Kumar Rocker pitched the greatest game in college baseball history

A pitcher with a name like Kumar Rocker is bound to get noticed. With his performance on the mound Saturday night, Rocker left no doubt. That he pitched a no-hitter for Vanderbilt is a story in itself. But it gets better.

Rocker pitched that no-hitter to deliver a 3-0 win over Duke in a game Vanderbilt had to win or else they would have been eliminated from the NCAA baseball tournament super regional of which they were the host. That adds intrigue, and ups the stakes, providing much needed context for Rocker’s dominance.

Vanderbilt, the No. 2 team in the country, still needs a win on Sunday to advance to the College World Series. But that they even have a chance is thanks to the amazing Rocker.

That Rocker STRUCK OUT NINETEEN BATTERS sends his performance on Saturday into the stratosphere. He walked only two batters — Michael Rothenberg in the second inning, and Damon Lux in the sixth — and after the last walk Rocker retired his final 10 batters faced, seven by strikeout, naturally. Rocker ended the game by striking out the final four Duke batters, including whiffing the side in the ninth.

All that poise, saving Vanderbilt’s season and delivering the school’s first complete game no-hitter in 48 years, and the eighth no-hitter in NCAA baseball tournament history, all of that was delivered BY A FRESHMAN.

Nineteen years old, 19 strikeouts. This is becoming more and more unbelievable by the minute.

Rocker thew 131 pitches in his masterpiece, and at the end the kid looked exhausted, and for good reason. Saving a season can be tiring.

The Colorado Rockies drafted Rocker out of high school in 2018 in the 38th round, the type of flier pick that a team will make just in case they are able to convince a player to skip college. But Rocker made the choice several others do, heading to Vanderbilt, a veritable major league pitching factory over the last decade.

Seven major league pitchers in 2019 were drafted out of Vanderbilt in the first round, headlined by former top overall pick David Price (2007).

In 2020 Rocker could very well join his Vanderbilt cohorts as a major league first-round pick. At the very least, thanks to Saturday night, Rocker will never be forgotten.