They rode a masterful start from Griffen Paige and survived a late uprising by Vandy for a 5-4 victory, bouncing the No. 1 overall seed — and the top-rated team in the college baseball RPI — out of the tourney Sunday.
The Horizon League champs (40-20) will play 10th overall seed Louisville (37-21) at 9 p.m. Sunday at Hawkins Field. They’ll have to beat the Cardinals twice in the championship round to reach the Super Regionals.
A second game, if necessary, will be Monday at a time to be determined.
Paige allowed just one hit and one run through eight innings. He was pulled after giving up his seventh walk to open the ninth.
The sophomore lefty entered the game with a 1-3 record and 8.90 ERA.
Reliever Max Whitesell struck out the first batter he faced but then gave up two walks to load the bases and was yanked.
Coach Alex Sogard went with Warren Hartzell, who had given up three homers in two innings in a 4-3 loss to the Commodores in the first meeting.
After getting a pop up for the second out, he allowed a single and a ground-rule double, making it 5-4 and putting runners on second and third.
The rally ended when RJ Austin flew out to right.
The Raiders jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first. Boston Smith rapped a two-run homer, and Luke Arnold, the hero in the elimination-bracket win over East Tennessee State, clobbered his second in two days.
Smith tied Oregon’s Mason Neville for the national home run lead with 26.
Hunter Warren unleashed the Raider offense with a leadoff double in the first and scored on a fielder’s choice.
Brodie Johnston homered for the 15th time in the second for Vandy, which has won three of the last six SEC tourney titles and has a pair of national crowns (2019 and ’14).
Gus Gregory had an RBI single in the third to make it 5-1.
Patrick Fultz and JP Peltier had two hits apiece.
It was the Raiders’ 26th win over a major conference foe since 2014.
They’re playing in their 11th regional and are trying to advance to the Super Regionals for the first time.
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