VANDERBILT COMMODORES GAME NOTES Vanderbilt Athletic Communications H 2601 Jess Neely Dr
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VANDERBILT COMMODORES GAME NOTES Vanderbilt Athletic Communications H 2601 Jess Neely Dr. Nashville, TN 37212 Baseball Contact: Kyle Parkinson H Phone: 615.343.0020 H Email: [email protected] vucommodores.com H twitter: @vandybaseball #2 Vanderbilt Commodores (24-5,6-3) at #15 LSU Tigers (19-9,4-5) COMMODORES AT-A-GLANCE Game #30 Road #8 Thursday, April 7 H 6 p.m. [SEC Network] Friday, April 8 H 7:30 p.m. [ESPNU] Streak .................................. W2 Home ..................................18-3 Saturday, April 9 H 2 p.m. [SEC Network+] Road .....................................5-2 Tuesday, April 5 H Middle Tennessee H 6:30 p.m. [SEC Network+] Neutral .................................1-0 Day .....................................18-1 VANDERBILT RE-VU Night.....................................6-4 Vanderbilt held off Lipscomb 4-3 on Tuesday night to improve to 18-2 in non-conference games. Jeren Kendall drove in two runs in the win. The Commodores finished off the team’s sixth series win with a 10-6 win over vs. RH starters ....................14-5 South Carolina on Saturday. Penn Murfee’s two hits and three RBI helped lead the way. Vanderbilt was shut vs. LH starters ....................10-0 out for the first time this season Friday night 4-0 against South Carolina. Kyle Wright was the tough-luck loser Extra-Innings ........................2-1 despite a quality start over his career-best 7.1 innings. The Commodores claimed the series opener Thursday Doubleheaders .....................1-1 night with a 6-3 win over South Carolina. Jordan Sheffield struck out nine in seven innings and Alonzo Jones Shutouts ...............................4-1 drove in three runs. One-Run Games ...................2-2 ON THE BUMP Three+ Run Games .............20-3 Thursday, April 7 Series W-L-T .................... 6-1-0 RHP Jordan Sheffield (4-1, 2.27) vs. LHP Jared Poche’ (3-3, 2.38) Series Sweeps .....................4-0 Friday, April 8 On Artificial Turf.................18-3 RHP Kyle Wright (4-1, 1.60) vs. RHP Alex Lange (2-2, 5.02) On Natural Grass .................6-2 Scoring First .......................19-2 Saturday, April 9 Opp. Scores First ..................5-3 RHP Hayden Stone (0-1, 3.44) vs. LHP John Valek (5-1, 2.92) Scoring 3+ runs ..................23-2 BACK AT THE BOX Opp. Scores 3+ runs ...........13-4 Vanderbilt returns to Alex Box Stadium for the first time since 2012 when the Commodores took two-of-three Hitting at least 1 HR ..........14-1 from No. 4 LSU. The two programs have not met at all since 2014 when the Dores won the regular season series Hitting no HR ......................10-4 at Hawkins Field by sweeping a Saturday doubleheader before the Tigers eliminated Vandy in the SEC Tourna- ment. The two teams met in an epic SEC Tournament championship game in 2013 that saw the Tigers win 5-4 Making at least 1 error ......12-4 in 11 innings. Vanderbilt has won six straight series against LSU dating back to 2006 but trail the all-time series Making no errors ................12-1 39-54 dating back to the first match-up in 1974. Leading after 6 inn .............21-0 Trailing after 6 inn ...............1-4 BUSY WEEK The Commodores have had a busy week. The team boarded a bus after Tuesday’s game vs. Lipscomb and headed Tied after 6 inn ....................2-1 to Baton Rouge, La. for a three-game series with No. 15 LSU beginning Thursday night at Alex Box Stadium. The Leading after 7 inn .............21-1 quick turnaround for Vandy comes with the team’s second straight series beginning on Thursday night. Vander- Trailing after 7 inn ...............1-3 bilt’s schedule has two more series slated to begin on Thursdays with next month’s trip to No. 6 Texas A&M Tied after 7 inn ....................2-1 starting on May 5 and the final series of the season against Auburn starting on May 19 at Hawkins Field. Leading after 8 inn .............21-0 BIG LEAGUERS Trailing after 8 inn ...............1-4 A program record and SEC-leading eight former Commodores opened the 2016 season on major league base- Tied after 8 inn ....................2-1 ball rosters, led by All-Stars David Price and Sonny Gray. Each drew the Opening Day nod for their team but vs. Top 5 Teams ...................2-1 inclement weather in Cleveland delayed Price’s first start for Boston and sickness scratched Gray’s start for vs. Top 10 Teams .................0-0 Oakland. Price won his opener a day later, striking out 10 over six innings. Pedro Alvarez joined Baltimore over the offseason and teams up with former Vandy teammate Ryan Flaherty for the Orioles. Three more former Com- vs. Top 25 Teams .................1-2 modores made their first Opening Day rosters with Curt Casali (Tampa Bay), Caleb