College World Series: Arizona Opens Tournament Against Vanderbilt

TUCSON, AZ — The Arizona Wildcats are making the program's first appearance at the College World Series in five years.

The No. 5 seeded Wildcats will square off against the defending champion Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday night, opening the double-elimination portion of the eight-team event.

The Commodores enter the CWS as the fourth seed, with a 45-15 record overall, while Arizona sports a 45-16 mark to-date.

Vanderbilt will either turn to Jack Leiter, the son of former MLB All-Star Al Leiter, or flame-throwing right-handed pitcher Kumar Rocker in the opener.

Both Leiter and Rocker are likely first-round draft picks in the 2021 MLB Draft, with a combined record on the bump of 23-6 across 202 innings pitched between them this year.

The Wildcats will likely counter with either Chase Silseth or Garrett Irvin in Saturday's CWS opener.

Silseth leads the Wildcats, with eight wins, 91 innings pitched and 99 strikeouts, while Irvin has a 6-3 record with 73 strikeouts.

Three Arizona hitters have at least 10 home runs this year, in Jacob Berry (17), Daniel Susac (12) and Ryan Holgate (10), pacing the Wildcats high-powered offense.

Here's what to know about Saturday's CWS opener between the Commodores and Wildcats:

How To Watch: Vanderbilt and Arizona square off at 4 p.m. local time (7 p.m. eastern time) on Saturday. ESPN will carry the contest nationally.

Who To Watch: For Vanderbilt, it all starts and ends with Leiter and Rocker, who are expected to go early in the MLB Draft. Besides those two, keep an eye on Carter Young, who leads Vanderbilt in home runs, with 15 this season.

Dominic Keegan is another power hitter for the Commodores, belting 14 homers this season.

Enrique Bradfield Jr. is a threat on the basepaths, posting 46 stolen bases in 52 attempts, while hitting .356 and scoring 57 runs for Vanderbilt this season.

For the Wildcats, the big three of Berry, Susac and Holgate will dictate much of the team's offensive flow.

Outfielder Donta Williams is another name to keep an eye on, as he has eight home runs and a team-high nine stolen bases in 11 attempts this season.

Much of Arizona's success will come down to whether the Wildcats bullpen can perform well. There's still no indication whether southpaw Gil Luna or RHP Randy Abshier, so it'll likely come down to pitchers like Chandler Murphy, who has a 3.63 ERA in 62 innings pitched this season for Arizona.

Aside from Murphy, keep an eye on bullpen pitchers Preston Price and Vince Vannelle, who have ERAs of 2.57 and 2.59 in relief for Arizona.