Vanderbilt's Jonathan Vastine delays regional game due to strange 'player delay'

There were shenanigans with the very first at bat in Vanderbilt’s 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament run, as lead-off hitter Jonathan Vastine mysteriously went missing in between innings.

Vastine started in the field in the top of the first inning and was seen charging towards the dugout with a fist in the air shortly after Commodore catcher Alan Espinal picked off a Coastal Carolina runner at second base for the third out. However, when the Chanitcleers took the field, Vastine was nowhere to be seen.

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After a few moments, he was shown in the dugout applying his gloves and helmet before bouncing out and into the box. During the at bat, the ESPN broadcast offered a minor update on the strange situation with Vastine’s at bat:

“I think we can probably figure it out, but a ‘player delay.’ That’s all we got, the official term. Didn’t find that in the NCAA guide book but I think we can put it all together.”

Later in the game, with Vanderbilt trailing 8-0 in the top of the fourth, Vastine exited the game and was replaced. As he walked to the dugout, he appeared to be in the early stages of vomiting.

Betting odds for Clemson Regional

The Tigers are the No. 6 overall seed in the tournament, meaning they will automatically host in the super regional round as well should they advance out of their regional this week.

As for how likely that scenario is, the folks at DraftKings already have odds out on each of the four teams in the Clemson Regional to win and advance to the supers. Take a look right here at those odds:

Clemson (+110)
Vanderbilt (+175)
Coastal Carolina (+350)
High Point (+3500)

Clemson is slightly above board with +110 odds and is virtually a coin toss favorite to escape from the regional. However, Vanderbilt represents a sturdy test as the SEC representative of the bunch. The Commodore program may not have been as dominant as year’s past in 2024, but they’re still a formidable threat according to the sports books.

Vanderbilt also provides some history among the head coaches for the ‘Dores and Tigers. Long before Eric Bakich was the head coach of the Tigers and Tim Corbin was leading the Commodores program, the two were assistants together at Clemson. Bakich and Corbin also worked together at Vandy, with Bakich spending seven seasons as an assistant under Corbin.

That’s some rich history between two of the top coaches in then regional.