April 22, 2008
Stay with VUcommodores.com for updates from Tuesday night’s Vanderbilt-Austin Peay baseball game in Clarksville, Tenn.
Listen to Eric Jones’ radio call | Follow Live Stats
9:59 p.m.: Vanderbilt held Austin Peay scoreless in the ninth to win 9-8, it’s 10th win in 11 games. Coach Corbin went with Richie Goodenow to start the ninth for the lefty-lefty matchup with the Gov’s Matt Kole. The move worked as Goodenow got Kole to groundout to first for the first out of the inning. Russell Brewer then replaced Goodenow and made Tyler Farrar pop out to second for out number two. Brewer sealed the win for the ‘Dores striking out Trey Lucas to end the game. Drew Hayes picks up his first win, while Brewer gets the save. Check back for a complete recap on VUcommodores.com.
9:46 p.m.: After David Macias grounded out to lead off the top of the ninth, Alex Feinberg drew his ninth hit-by-pitch on the season. Pedro Alvarez then stepped to the plate looking for his third consecutive hit. Alvarez just missed a homer, flying out to the wall in the deepest part of the park.
With two outs, Ryan Flaherty hit a looper to left for his third hit of the night, advancing Feinberg to second on the play. De la Osa then stepped to the plate and flew out to the warning track in left to end the inning.
The Commodores will look to finish off the Govs in the bottom of the ninth with a 9-8 lead. Richie Goodenow will replace Jacobson on the mound.
9:36 p.m.: Brett Jacobson got Joshua Kemph, pinch hitting for Keegan McCamment, to ground out to Ryan Flaherty to start the inning. Chad Cunningham then reached first after Alex Feinberg’s error at second. With one out, Jacobson walked Rafael Hill on a 3-2 fastball, to put the tying run on second and the go ahead run on first.
Pitching coach Derek Johnson then paid a visit to Jacobson with Russell Brewer starting to warm up in the bullpen. After Jacobson threw the second strike to the next hitter, Greg Bachman, defensive replacement Shea Robin made possibly the play of the night and caught Cunningham napping at second base to force him into a 2-6-5-4-6 out. Jacobson finished off the inning by striking out Bachman to preserve the 9-8 lead going into the top of the ninth.
9:23 p.m.: Nothing doing for Vanderbilt in the top of the eighth, with the Govs’ retiring the ‘Dores in order… Steven Liddle struck out looking, Curt Casali flew out to right, and Jordan Wormsley — pinch hitting for Jonathan White — lined out to center. Vanderbilt still leads 9-8 going into the bottom of the eighth. Also, Shea Robin just replaced Curt Casali at catcher. The Govs were able to steal five bases through the first seven innings.
9:12 p.m.: In the bottom of the seventh, Greg Bachman was hit by Drew Hayes on the 2-2 pitch, the second time Bachman has reached base on a bean ball tonight. Hayes responded by striking out Matt Kole for the first out (and his sixth ‘K’ of the night). Tyler Farrar then hit a drive to deep left center and David Macias almost made a fantastic catch while banging into the wall, but was unable to hold on to the ball. Farrar’s triple scored Bachman to make it 9-7 VU with one out in the inning.
Hayes then walked Trey Lucas on four pitches and Coach Corbin decided to replace him with junior righthander Brett Jacobson. Hayes finished the night throwing 71 pitches (44 strikes) in 3.1 innings of work (credited with giving up four runs on five hits).
Jacobson made Will Hogue fly out to center on his second pitch, but Farrar was able to tag from third and score to cut the ‘Dores lead to one at 9-8. After Lucas stole second, Jacobson retired Daniel Baggett on a fly out to de La Osa in right. Through seven innings, Vanderbilt still leads 9-8.
8:57 p.m: After Pedro Alvarez and Ryan Flaherty both singled with one out (and Flaherty stole second) in the top of the seventh, Dominic de la Osa came to the plate only needing a triple for the cycle. Jake Brisbin was able to force de la Osa into a grounder to third, though, and APSU was able to get Alvarez in a rundown near the plate for the second out (5-2-5-1). Giobbi struck out to end the inning, making the Commodores 5-for-22 with runners in scoring position on the night. VU has left 12 runners on base so far today, but still leads 9-6 going into the bottom of the seventh.
8:44 p.m.: Drew Hayes stuck out the side in the bottom of the sixth. Hayes caught McCamment, Cunningham and Hill all looking to keep the Commodores up 9-6 heading into the seventh.
8:31 p.m.: Pedro Alvarez, 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts on the night, goes the opposite way for his sixth double of the season to lead off the sixth. After Ryan Flaherty struck out on a foul tip for the first out, Dominic de la Osa continued the opposite way trend with a double to right, but Alvarez was left at third on the hit. De la Osa is now 3-for-3 on the night with three RBI and has pushed his batting average up to .308 on the year.
Andrew Giobbi then stepped to the plate and made sure Alvarez got home by singling him in on the next pitch, giving VU an 8-6 lead. Good hustle play by Giobbi to take second base on the throw to home plate, giving the ‘Dores second and third with one out.
