Vanderbilt's Rhett Wiseman went numb after pitch to neck

OMAHA, Neb. – When Vanderbilt's Rhett Wiseman was struck in the neck by an 89 mph pitch in the College World Series on Friday night, a quick checklist ran through his woozy mind.

"First, I had to make sure I could breathe," he said. "… Then I got numb on that side of my body, and I had to make sure it came back. But then it all came back, and I was good to go."

But before taking first base, Wiseman had one more hurdle – convincing coach Tim Corbin that he was healthy enough to stay in the game.

He found the right words, but Corbin said they weren't for public consumption.

"I can't really tell you what he said," Corbin said. "But I can tell you that under no circumstances was I pulling him out of the game."

Wiseman followed the shot to the neck with a single in the third inning and two-run home run well over the right-field wall in the fourth, carrying the Commodores to a 7-1 win over TCU to advance to the best-of-three national championship series versus the Florida/Virginia winner.

After the game, Wiseman sported a welt on his neck and offered his first-hand expertise of such an injury.

"I knew it was my neck, not my jaw. I was fortunate it didn't hit my jugular or my windpipe," Wiseman said. "…But it's the College World Series, baby. You're not taking me out of this game. And (Corbin) was like, 'Yeah, I know.'

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"The toughest part of it was the after-effect. Everything else started seizing up around (my neck) – my head, my back, my hip, back of my leg. But in the dugout, I had (pitcher) Ben Bowden give me a massage."

Wiseman said he believes illness or injuries can lead athletes to perform better in the face of adversity.

"I totally buy that. Obviously, I don't want to get hit every game because I won't play long," Wiseman said. "… But when you're hurt or sick, sometimes you are just kind of out there and relaxed and just doing it. You're not trying to overdo anything."

Wiseman said the moment also helped him deal with the pain of the massive red splotch on his neck.

"As the game went on, it got tighter, which is natural," Wiseman said. "But you've got to look at the adrenaline of it. You've got 27,000 people in the stands, and you're so involved in the game. The pain just kind of subsides."

Wiseman's 15th homer of the season tied Zander Wiel and Dansby Swanson for the team lead. Last season's Vanderbilt squad hit only 22 homers as a team during its national title run. The Commodores have hit 69 homers this season, the most since posting 71 in 1998.

Reach Adam Sparks at 615-259-8010 and on Twitter @AdamSparks.