NASHVILLE, Tennessee. – Jack Leiter made the first hit he faced on Saturday against number 16 in South Carolina. Then he went on to retire 27 in a straight line, blowing his fastball past No. 16 Gamecocks and persuading wild swings that had no chance to land. Leiter launched Vanderbilt’s fifth no-hitter in the program’s history and the first since Kumar Rocker’s Super Regional match against Duke in 2019. The final pitch left Braylen Wimmer of South Carolina in the dust at 97 miles per hour and Leiter embraced the receiver CJ Rodriguez as the No. 2 Commodores stormed the mound after a 5-0 victory.
During Leiter’s short career at Vanderbilt, he had never made it to the seventh entry. The sophomore right-handed showed no sign of slowing down late, eliminating 16 and giving up strong contact on only a small handful of occasions, while rolling through the Gamecocks’ schedule three times. A limited crowd at Hawkins Field rose when Leiter made his 124th and final pitch of the day on the home plate for a swing and missed.
“I definitely think it means a lot,” said Leiter. “It is a very fun experience for, I think, our entire team. I think it is something very special to experience with our team and I am very grateful for that, to be honest.”
#VandyBoys Jack Leiter completes the streak. 97 on the radar gun on the last shot. pic.twitter.com/dwWfB0Stsz
– Robbie Weinstein (@rwweinstein) March 20, 2021
Tate Kolwyck provided all of Leiter’s race support with a pair of two-race home runs to the left field. Vanderbilt (15-2, 2-0 SEC) allowed only three hits in the first two games of the series, after Rocker hit 14 hits in eight innings in a 3-2 win on Friday. Coach Tim Corbin said it was difficult to get races against South Carolina and that Leiter navigated the Gamecocks team in a way that allowed him to stay in the game until late, despite not getting many quick eliminations.
“He did this against an older offensive team with a good hit,” said Corbin. “Doing that against the talent pool and the fact that he could go through that game with 16 eliminations as well. … The whole performance, just special for the kid.”
South Carolina starter Brannon Jordan also had a great day, in addition to Kolwyck’s home run. Vanderbilt struggled to get very far until ‘Dores made it to the South Carolina bullpen, and even Kolwyck’s home came on a fast ball that seemed to be low outside the strike zone. The loud crack of Kolwyck’s cue foreshadowed the result – he sent the ball to the back of the stands in the center-left field, well over 120 meters from the home plate. That two-race goal brought Parker Noland home and gave Vanderbilt a 2-0 lead.
Vanderbilt had several chances to increase his lead, but lost eight runners. Eventually, Kolwyck added a second home run and Enrique Bradfield Jr. brought home a fifth race on a sacrificial fly. Leiter did not need the extra running support in any way, eliminating the potential home run leader for All-American and college baseball Wes Clarke three times while Clarke sniffed repeatedly.
“I would say it was probably the fifth or sixth entry that I started to notice,” said Leiter. “I knew I hadn’t given up on a scam, and (I was) kind of trying the whole thing, ‘No bad luck, don’t think about it.’ Try to convince my mind that it doesn’t matter. After that inning, I would look up and see the zero and say: ‘It doesn’t matter, it is still the next pitch. It doesn’t really matter what’s going on. “
Leiter’s material did not decrease even when his pitch count increased. More than 20 MLB scouts and his father, former MLB All-Star Al Leiter, witnessed live what will be one of the most impressive individual performances in college baseball this season.
“It is special for parents to see their children throw,” said Corbin. “How often does it not happen? Children have special performances and their parents can’t see it. This is very exciting. They are very emotional now … This is just a special moment.”