Cotham (Cincinnati) and Drew In the State of Tenn ...........19-4 VerHagen (Detroit) all breaking camp with their teams. Mike Minor inked a contract with defending World Series vs. Out-of-State Opp ..........21-4 champion Kansas City over the winter but opens the season on the disabled list for the third straight season. The On Weekdays .......................7-1 minor league season begins on Thursday, when 30 more former Vandy Boys will begin their seasons. On Weekends .....................17-4 SERIES UPS AND DOWNS COMMODORES BROADCAST Through the first three weeks of Southeastern Conference play the Commodores have had ups and downs to Joe Fisher calls the action on get to 6-3 in league play. VU is 2-1 in the opening game of the series, 1-2 in the middle game and 3-0 in series finales. In the opening game of the series Vandy is hitting .239 and outscoring opponents 15-11 but in the middle WNSR 560 AM / 95.9 FM game the team’s average dips to .165 with opponents outscoring the Dores 9-6. The series finale has featured beginning 15-minutes prior to a Vanderbilt offense hitting .348 and outscoring teams 39-19. Freshman Ethan Paul has been the team’s best first pitch. offensive threat in series openers (,364) and the finales (.545) while hitting a team-best .400 in SEC games. @VandyBaseball vucommodores.com 1 COMMODORE NOTES THE ALL AMERICANS Six Commodores earned preseason All-American status led by junior Bryan Reynolds, who was on every major preseason All-American list. Pitchers Ben Bowden, Jordan Sheffield and Kyle Wright all saw their names appear on various All-American teams. Sophomores Jeren Kendall and Will Toffey both received preseason accolades after earning Freshman All-American status last season. REYNOLDS, TOFFEY NAMED PRESEASON ALL-SEC Junior Bryan Reynolds and sophomore Will Toffey were named preseason All-SEC by the league’s coaches. Both Commodores were tabbed as second team members. COMMODORES DEBUTING NEW NIKE UNIFORMS Vanderbilt is one of only three teams in the nation to be wearing Nike’s new Vapor Elite uniform. The Commodores are joined by Oregon and North Carolina in the new uniforms. Three new elements are highlighted in the uniforms: the Vapor Elite Pants are 20% lighter than the sport’s traditional knit 2014 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS pants, the Vapor Elite Jersey, made from stretch woven fabric, offers maximum mobility with minimal weight and the True Vapor Fitted hat features an exclusive bill construction designed to reduce weight, improve moisture management and relieve pressure against the forehead. 54 H 51 H 51 NUMBER NINE Only program in the nation Sophomore Will Toffey changed his uniform to No. 9 after earning Freshman All-American honors with three straight while wearing No. 10 last season. The No. 9 was Toffey’s uniform number throughout his prep career 50-win seasons and when it came available the Barnstable, Mass. native asked Coach Corbin to make the move into a new jersey. FRESHMAN CLASS TABBED NO. 1 For the record fourth time, Vanderbilt’s recruiting class has been ranked No. 1 by Baseball America. The Commodores’ 13-man class is comprised of seven pitchers and six position players from nine different states. Vanderbilt’s fourth top class in the Baseball America poll (2005, 2011, 2012, 2015) stretches the Dores’ record with only Florida and Arizona State claiming multiple top classes with two each. Vandy is also riding an unprecedented 11-year streak of Top 25 classes. The 2015 class is the latest top class for Corbin and recruiting coordinator Travis Jewett after hauling in the second of back- to-back classes in 2012. IN THE TIM CORBIN ERA 12 MLB first round picks since 2004 are the most in the nation National Award Watch Lists Commodore Weekly Winners Player (Pos.) Award Player (Pos.) Honor Date Ben Bowden (P) NCWBA Stopper of the Year Jeren Kendall (OF) SEC Player of Week 2/22 Bryan Reynolds (OF) Golden Spikes Award Jeren Kendall (OF) Natl Player of Week 2/22 Kyle Wright (P) Golden Spikes Award Jeren Kendall (OF) Natl Hitter of Week 2/22 Jordan Sheffield (P) SEC Pitcher of Week 3/15 $46M Jordan Sheffield (P) TSWA Pitcher of Week 3/15 Since 2004, Vanderbilt players have received signing bonuses totalling over $46 million. 2 @VandyBaseball vucommodores.com COMMODORE NOTES DORES TABBED TO FINISH SECOND IN SEC EAST BY COACHES Commodores In The Pros The Commodores were picked to finish second in the SEC East by the league coaches while receiv- Player (Years at VU) Team ing one vote to win the East division and the league. Top-ranked Florida received 13 votes to win the division and the league making them a unanimous choice (coaches cannot vote for their own team). MLB The rest of the East was picked with South Carolina third, Kentucky fourth, Missouri fifth, Georgia Pedro Alvarez (06-08) Baltimore sixth and Tennessee seventh.