| Baseball To Play Host To Belmont and Austin Peay
3/29/2004
Baseball To Play Host To Belmont and Austin Peay NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Fresh off its series sweep of Georgia, No. 25 Vanderbilt will play host to Belmont on Tuesday and Austin Peay on Wednesday prior to a weekend series with South Carolina. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Charles Hawkins Field both days. Over the weekend, Vanderbilt defeated then-No. 24 Georgia, 4-3, 8-4 and 12-8 for its first series victory over the Bulldogs in four seasons. Additionally, the Commodores moved into a tie for second place in the SEC East with Tennessee. Vanderbilt (18-5, 3-3 SEC) returned to the national rankings after a one-week absence and enters Tuesday’s game at No. 25 in Baseball America, No. 30 in Collegiate Baseball and No. 32 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll. Offensively, the Commodores are lead by second baseman Warner Jones. The Nashville native is first on the team in batting average (.552), home runs (5) and RBI (39). Jones was named the SEC Player of the Week after he hit .737 (14-for-19) with six doubles, one triple and one home run. He was also 1-for-1 in stolen bases. He extended his consecutive game-hitting streak to 30 games and set the school record in Friday’s game vs. Georgia . He enters the Belmont game one hit shy of tying the SEC record for a streak that spans consecutive seasons (31 by Rex Buckner of Mississippi State, 1992-93). Vanderbilt will send right-hander Matt Buschmann to the mound on Tuesday for his third start of the season. In 11 appearances, Buschmann is 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA. In his last start, at Austin Peay on Mar. 10, Buschmann held the Governors hitless in two innings of work for the victory. The Commodores used seven pitchers in the 7-4 win. Belmont enters the game with a 20-7 record after taking two of three at Mercer over the weekend. The Bruins are hitting .318 with 36 home runs and 40 stolen bases. Six players are hitting over 300 and eight have hit at least two homers. Left-hander Dennis Gomez is scheduled to start for the Bruins. He is 1-0 with a 3.97 ERA in 11.1 innings. Vanderbilt leads the all-time series — which dates back to 1969 — 37-9. Belmont won last year’s game, 1-0, at Charles Hawkins Field. APSU is 15-6 after sweeping a weekend series with Morehead State. The Govs are hitting .296 with 14 home runs. APSU has a 4.37 staff ERA. Left-hander Michael Dunn is expected to start against the Commodores. In three appearances this season, he is 0-0 with an 11.05 ERA. Wednesday’s game against Austin Peay will be the second meeting of the season with the Governors. Vanderbilt took a 7-4 decision in Clarksville on Mar. 10. Vanderbilt leads the series with APSU, 37-21-2, including a 17-12-1 mark in Nashville. Business Person Tuesday’s Popcorn Wednesday |
