OMAHA, Neb. — Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin gets right to the point when he discusses his protege, Erik Bakich.

He’s proud of him. He’s impressed with what he has accomplished at Michigan. He’s his biggest fan.

Now he wants to beat him.

Corbin’s Commodores and Bakich’s Wolverines have never played each other. That changes Monday night when they open the best-of-three College World Series finals at TD Ameritrade Park.

The 41-year-old Bakich has become the hottest coach in the college game for taking the Wolverines to the CWS for the first time since 1984. They’re playing for their first national title since 1962.