OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Cal State Fullerton relief pitcher Tyler Peitzmeier looked as if his homecoming would be glorious and victorious. It was ruined with one swing of Jeren Kendall's bat.
Peitzmeier, who grew up 25 miles west of Omaha in the small town of Yutan and walked on to Fullerton, had retired the first six Vanderbilt batters he faced and went into the bottom of the ninth inning with a two-run lead Monday.
But Bryan Reynolds hit an RBI double, and Kendall followed with a two-run homer to send the Titans to a 4-3 loss in the College World Series.
"It's the College World Series, man," Peitzmeier said. "Personally, it didn't really mean anything — off the field it did. But once I got on the field, none of that made a difference. Yeah, it kind of spiraled out of hand fast at the end, but there were no personal feelings, emotions."
Vanderbilt (48-19) advanced to a Bracket 2 winners game against TCU on Tuesday night. Before that, Fullerton (39-24) meets LSU in an elimination game.
The Titans, with ace Thomas Eshelman on the mound, were ahead 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning when heavy thunderstorms Sunday night forced the suspension of the game until Monday afternoon.
Fullerton coach Rick Vanderhook said he felt good in the bottom of the ninth because his scouting report showed Kendall struggled against left-handed pitching. He had gone a combined 1 for 5 in super regionals against Illinois standout southpaws Kevin Duchene and Tyler Jay, and he struck out in his first at-bat against Peitzmeier in the seventh.
In the ninth, Kendall fouled off a fastball before launching Peitzmeier's 0-1 slider off the wall in the bullpen.
"We had the guy up we wanted up," Vanderhook said. "Numbers-wise, everything dictates that guy doesn't handle left-handers very well. He took a big at-bat in a big moment and did what he was supposed to do."
Kendall said even though he struck out in his first encounter with Peitzmeier, he was able to get a good read on his windup and motion.
"I got some pretty good looks my first at-bat," he said. "I came up with a clear mind and played the game."
Kendall said he wasn't fazed by the big stage.
"I dream a lot about big moments," he said. "Just hearing the guys talk about the experience here last year made me more comfortable, especially coming in here as a freshman and not knowing what to expect."
Zander Wiel's RBI double on the first pitch from Chad Hockin when play resumed Monday made it 3-1. Wiel doubled against leading off the ninth and scored on Reynolds' two-base hit. Then Kendall hit the first walk-off homer at the CWS since Connor Rowe of Texas did it against Arizona State 2009.
Kyle Wright (6-1) pitched two-thirds of an inning to earn the win. Peitzmeier (5-4) allowed only the second home run in his 59 2/3 innings, and Fullerton blew a three-run lead for the first time this season.
The loss wiped out Eshelman's brilliant performance Sunday night. He allowed four hits, struck out eight and walked none in 5 2/3 innings. He was charged for the run on Wiel's sixth-inning double off Hockin.
Carson Fulmer, the No. 8 overall draft pick by the Chicago White Sox, gave up all three of Fullerton's runs in his six innings.
Eshelman said he wouldn't lean on hindsight and think about what could have been if the storms hadn't rolled in Sunday.
"We came out today and were ready to play. They put good swings on the ball and were able to hit in some key situations," Eshelman said. "We're not blaming the weather delay for what happened today."