May 15, 2008
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VANDERBILT GAMEDAY CENTRAL
No. 13 Vanderbilt (37-15, 15-11 SEC) at Florida (31-20, 14-13)
McKethan Stadium at Perry Field (5,500)
Thursday, May 15 at 5:30 p.m. CT (TV: None; Radio: 560 AM)
Mike Minor LHP (5-3, 4.07 ERA) vs. Billy Bullock RHP (4-3, 4.11) 
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Friday, May 16 at 5:30 p.m. CT (TV: None; Radio: 560 AM)
Caleb Cotham RHP (7-3, 3.28 ERA) vs. Stephen Locke LHP (4-2, 2.99) |
Saturday, May 17 at 12 p.m. CT (TV: SUN; Radio: 560 AM)
Nick Christiani RHP (5-3, 4.37 ERA) vs. Patrick Keating RHP (8-0, 3.27) | | Sirius 126
2008 VU STATISTICS
VU Game Notes | 2008 Statistics | SEC Standings & Leaders
FLORIDA’S LINKS
Game Preview | Game Notes | 2008 Stats | Results
Series History
Florida leads 113-58-1 all-time . The Commodores have won the last two series and three of five under Tim Corbin, including sweeping three games a year ago in Nashville.
Last Year’s Results in Nashville
April 27, 2008: Vanderbilt 10, Florida 1
April 28, 2008: Vanderbilt 17, Florida 6
April 29, 2008: Vanderbilt 13, Florida 5
Polls
Vanderbilt is ranked in all the national polls, with a high ranking of No. 13 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and ESPN/Sports Weekly. Collegiate Baseball ranks the Dores No. 17 this week while Baseball America and Rivals.com has the team at No. 19. Florida is not ranked this week.
The Coaches
VU’s Tim Corbin is 235-123 in his sixth season as head coach. He is 10-7 against the Gators all-time. UF’s Kevin O’Sullivan is 31-20 in his first season in Gainesville. This weekend will mark his first matchups against the Commodores.
Radio/TV/Internet
All three games will be broadcast on WNSR 560 AM in Nashville. In addition you can catch the internet version of the broadcast via www.vucommodores.com. “Voice of the Commodores” Joe Fisher will call all the action this week. The Saturday (Channel 126) contest will also be carried on Sirius Satellite Radio. Saturday’s game will be televised by SUN TV. Mick Hubert (play-by-play) and Nick Belamonte (analysis) will provide commentary. Live stats can also be accessed through vucommodores.com.
What’s On Tap
Vanderbilt closes out the regular season with a pivotal three-game series at Florida starting on Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT at McKethan Field. The teams will play the second game on Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT, before closing things out on Saturday at Noon. All of the series around the Southeastern Conference start a day earlier in order to give teams an extra day’s rest leading into the conference tournament next week in Hoover, Ala.
Scouting Florida
Florida is 31-20 overall and 14-13 in SEC play after dropping two of three at Alabama last weekend. The Gators rebounded with a 12-2 win over South Florida on Tuesday.
Junior left fielder Avery Barnes leads the team with a .383 batting average and is a threat on the bases with 25 stolen bases in 28 attempts.
Freshman infielder Josh Adams is one of the top power producers with seven homers, 17 doubles and 47 RBI in 50 games with a .339 batting average. Sophomore shortstop Cole Figueroa, a Freshman All-American a year ago, is hitting .333 with seven homers, 12 doubles and 49 RBI in 51 starts on the year.
As a team Florida is hitting .305 with 50 homers and 365 runs scored in 51 games (7.1 runs per game).
O’Sullivan has retooled a pitching staff that sported an SEC worst 5.25 ERA last year into one that has a 4.03 ERA (fourth in the conference) heading into the weekend. Sophomore right-hander Billy Bullock (4-3, 4.11 ERA) will get the start on Thursday, with junior left-hander Stephen Locke (4-2, 2.99 ERA) slated to go on Friday. Junior right-hander Patrick Keating (8-0, 3.27 ERA) will carry his undefeated record into Saturday’s start. The staff has recorded 271 strikeouts with 166 walks in 444.1 innings.
