Feb. 22, 2008
Visit Commodore Baseball Preseason Central
DEMARINI INVITATIONAL (TEMPE, ARIZ.) – TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark (3,879)
VANDERBILT VS. OREGON STATE
Friday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. CT
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| | TV: None | Radio: 560 AM
VANDERBILT VS. ARIZONA STATE
Saturday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. CT | | | TV: None | Radio: 560 AM
VANDERBILT VS. MIAMI (OH)
Sunday, Feb. 24 at 12 p.m. CT | | | TV: None | Radio: 560 AM
Series History
vs. Oregon State: First Meeting on the diamond.
vs. Arizona State: Vanderbilt leads 2-0 all-time, including 7-6 win last season in Houston.
vs. Miami (Ohio): Miami leads 6-4, including a 6-5 win in the last meeting in 1978.
Polls
Vanderbilt is ranked in all the national polls, with a high ranking of No. 3 by Baseball America.
Oregon State is ranked as high as No. 7 by Baseball America.
Arizona State is ranked No. 1 by Rivals.com, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
Miami (Ohio) is not ranked.
The Coaches
VU’s Tim Corbin is 198-108 in his sixth season as head coach.
Oregon State’s Pat Casey is 440-271-4 in his 14th season as the Beavers skipper.
ASU’s Pat Murphy is 529-257-1 in his 14th season in Tempe.
MU’s Dan Simonds is 41-34 in his third season in Oxford.
Radio/TV/Internet
All three games will be broadcast locally in Nashville on WNSR 560 AM. Eric Jones is in his second season in calling the action prior to the end of the basketball season.
This season you can listen to all 56 games of the regular season slate and all of the postseason action on the internet through Commodore Nation All-Access on vucommodores.com.
This weekend’s games are also going to be webcast on vucommodores.com.
Live stats via Gametracker can also be accessed through Vanderbilt Athletics official website.
What’s On Tap
Vanderbilt will join the rest of Division I baseball with a universal start date Friday against Oregon State in the first game of the DeMarini Invitational in Tempe, Ariz.
The Commodores will take on the two-time defending national champion at 2 p.m. CT, and will then take on Arizona State, a preseason No. 1 by various publications, on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. VU will close out the tournament against Miami (Ohio) on Sunday at noon CT.
Scouting Oregon State
Oregon State returns six offensive starters and six pitchers back from last year’s team that captured a second straight national title for the Beavers.
First baseman Jordan Lennerton is the top returning offensive starter after hitting .317 with 10 homers and 51 RBI in 2008. As a team, OSU batted .287 with 46 homers and 456 runs scored in 67 games.
Mike Stutes returns to anchor a pitching staff that had a 3.48 team ERA a year ago. The senior righthander from Lake Oswego, Oregon, went 12-4 last year and sports a 20-6 overall record in two years of action in Corvallis.
Scouting Arizona State
Arizona State returns four position starters from last year’s team that went 49-15 and advanced to the College World Series.
Brett Wallace leads a potent Sun Devil attack that recorded a .345 batting average with 79 homers and 599 runs scored a year ago. Wallace earned All-American honors after batting .404 with 16 homers and 78 RBI. He along with catcher Petey Paramore (.379, 6 HR, 52 RBI) played with Commodores Pedro Alvarez, Ryan Flaherty and Mike Minor on the USA Baseball National Team over the summer.
Southpaw Josh Satow is the ace of the staff after going 13-3 with a 2.76 ERA a year ago. Also returning is sophomore Mike Leake who was 13-2 with a 3.69 ERA. As a team, ASU sported a 4.22 ERA with 451 strikeouts in 569.1 innings pitched.
Scouting Miami (Ohio)
Miami (Ohio) has nine position players returning from last year’s team that finished 32-24 and in second place in the Mid-American Conference Eastern Division. The RedHawks did lose their top three pitchers in first-team All-MAC pitcher John Ely, Connor Graham and senior Jeff Day, who combined for 66-percent of Miami’s starts last season and 47-perent of the innings thrown.
Shortstop Jordan Petraitis leads the offense after hitting .318 with four homers and 33 RBI a season ago. As a team, MU hit .289 with 22 homers and 333 runs scored.
Chris Niro is the top returning hurler after going 3-3 with a 4.14 ERA in 12 games, including four starts in 2007. The RedHawks had a team ERA of 4.13 with 360 strikeouts in 492.1 innings.