Baseball in the Sunshine State

#23 Vanderbilt Commodores (21-8, 4-5 SEC) vs. Florida Gators (23-3, 5-1 SEC)
Game 1: Friday, April 4 @ 5:30 p.m. CT • SECN+
Game 2: Saturday, April 5 @ Noon CT • SECN+
Game 3: Sunday, April 6 @ 11 a.m. CT • SEC Network

Weekend Preview: Vanderbilt hits the road to Florida for a three-game series against the Gators beginning Friday.

• The Commodores trail the all-time series vs. Florida 84-148-1, but took three of four meetings against the Gators in 2024.
• Vandy will be looking for its first series win in Gainesville since 2014.

Last Time Out: Vanderbilt knocked off WKU with a 5-4 win in 10 innings on Tuesday night at Hawkins Field.

• RJ Austin provided the game-winning hit with a walk-off single in the 10th.
• The Commodores improved to 17-3 at home this season and have won 20 consecutive midweek games dating back to last season.
• Over the last 10 games, Mike Mancini has led the offense with a .333 average. Colin Barczi’s seven RBI are most over that stretch.
• Vandy’s pitching staff has registered 118 strikeouts over the last 10 games (88.0 IP), led by Connor Fennell with 18.

On the Mound: Vanderbilt’s pitching staff boasts a 3.61 ERA, ninth best in D1 and third in the SEC.

• Vandy’s pitchers have reached double-digit strikeouts in 22 of 29 games this season.
• Vanderbilt leads the nation in hits allowed per nine innings (6.34) and is fourth in strikeouts per nine innings (12.4).
• The Dores’ four shutouts are tied for most in the SEC.

RJ Doing RJ Things: Junior RJ Austin is tied for second most stolen bases in the SEC with 12, trailing only his teammate Jacob Humphrey.

• Austin enters the weekend batting .313 with a home run, three triples and eight doubles to go with 14 walks.
• He walked off WKU on April 1 with an RBI single in the 10th inning.
• Austin hit the go-ahead, two-run single in the seventh inning to help lift Vanderbilt past Texas A&M on March 22.
• He hit two triples in the win over Saint Mary’s on Feb. 21, the first Commodore since Tony Kemp in 2012 to do so.
• Austin’s 11 multi-hit games this season is most on the team. His eight multi-RBI performances also leads all Commodores.

Big Innings: Vandy has scored four or more runs in an inning 16 times this season.

• The Dores have scored seven or more runs in an inning five times including a nine-spot twice.

MLB Opening Day: Eleven Vanderbilt alumni made Opening Day rosters in the MLB this season. That mark is tied with Florida for most in the SEC.

JJ Bleday, Athletics

Walker Buehler, Boston Red Sox

Tyler Ferguson, Athletics

Sonny Gray, St. Louis Cardinals

Jack Leiter, Texas Rangers

Bryan Reynolds, Pittsburgh Pirates

Kumar Rocker, Texas Rangers

Collin Snider, Seattle Mariners

Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs

Kyle Wright [Injured List], Kansas City Royals

Mike Yastrzemski, San Francisco Giants

The Gauntlet: Of Vanderbilt’s 56 games this season, 30 are against opponents who made it to the NCAA Tournament last season and 12 are against opponents who made it to Omaha.

• Six of Vandy’s opponents were ranked in the D1Baseball preseason poll including five in the top 10, three in the top five.
• Five of Vanderbilt’s remaining six SEC series after this weekend will be against an opponent currently ranked top-10 by D1Baseball.
• Among SEC teams, Vanderbilt had the second-toughest strength of schedule entering SEC play according to NCAA RPI.

Immediate Impact: Newcomers on offense as well as on the mound have been major contributors for the Commodores early in the season.

• From the transfer ranks, Riley Nelson is second on the team in average, hits and RBI. Nelson leads the team in runs scored. Mike Mancini and Mac Rose have also been impressive, combining for 24 RBI and 31 walks.
• Freshmen Brodie Johnston and Rustan Rigdon are off to hot starts as well. Both are hitting over .300 with Johnston leading the team in home runs and RBI.
• On the mound, transfer Cody Bowker has made seven starts, posting a 2.78 ERA with 43 strikeouts over 35.2 innings. He’s holding opposing hitters to a .191 clip.
• In total, nine newcomers have made appearances on the mound for Vandy.
• Connor Fennell, a transfer from Dayton, has 31 strikeouts over his first 14.1 innings in a Vandy uniform. He’s allowed four runs on nine hits with just three walks.