May 25, 2007
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Pitching Depth Key as Vanderbilt Stays Alive
Post-Game Column By Will Matthews
HOOVER, Ala. – If there were any doubts about just how much of a challenge it is to win the Southeastern Conference Tournament, the first two innings of Vanderbilt’s 15-2 walloping of rival Tennessee should lay them to rest.
The Vols, who ran through all three of their primary starting pitchers during the first two days of the tournament in earning their spot in Friday’s contest, were forced to start freshman lefthander Nick Hernandez who had all of seven collegiate starts to his credit coming into the game.
Vanderbilt, on the other hand, had the luxury of throwing lefty Mike Minor – their reliable 19-year-old lefty who has held down the No. 2 spot in the Commodores’ starting rotation for most of the year – after getting two quality starts Wednesday and Thursday.
The result was almost predictable.
While Hernandez was yanked four batters into the second inning after giving up five runs, three ringing hits and hitting two batters, Minor pitched into the eighth, gave up just two runs on eight hits while striking out eight and picked up his ninth win of the year as Vanderbilt staved off elimination for the second consecutive day and earned the right to play on Saturday.
“You really have to have three good starters in order to have an opportunity to win this thing,” Tennessee Head Coach Rod Delmonico said Friday night. “You have to have five or six guys that can pitch and you have to have three quality starters and a good closer.”
After losing the tournament’s opener Wednesday night, Vanderbilt was faced with the gargantuan feat of having to run off five straight wins to come away with the championship. After notching the first two of those, however, it is clear the pitching depth that Vanderbilt has extolled all year and which propelled the Commodores to its first regular season baseball title in their history, has them in position to pull it off.
“The one team that can win it coming through the losers bracket is Vanderbilt,” Delmonico said. “They have eight good arms. You have got to give an edge to the two teams that are undefeated, of course, but anything can happen in this league and in this tournament.”
It only gets more difficult from here for Vanderbilt, which will have to beat Mississippi two times Saturday to earn a spot in Sunday afternoon’s championship game. They will start junior Cody Crowell, who emerged down the stretch of the regular season as the Commodores’ sturdy third starter. After that, they can pick from a pool of arms that includes junior Ty Davis, senior Tyler Rhoden, sophomores Nick Christiani and Brett Jacobson and, as a possible wild card, senior closer Casey Weathers.
“We’ve got to worry about tomorrow first, but pitching wise we are okay,” said Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin. “I feel good about where we are. We still have Jacobson and Christiani who can still pick up some innings if we had to go to Sunday – when we go to Sunday I should say.”
Corbin wouldn’t speculate as to who he might throw if his Commodores can manage to force a second game Saturday, choosing instead to remain solely focused on the primary task at hand: winning Saturday’s first one.
But there is no question Vanderbilt will be well-positioned no matter which option Corbin chooses to utilize.
“We’ve got some pitching depth but it is a major overhaul to be able to win this tournament out of the losers bracket,” Corbin said. “I think we are in decent shape. We have a number of different options. I like it. But I just can’t look too far ahead. I have got to look at that first game there and then plan ahead after that.”
Will Matthews spent three years as an investigative reporter with the Los Angeles Newspaper Group in Southern California. He earned his Master of Divinity degree in 2007 from Vanderbilt Divinity School. To email Will your feedback, Click Here