State will need a similar performance from JT Ginn, its prized freshman in the elimination game against Louisville on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. He’s my best friend. He will step up. He’s been doing so all year. We all need him to, because we all want another chance at Vanderbilt.” Rocker, the 6-foot-5-inch, 245-pound son and daughter of former football star Tracy Rocker and Ginn, a first draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers from Brandon, both have bright, lucrative futures within Major League Baseball. Both can throw 95 mph fastballs with ease. Both pitchers have breaking pitches that can make batters look ridiculous. Their situations are completely different in the College World Series. Rocker was coming off a remarkable performance in NCAA postseason history, a no-hitter that had 19 strikeouts against Duke during a Super Regional. Ginn has been sidelined since May 31, when he pitched the Starkville Regional’s first game. He was able to pitch for three innings, but left the game with arm pain. Since then, Chris Lemonis, the state coach has been very careful with Ginn. Ginn will be entering the most important game in his life with an 8-4 record and a 3.36 earned runs average. He also has 103 strikeouts, which is a better than just 18 walks over 80.1 innings. Ginn is just 20 years old and a young man with few words. Take a look at this interview: Aren’t you ready to get out there again? “Yes sir. It’s been a while since my last time on the mound. “I’m ready to pitch.” It’s great. “Probably the regional.” Are you looking forward to it? “Yes, ofcourse.” Mangum said, “JT is a quiet man, but he’s very confident. He’s ready to face this.” Mangum will be facing a formidable Louisville team, which won its 50th match earlier Wednesday by a 5-3 win that sent Auburn home with two consecutive losses. Louisville had already lost to Vandy in its CWS opener 3-1. Louisville will pitch Nick Bennett (7-3), a sixth-round draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers. Bennett pitched here twice before, which gave Louisville a good start against TCU two year ago. Dan McDonnell, Louisville coach, said Bennett was “chomping at every bit”. Bennett has a record of 20-6 over three seasons at Louisville. Pro scouts call him “Polished”. Bennett isn’t overpowering, but he mixes his pitches well. He also gets top marks in command and control. Vandy’s Rocker, a power pitcher who was 97 on Wednesday’s radar gun, is no surprise. If you are seated on the fast ball, it is likely that you will see an 80-82 mph breaking pitch. It breaks rapidly and downward. It was called a slider by state players. Rocker calls it a curve. It is called McNasty by his teammates. Mangum stated that he throws it in the same spot as his fastball, which is what makes it so difficult. It just falls off the plate.” Rocker was asked what made his breaking pitch, whatever it might be, so effective. It’s not possible for me to tell you. Rocker pitched six innings against State. He allowed five hits and one earned runs, while striking out six and walking one. Rocker left with a 6-0 lead thanks to Stephen Scott’s home run blasts. One was a solo shot by State starter Peyton Plumlee, and the other was a three-run backbreaker off Trystin Barrlow. This highlighted a 5-run Vandy fifth. Plumlee fought and gave the Bulldogs an excellent start. Keegan James, who came in the fifth, provided the Bulldogs with 3.2 innings worth of scoreless relief. The Bulldogs are in the losers bracket. They must beat Louisville to extend their season. But it could get worse. The Bulldogs have a first-round draft pick starting and every reliever available in the bullpen, with the exception of James. It’s a climb up to the national championship. If they beat Louisville, the Bulldogs will have to defeat Vanderbilt twice in order to reach the championship series. 56-11, the Commodores have not lost two consecutive games since April’s first week.