire because I thought he was going to call it. And then I'm, like, looking at him like that, and I look at the first base umpire and he threw his hands up, and I was like, oh, boy. But no, I thought it was fair the whole way."

On the pitching side of things, JD Thompson started the night off shaky, allowing a RBI double and a solo home run in the first two innings. Thompson also allowed another solo shot to put Vanderbilt in a 3-0 hole, but settled in after that.

Thompson finished the game with 8.0 innings pitched and three runs on five hits as well as striking out 12 batters. Sawyer Hawks came in for the ninth and shut the door on Wright State in just 15 pitches.

Watch the above video as Vanderbilt On SI analyst Graham Baakko breaks down Vanderbilt baseball's Nashville Regional victory over the Wright State Raiders. Graham discusses the game, standout players and the rematch with Louisville Saturday.