APSU then replaced Hughes with righthander Jake Brisbin (1-1, 8.24 ERA in 31.2 innings). The Govs intentionally walked Liddle for the second time on the night to bring up Curt Casali again with the bases loaded and one out. Casali hit a single to center to score de la Osa and make the score 9-6. APSU centerfeilder Hill pulled up short on the play when it looked like he could have made the out.
Brisbin struck out Jonathan White on a 3-2 curveball with the bases loaded for the second out. Brisbin then forced Macias to fly out to center to end the inning. Going into the bottom of the sixth, Vanderbilt leads 9-6.
8:14 p.m.: With one out in the bottom of the fifth, APSU cut into VU’s lead when Trey Lucas tripled past Macias in the right center gap to score Tyler Farrar from first. Macias gave his usual great effort on the play and dove trying to make the catch, but missed it by about three steps, allowing the ball to reach the wall.
Brett Jacobson begins warming up in the bullpen.
Hayes then buckled down to get Will Hogue to strike out looking (he homered in his previous at bat), and then Daniel Baggett to foul out to first to end the inning. After five innings, Vanderbilt is leading APSU 7-6. (In between innings, one of my favorite Weezer songs — Island in the Sun — is playing over the loudspeakers. Good deal.)
8:02 p.m. The lights have come on to start the top of the fifth.
Govs’ first baseman Matt Kole made a nice snag on Ryan Flaherty’s hard grounder to first to start the inning, but pitcher Jeff Hughes was unable to field Kole’s throw to first, putting Flaherty on base. (The Commodores leadoff hitter has reached base in all five innings so far tonight.) Dominic de la Osa then laid down a nice bunt to third for an infield hit, while moving Flaherty to second. Andrew Giobbi was unable to advance the runner, flying out to left for the first out.
On the first pitch to Steven Liddle, Hughes was charged with a balk to move the Commodore runners to second and third. The Govs then intentionally walked Liddle to bring up Curt Casali with the bases loaded.
The Commodores regained the lead (6-5) when Casali drew a walk on a 3-2 check swing to plate Flaherty. Jake Brisbin began warming up in the bullpen as Jonathan White stepped to the plate. Hughes walked his third straight batter to push the ‘Dores lead to 7-5.
With one out, Kole then made his second stellar play of the inning, stopping a hard grounder by David Macias and then throwing out Liddle at the plate for the second out. Hughes then got out of the inning after getting a force out at second on Alex Feinbergs grounder.
The Commodores scored both runs on bases loaded walks, but were unable to get any hits in the inning with runners in scoring position. On the night, VU is 2-for-14 in that category. Going into the bottom of the fourth, Vanderbilt leads Austin Peay, 7-5.
7:30 p.m.: Lamm had a rocky start to the bottom of the fourth, walking Tyler Farrar on four pitches and then beaning Trey Lucas. Coach Tim Corbin then made his first call to the bullpen, replacing Lamm with sophomore Drew Hayes (0-0, 3.18 ERA in 17 innings).
Lamm had trouble finding the plate tonight, throwing only 24 strikes out of 45 pitches (walking three and hitting two). He finished the night allowing two hits and four runs — all earned — while striking out two in three innings of action.
Hayes entered the game to face Will Hogue with runners on first and second with no outs. Hayes struck out Hogue on a 2-2 pitch, but Farrar and Lucas each stole a base in the process.
Then with one out and runners on second and third, Baggett ripped a double to left center, scoring two to cut VU’s lead to 5-4. The Govs tied the game when their next hitter, Keegan McCamment, hit a hard grounder through Giobbi’s legs at first to plate Baggett from second.
Hayes then retired J.B. Gilbert on a fly out to right center for the second out.
Third baseman Pedro Alvarez almost made a spectacular play on a bunt by Rafael Hill, but the Govs’ speedster beat the throw by a step to keep the inning alive.
Alvarez was able to get the final out on Greg Bachman’s grounder to third to end the inning. Going into the top of the fifth, the game is tied at five.
7:18 p.m.: Jeff Hughes (0-1, 1.80 ERA in five innings) replaced APSU starter Ryne Harper in the top of the fourth. Harper allowed five earned runs on five hits and two walks in three innings of work.
Hughes was able to keep the Commodores scoreless in the fourth. Vanderbilt’s only base runner of the inning was Jonathan White, who walked on four pitches to lead off the inning. White then stole second on Hughes’ first pitch to Macias to make him a perfect 7-for-7 on stolen bases on the year. The Commodores have already stolen three bases tonight and were third in the SEC with 57 swipes coming into tonight’s contest.
After White stole second, Macias popped out to second, Liddle flied out to left, and Alvarez struck out looking. Vanderbilt leads 5-2 going into the bottom of the fourth.
7:05 p.m.: Lamm settled down for his 1-2-3 inning of the game: Striking out Hill, getting Bachman to fly out to center, and retiring Kole on a groundout to first. Vanderbilt leads 5-2 after three innings.
