Leiter, Vanderbilt top Mississippi State in CWS finals opener

Before a crowd heavily favoring Mississippi State, Vanderbilt gave Jack Leiter a big lead and went on to an 82 victory in Game 1 of the College World Series finals Monday night in Omaha, Neb., to move within a win of a second straight national championship.

The Commodores (4916) scored seven runs off Christian MacLeod and Chase Patrick in the first inning of a game delayed an hour because of the threat of inclement weather that never materialized.

Mississippi State (4818) led 10 against its SEC rival after Kamren James hit Leiter’s low 93 mph fastball into the leftfield bleachers in the top of the first.

But MacLeod (66) struggled for a second straight CWS start and got only two outs. He lasted 11⁄3 innings against Virginia last Tuesday.

“I think we had an idea what the stadium environment was going to be like,” Leiter said. “Our fans were amazing all night. Of course, the Mississippi State fans, you’ve got to tip your cap to that fan base because it’s pretty awesome the support they give their team. Our offense came out of the chute really hot, so that quieted them down a little bit.”

Cade Smith, Brandon Smith and KC Hunt held Vanderbilt hitless from the second inning until Carter Young singled in a run in the seventh.