Vanderbilt baseball is back in the College World Series.

The Commodores beat Duke 13-2 Sunday in the Nashville Super Regional title game, punching their ticket to Omaha for the fourth time in program history.

"There is nothing better than watching your players celebrate," Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin said. "Nothing better. It is a gift."

Vanderbilt also went to the College World Series in 2011, 2014 and 2015, winning the national championship in 2014.

This College World Series trip will be led by the remaining seniors from the class that arrived on campus with pitcher Donny Everett, who died on June 2, 2016, just before the NCAA Tournament.

"We were meant to go back to Omaha this year to experience it for Donny," senior pitcher Patrick Raby said.

This Vanderbilt team (54-11) has already tied the program record with 54 wins. It will play Louisville in Omaha on either Saturday or Sunday in the opening round of the double-elimination portion.

Patrick Raby got record 32nd win in final home game

It took more than six hours for the Commodores to advance, as the game was delayed two hours, 36 minutes due to lightning. But Vanderbilt already led 12-2 in the bottom of the sixth when sporadic lightning strikes held off the final result.

Sophomore leadoff man Austin Martin had two home runs and three RBIs, both career highs. Pat DeMarco, Stephen Scott and Julian Infante also hit home runs.

Raby (10-1) got the win with two scoreless innings of relief in his final appearance on the mound at Hawkins Field. It extended his program record of 32 career victories as Vanderbilt's winningest all-time pitcher.

Starter Mason Hickman, a former Pope John Paul II standout, allowed two runs in four innings and struck out nine. Zach King and Tyler Brown finished it off after the delay.

Vanderbilt rode momentum from Kumar Rocker no-hitter

It was a roller-coaster ride through the Nashville Super Regional. Vanderbilt fell 18-5 Friday for its worst loss ever in an NCAA Tournament game. Then Kumar Rocker pitched the first no-hitter in NCAA Super Regional history for a 3-0 win Saturday to force the winner-take-all game.

"We knew we were the type of team that could come back from (Friday's loss)," Raby said. "And after (Saturday), I don't think there was ever going to be a doubt. Kumar, as everyone knows, had an amazing game. It was probably one of the best games pitched in the history of baseball at any level."

Game 3 lacked suspense, as Vanderbilt unloaded in the first inning and never looked back.

Martin hit a lead-off home run to left-center on the second pitch he saw. After Ethan Paul singled and Philip Clarke walked, DeMarco blasted a long home run that sailed over the Green Monster left-field wall and struck Memorial Gym.

"We knew something ahead of us was within our grasp," Martin said. "We just went for it."

In the second inning, Martin homered to left-center again with a two-run shot for a 6-0 lead.

It was the start of a power surge the Commodores needed after hitting only one home run combined in the first two games. Now they have 93 home runs as a team in 2019, a single-season program record.

Vanderbilt tacked on three runs in the third, all with two outs, on Ty Duvall’s double, Infante’s single and J.J. Bleday’s single for a 9-1 lead.

Scott and Infante hit solo home runs in the fourth and fifth innings. 

Reach Adam Sparks at asparks@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.