6:55 p.m.: Our baseball SID said I should type about other things at the park. Well, there’s a pretty good contingent of Vanderbilt fans that made the trek to Clarksville. I didn’t even have to look out of the press box to know that one of the Commodores biggest fans — Bruce — was in the stands. I could hear his famous signature call of Feinberg to start the third inning (and loved every second of it).
I think Bruce got us rolling in the top of the third, because Feinberg proceeded to single to right… after Pedro grounded out to second, Flaherty drew a walk on five pitches (good idea not to give him anything to hit after his first plate appearance tonight). De la Osa then turned on the first pitch he saw, a curveball, and hammered it to left for his sixth homer of the year. It was the 42nd homer of his career, tying him for fifth on Vanderbilt’s career homer list with Cam Hazen, who played from 1985-88). Commodores now lead 5-2 going into the bottom of the third.
6:45 p.m.: The Govs tied the game in the bottom of the second when Will Hogue blasted an 0-1 pitch for a homer to left field, his fourth jack of the season. Baggett then singled to center, but that would be the Govs last hit of the inning. Lamm then got his first K of the night by striking out Keegan McCamment for the first out. He then picked off Daniel Baggett for the second out (1-3-4). This was the second time Baggett has been caught stealing on the season (in two attempts). Gilbert then grounded out to Flaherty on an 0-2 pitch to end the inning. One run on two base hits for the Govs to tie the game at 2 after two innings.
6:40 p.m.: The Commodores had a chance to put another run on the board with a runner on second and only one out (Liddle walked and stole second), but White fouled out to third on a 3-1 pitch, and Macias flied out to right to end the inning. Vanderbilt leads 2-1 going into the bottom of the second.
6:31 p.m.: Mark Lamm was in a tough spot to start the game, loading the bases with a walk, a hit batter and a walk on the first three hitters. The Govs then scored on a sac fly to deep left to cut the score to 2-1 in favor of the ‘Dores. That was the only run APSU could put on the board after Lamm forced Lucas to hit in a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Vanderbilt 2-1 going into the second inning.
6:15 p.m.: The game is officially underway.
David Macias led the game off with a single to center on the first pitch. Macias now has at least one hit in 36 of his 40 games this year, a pretty impressive stat.
Macias advanced to second on Feinberg’s groundout to third.
Harper then struck out Pedro Alvarez on a curveball on a 1-2 count for the second out.
With two outs, Flaherty got the Commodores on the board with a two-run homer to centerfield, his 11th on the year and third in two games, to give VU a 2-0 lead. It didn’t seem like Flash got all of that pitch, but he still managed to drift it over one of the deepest areas of the park.
Harper then beaned de la Osa on the next pitch… and de la Osa proceeded to steal his 21st base of the year on Harper’s first pitch to Andrew Giobbi. Giobbi grounded out to short on the next pitch to end the inning.
Going into the bottom of the first, Vanderbilt leads 2-0.
5:58: Our baseball SID, Thomas Samuel, just spotted former Florida baseball head coach Pat McMahon in the crowd. McMahon is currently a scout for the New York Yankees. He coached the Gators from 2001 to 2007 and compiled a record of 231-141-1. He led UF to the 2005 College World Series championship game, where they lost to Texas.
Working in a baseball press box, you come across a lot of different coaches in the business. I will always remember McMahon for how much of a class act he was following the Gators being swept at Hawkins Field last season.
If any more celebrities are spotted in the crowd, we’ll let you know on TMZ…. err…. VUcommodores.com.
5:40 p.m.: We’re live from a sunny Raymond C. Hand Park in Clarksville, Tenn., for Vanderbilt’s midweek matchup with Austin Peay from the OVC. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT tonight. You can listen to Eric Jones’ radio call at the link above.
Here’s Vanderbilt’s starting lineup for the game:
1 – David Macias CF
2 – Alex Feinberg 2B
3 – Pedro Alvarez 3B
4 – Ryan Flaherty SS
5 – Dominic de la Osa RF
6 – Andrew Giobbi 1B
7 – Steven Liddle LF
8 – Curt Casali C
9 – Jonathan White DH
On the mound for the Commodores will be redshirt freshman Mark Lamm. Lamm picked up his first win of the season last Wednesday at Western Kentucky, allowing no runs and two hits in four innings of relief in the Commodores’ 5-1 victory over the Hilltoppers.
Austin Peay will send freshman Ryne Harper to the mound. Harper, once the Govs No. 2 starter, will be making his first appearance since an April 5 start, when he left the game after five pitches due to injury. He is 2-2 with a 4.11 ERA in ten appearances — five starts.
At the plate, the Govs are led by senior centerfielder Rafeal Hill. Hill leads APSU with a .394 batting average at the leadoff spot. He also tops the Govs with 39 runs and is second with 10 stolen bases.
Vanderbilt defeated Austin Peay 8-1 two weeks at Hawkins Field. In that game, Ryan Flaherty had three hits and five Vanderbilt pitchers combined to hold Austin Peay to a run on seven hits in an 8-1 win Wednesday night at Hawkins Field.
Austin Peay is 0-4 against SEC teams — all road games — this season with losses at Vanderbilt, Mississippi State twice, and Tennessee.
Check back for more updates.
