COVID-19 vaccinations and rapid tests may determine whether Vanderbilt baseball faces a North Carolina State team that’s near full strength in Saturday’s College World Series bracket final.

The Commodores won 3-1 over N.C. State on Friday, which forced an elimination game Saturday with a championship series berth on the line.

The Wolfpack had only 13 players available Friday, including nine position players and four pitchers. Before the game, N.C. State announced “several players” had been placed in COVID-19 protocols.

The unique situation turned the postgame news conference into a discussion about COVID-19 vaccinations for N.C. State coach Elliott Avent, who tried to avoid the topic.

“I’m not going to talk about that,” Avent said when