Vanderbilt beats Louisville at College World Series on Austin Martin's two home runs

OMAHA, Neb. — Two sweet swings by Austin Martin were all Vanderbilt needed to beat Louisville 3-1 in its College World Series opener Sunday.

Martin hit a lead-off home run in the bottom of the first inning and smacked a go-ahead, two-run shot in the seventh to carry the Commodores. The All-American sophomore third baseman became the first Vanderbilt player to hit two home runs in a College World Series game, which spans 18 games in program history.

"I definitely had jitters," Martin said about his first College World Series game. "I feel like everybody would, coming into this amazing environment. But I just tried to keep it simple, just tried to see the ball as well as possible."

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Vanderbilt starter Drake Fellows (13-1), the junior right-hander, was superb in capturing his 13th victory of the season, the most in Division I. He allowed one run on seven hits, struck out six and walked one in seven innings.

Vanderbilt (55-11) broke its single-season program record with 55 wins, surpassing the previous mark set by the 2007, 2011 and 2013 teams. It also improved to 4-0 in the opening game of its four College World Series appearances.

"To start off in this environment, we've done it four times, but it's not easy," Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin said. "I told them when they got through that game, that might be the most difficult game they play, regardless of what happens after this."

The Commodores will play Mississippi State at 6 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN) in the winners’ bracket of the double-elimination portion of the tournament. Louisville (49-17) will play Auburn at 1 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN) in an elimination game. Mississippi State rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the ninth inning to beat Auburn 5-4 in dramatic fashion Sunday night.

Martin hit two homers off two pitchers

TD Ameritrade Park doesn’t permit many home runs with its deep dimensions. But that reputation mattered none to Martin, who turned on the first pitch he saw in his first College World Series at-bat. He drove it about 390 feet to left field to put the Commodores ahead 1-0.

"I swing at (first pitches) if they're strikes," Martin said. "I'm always ready for that first pitch."

It was the first lead-off home run hit in the College World Series since June 17, 2015, when Florida's Harrison Bader did it against Miami.

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With the score tied 1-1 in the seventh, Julian Infante hit a double down the third-base line. Martin then pulled reliever Bryan Hoeing’s (3-4) second pitch to left field. It barely cleared the top of the wall 360 feet away but gave the Commodores a much-needed 3-1 lead.

"(Martin) is just a really good hitter," Louisville coach Dan McDonnell said. "But even Henry (Davis), our catcher, said Hoeing made a really good pitch, a change-up down, something really down. But (Martin) just went and got it."

Fellows outlasted Detmers in a pitching duel

Vanderbilt had earlier chances to stretch its lead while Louisville starter Reid Detmers, the ACC Pitcher of the Year, labored through rare control problems. But the Commodores couldn’t convert. They drew a lead-off walk in the second, third and fourth innings, but scored no runs.

The second inning was the biggest missed opportunity. With runners on first and third and no outs, Infante struck out and Martin grounded into a double play. That was before they partnered for the game-winning sequence five innings later.

Detmers went 5 ⅔ innings and walked a career-high six batters, but he held Vanderbilt to one run on three hits.

When Vanderbilt bats were silent, Louisville seized its chance and tied it up 1-1 in the fifth. Justin Lavey hit a double down the third-base line, and Henry Davis lined a first-pitch slider into center field to score the run.

Two more singles loaded the bases with one out and the middle of Louisville’s order up, but Fellows got out of the tight jam. He forced Tyler Fitzgerald into a foul out on a lazy pop fly and got clean-up hitter Alex Binelas to ground out to first base.

Fellows kept the Cardinals at bay until Martin’s second home run regained the lead. The win was finished off by relievers Zach King and Tyler Brown, who picked up his 15th save, one shy of the program record.

Vanderbilt improved to 12-6 all-time in College World Series games.

Reach Adam Sparks at asparks@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.