Vanderbilt's Phil Pfeifer eyes climactic finish

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Phil Pfeifer has waited 614 days for this opportunity.

Twenty months after being suspended from the Vanderbilt baseball team, the left-handed pitcher has the opportunity to do the unthinkable.

After Vanderbilt routed Illinois 13-0 on Saturday in the opening game of the best-of-three Super Regional, the Commodores are just one win away from earning a trip to Omaha to defend their College World Series title.

And the pitcher who gets the ball on Sunday night in a nationally televised game (8 p.m., ESPNU)? Philip James Pfeifer.

It was October 2013 when Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin suspended the highly touted pitcher for what the university then called a violation of team rules. He was reinstated to the team in July 2014, a month after watching his teammates celebrate a College World Series title in Omaha.

"The past year was hard, and one of the hardest realizations was, selfish as it can be, they did not need me to win a national championship," Pfeifer told me earlier this season when he admitted the suspension was because of a substance-abuse problem. "But that realization was the best thing for my ego, just to deflate it. It was a bittersweet celebration for me. On one level, they won it. On another level, I wasn't there. I wasn't able to dog-pile. It was tough."

He'll get that chance today.

"I think the fact that he continued to play baseball, it's a good story in itself," Corbin said after Saturday's win. "The fact that he's pitching for us is great. And doing well at it. I just love his continuous story and how he handles himself."

Even when Pfeifer returned to the team last summer, there was no guarantee this opportunity would occur. Upon his return, his electric fastball was a few miles per hour slower. His strength and endurance weren't the same level as the 2013 season, when he posted a 4-0 record.

"Coming back this fall, I was a little worried about him," Vanderbilt pitching coach Scott Brown said earlier this season. "We weren't sure (his pitching form) was going to come back, but I never doubted him. He got the rust off, went home over (winter) break, regrouped, got some strength back."

Pfeifer stayed in the bullpen through much of the season. But with the team struggling with its weekend starting rotation midway through the season, Corbin decided to move his senior into a prominent starting role.

His return to the starting rotation has been bumpy at times. His initial start was a seven-inning, 13-strikeout win over Missouri. He struggled a bit in his next three starts, not getting out of the fifth inning in any of those games.

However, he turned in a nine-strikeout, four-hit, seven-inning performance against Alabama in the SEC Tournament, then struck out 10 in six innings in Vanderbilt's 6-4 win over Indiana at Hawkins Field last weekend.

Unlike teammates Carson Fulmer, Dansby Swanson and Walker Buehler, he won't be drafted on Monday, when the first two rounds are broadcast live on MLB network.

He probably will be selected Tuesday. Baseball America ranks him as the 195th best eligible prospect.

He's quite familiar with that process. As a standout pitcher at Knoxville Farragut High School, he was drafted in the 44th round by the Texas Rangers in the 2011 draft.

He chose to attend Vanderbilt instead. And while his personal journey has been an emotional one, the perfect climactic ending could come Sunday if he pitches Vanderbilt back to Omaha.

Reach Dave Ammenheuser at 615-259-8352 and on Twitter @NashSportsEd.