Vanderbilt’s Kumar Rocker strikes out 19 in no-hitter over Duke

Kumar Rocker has put himself on the map with a spectacular performance for the record books on Saturday night in the NCAA Tournament against Duke.

The Vanderbilt freshman struck out 19 batters in a no-hitter to help the Commodores win the second game of their Super Regional series 3-0.

Rocker struck out the side in the ninth and the last four batters he faced to complete the no-hitter, all while allowing just two walks in an utterly dominant pitching performance.

Here’s the final out:

History.

The final out of Kumar Rocker's NO HITTER!#RoadToOmaha | @VandyBoys pic.twitter.com/Lk8krceRSy

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) June 9, 2019

Rocker’s no-hitter was the first individual no-hitter for Vanderbilt since 1971, eighth in NCAA Tournament history, and first in Super Regional history. It came as Vanderbilt was facing elimination after losing their first game against Duke on Friday.

“I was just trying to win,” Rocker told ESPN of his mentality.

He was also asked if this was the best his breaking ball was all season, and had a simple answer, saying “yeah, you could say that.”

Rocker’s 19 strikeouts tied the most in a game this season in NCAA Division I.

A major recruit entering college, Rocker is now 10-5 with a 3.50 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 87.1 innings this season. Vandy needs to beat Duke on Sunday to advance to the College World Series.