Where Can The Commodores Finish?
Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, Vanderbilt can finish with the second best league mark (third seed) and as low as ninth following Saturday’s action. Although there are several variables left in play, VU needs one win to clinch a spot in the SEC tournament on its own, regardless of what the other clubs around the league do. The only team that has salted away its spot in the eight-team field is regular season champion Georgia who clinched the title last week in Nashville.
Two Vanderbilt wins clinches the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament as the Western Division champion gets the No. 2 seed regardless of record. The No. 3 seed takes on the No. 6 seed at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21.
Commodore Tidbits
Vanderbilt went 3-2 last week, winning the first three games of the week, before dropping the final two games at home to SEC champion Georgia … The Commodores won Friday night’s game against the Bulldogs and was one out away from cutting UGA’s lead to just one game on Saturday before falling 4-2 in 10 innings. Georgia jumped out to an early lead on Sunday, scoring six in the second, and withstood a late Vanderbilt rally to win 12-10 and clinch the title … The series loss marked the first time the Commodores have dropped two SEC home series in a row since losing to LSU and Florida in 2005 … Despite dropping the series, VU still has the second best conference record in the league at 15-11, .003 ahead of Western Division leader LSU at 15-11-1 … There are many scenarios out there for the Commodores, they can finish anywhere from second to ninth heading into the series with Florida in Gainesville. One win against the Gators or a South Carolina or Arkansas loss clinches a spot in the SEC tournament for the third straight year and fifth year in six years under Tim Corbin … The Commodores hit .306 for the week with eight homers, two triples, 10 doubles and 40 runs scored in five games (8 per game) … Pedro Alvarez is starting to heat up, hitting 9-for-19 (.474) with three homers, one triple, a double and seven RBI on the week … David Macias was 9-for-22 (.409) with three doubles, a homer and seven RBI and Steven Liddle was 7-for-18 (.389) with four RBI … Shea Robin continued to hit, going 7-for-19 (.368) with four doubles and five RBI. His batting average has risen from .262 on April 12 to .323 on May 12. It is good for second on the team entering this weekend against Florida … Dominic de la Osa hit three homers on the week and now has 45 for his career, one shy of Pedro Alvarez who has 46 … Caleb Cotham led the pitching contingent with seven shutout innings against Georgia on Saturday. He allowed just three hits while striking out seven and walking three. He now leads the team with a 7-3 record and 3.28 ERA … Drew Hayes pitched seven shutout innings against Memphis with 12 strikeouts and a walk last Tuesday … Mark Lamm pitched three scoreless innings on the week with four strikeouts in three relief appearances … The Commodores sported a 3.91 ERA on the week with 55 strikeouts and 13 walks in 46.0 innings … UF head coach Kevin O’Sullivan is in his first year in Gainesville after spending nine seasons as an assistant coach at Clemson. O’Sullivan and Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin spent four seasons (1999-2002) as assistants under head coach Jack Leggett and made two College World Series appearances and four Super Regionals in that span.
De La Osa Becomes Vanderbilt’s All-Time Hits and Doubles Leader.
On Sunday, May 4, senior outfielder Dominic de la Osa became Vanderbilt’s all-time hits leader with his second hit in the Commodores 10-8 win over Tennessee. He broke Karl Nonemaker’s record of 283 hits set from 1999-2002 and has 289 hits entering this weekend against Florida. The hit, a double, also gave de la Osa the career record in doubles at VU as well with 62, besting Sean Luellwitz’ record of 61 also set from 1999-02. He currently has 63.
Coming into the season de la Osa was the lone active Commodore in the 200 hit club. Alex Feinberg, Ryan Flaherty, David Macias and Pedro Alvarez have joined him on the exclusive list. Feinberg has 252 in his four years and is currently sixth, while Flaherty has 249 in just his third year, good for ninth best in school history. Macias has 243 hits in his career (10th), while Alvarez, who missed 23 games this year, joined the club against Auburn and now has 223 (13th). Another Commodore is within site of the exclusive group, as senior Shea Robin is just nine hits away with 191.
