NASHVILLE – No. 4 Vanderbilt hits the road this weekend for a three-game showdown at Tennessee beginning with Game 1 at 5 p.m. CT Friday on SEC Network.
SERIES PREVIEW: Vanderbilt heads east to Knoxville to face Tennessee for three games beginning Friday. All three contests will be televised with Game 1 airing on SEC Network and the final two games airing on ESPN2.
- Vanderbilt sits in first in the SEC East standings with a two-game lead over second-place Florida.
- Vanderbilt and Tennessee will be meeting for the 344th time Friday. The Dores and Vols first met in 1897 with Vandy winning 10-4.
LAST TIME OUT: Vanderbilt took two of three games against No. 6 South Carolina last weekend at Hawkins Field.
- The Commodores rallied after dropping Game 1 with wins on Saturday and Sunday to secure the series.
- Vandy fell behind early in all three games but managed to fight back in Games 2 and 3.
- Devin Futrell turned in 5.1 innings in Sunday’s win, striking out seven and holding South Carolina to two runs. Ryan Ginther tossed the final 3.2 frames to clinch the series for Vanderbilt.
- The Commodores stumbled Tuesday night in a 10-2 loss to Indiana State. Enrique Bradfield Jr. recorded hit No. 200 and extended his on-base streak to 27 games.
VANDY VS. SEC OPPONENTS: Vanderbilt is outscoring SEC opponents 147-63 this season.
- In SEC games, Vandy is first in nearly every major offensive category and also leads the conference in ERA.
- Seven different Commodores that have played in at least 13 SEC games are hitting .280 or better in conference play. Seven have double-digit RBIs led by RJ Schreck with 27.
- Vandy is tops the SEC with a .321 batting average in conference games led by Schreck at .411.
WATCH LISTS: Vanderbilt is well-represented on multiple award midseason watch lists.
- Enrique Bradfield Jr. and Carter Holton are two of 45 players named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List.
- Jonathan Vastine is on the Brooks Wallace Award watch list, honoring the nation’s top shortstops.
- Devin Futrell is one of 61 pitchers on the College Baseball Foundation Pitcher of the Year watch list.
A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN: Enrique Bradfield Jr. stole his 97th career base vs. UCLA (Feb. 26) to break the program record set by Charles DeFrance (1980-82).
- Bradfield leads all active players in NCAA baseball (I, II and III) with 118 career stolen bases.
- The junior outfielder’s 119 career stolen bases ranks sixth in SEC history. Tennessee’s Mike Basse (1989-91) holds the all-time record of 145. South Carolina’s Mike Curry is fifth at 122.
- Bradfield is also chasing the program record for runs scored of 203. He currently ranks 10th at 178 and is eighth among active NCAA D-I players.
SINCE MARCH 14: Vanderbilt’s bats have caught fire over the last month.
First 17 Games // Past 20 Games
Average .247 // .315
Runs 102 // 197
Avg. Runs Scored 6.0 // 9.9
Doubles 31 // 42
Home Runs 17 // 31
Walks per game 4.2 // 6.2
Strikeouts per game 7.1 // 6.9
DORES IN THE PROS: Ten former Commodores were included on MLB rosters for 2023 Opening Day.
- Vanderbilt was tied for most in the SEC with 10 alumni on Opening Day rosters, including a pair of former Dores on the Injured List.
SEC WEEKLY HONORS: Four Commodores have earned recognition from the league this season.
- Devin Futrell – Pitcher of the Week (April 3)
- Chris Maldonado – Co-Freshman of the Week (April 3)
- Hunter Owen – Co-Pitcher of the Week (March 20)
- Parker Noland – Co-Player of the Week (March 27)
