Michigan coach Erik Bakich looking to defeat mentor Tim Corbin of Vanderbilt

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 when they open the best-of-three College World Series finals at TD Ameritrade Park.

“I’m not uncomfortable with it,” Corbin said. “If you’re going to play someone you really care about and like, this is the best place you could possibly do it. It’s two groups of teams playing each other, more than anything else. I’m happy for what he and his wife and his staff and that university have done to put themselves in a position to play for a national championship.”

Bakich, a 1996 Bellarmine Prep grad, 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.

Bakich said the seven years he spent at Vanderbilt (2003-09) as an assistant to Corbin shaped him as a coach, leader and man.

“I learned everything from him,” Bakich said.

Vanderbilt (57-11) and Michigan (49-20) each went 3-0 in bracket play at the CWS but otherwise have had very different seasons.

The Commodores lost two games in a row on just two occasions and swept the SEC regular-season and tournament titles. That consistency earned them the No. 2 national seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Wolverines slumped at the end of the regular season. They survived meltdowns in regionals and super regionals to stave off elimination.

“It may have taken them 20, 30, 40 games, but they are finding their personality and are playing extremely well,” Corbin...