Mike Minor Invited To USA National Team Trials
USA Baseball announced on May 8 its initial list of 12 collegiate players who have accepted invitations for the 2008 National Team Trials to be held June 11-23 throughout the northeast and southeast United States. Vanderbilt sophomore left-hander Mike Minor was invited back to compete for a second tour of duty as he competed on the 2007 club that captured a silver medal at the Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The list is comprised of eight sophomores and four freshmen. In all, 32 players will be invited to the National Team Trials, with 22 of those players being selected for the National Team roster.
Minor posted a 5-2 record and a 1.64 ERA in nine appearances with the National Team last year. He recorded 37 strikeouts against only four walks over 33 innings. Minor is 5-3 for Vanderbilt this season, logging 82 strikeouts in 78 2/3 innings. The Chapel Hill, Tenn., native ended up as the team’s ace by the time the season ended.
USA Baseball’s 2008 National Team schedule includes a six-game friendship series against Chinese Taipei and a month-long trip to Europe where the team will compete in Haarlem Baseball Week in the Netherlands and in the IV FISU World Collegiate Baseball Championship in the Czech Republic.
Minor is 5-3 this season with a 4.07 ERA in 12 starts. His 84.0 innings pitched leads the team as well as the SEC and he is fourth in the league in strikeouts with 87.
The Commodores have been well represented on the National Team over the last three years with three players on the 2006 and 2007 clubs. Recent Vanderbilt players on the teams include David Price (2005-06), Casey Weathers (2006), Pedro Alvarez (2006-07), Ryan Flaherty (2007) and Mike Minor (2007-08). Head coach Tim Corbin coached the 2006 team to a gold medal at the World University Championships in Cuba.
Liddle Lighting It Up
Left fielder Steven Liddle has come on strong offensively over the last month and has solidified his spot in the everyday lineup. The Franklin High graduate sat out last season as a redshirt and this year started out slowly, batting .225 through his first 28 games. Since that time he has started in 12 of 13 games, including the last 10, and has gone 20-for-44 (.455), with four doubles, eight RBI and nine runs scored. His overall batting average has improved to .313 entering this weekend at Florida. Liddle is a candidate for the All-SEC Freshman team and is just the lone underclassmen in the experienced Vanderbilt lineup.
Alex Feinberg Earns Academic All-District Plaudits
Senior second baseman Alex Feinberg picked up first-team Academic All-District IV honors this week. The Orinda, Calif., native graduated cum laude last Friday with a degree in Economics. The four-year starter has not only achieved on the field but off of it as well. He started a charity to benefit injured soldiers in Iraq called Saturday Solider. He produced a wrist band that college football players wore across the country. He also made it available for fans to buy in their school’s color on the website www.saturdaysoldier.com.
Feinberg also earned an SEC post-graduate scholarship and is the team’s representative for the SEC Baseball Scholar Athlete award as well as the Community Service Team.
He suffered a broken jaw in the first game of a doubleheader against Ole Miss on April 5. A fastball clocking in around 92 mph from Ole Miss ace Lance Lynn hit him below the mouth breaking his jaw. Feinberg went back to Nashville that night and had successful surgery the next morning. His down time was expected to be a week but he returned to action less than a week after surgery. His jaw is nearly healed and he is expected to have some wiring removed from his mouth in the next week or so.
Alvarez and de la Osa Approaching School Homer Record
Pedro Alvarez and Dominic de la Osa are within reach of the school’s career home-run record. Alvarez missed 23 games and has hit six homers since his return at the start of April to up his career total to 46. He hit three homers last week to move into sole possession of third place. De la Osa has nine homers on the year, putting him right behind Alvarez with 45. Alvarez needs three more round-trippers and de la Osa needs four to tie Scotti Madison’s mark of 49 set from 1977-80.
