March 13, 2008
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VANDERBILT GAMEDAY CENTRAL
No. 6 South Carolina (10-3) at No. 4 Vanderbilt (10-3)
at Hawkins Field (2,027) in Nashville, Tenn.
Friday, March 14 at 6 p.m. CT (TV: None; Radio: 560 AM)
Mike Minor (2-1, 1.66 ERA) vs. Mike Cisco (3-0, 2.79) 
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Saturday, March 15 at 2 p.m. CT (TV: None; Radio: 560 AM)
Nick Christiani (1-0, 2.55 ERA) vs. Will Atwood (0-0, 1.35) |
Sunday, March 16 at 1 p.m. CT (TV: None; Radio: 560 AM)
Caleb Cotham (2-0, 1.96 ERA) vs. Blake Cooper (2-1, 1.80) |
2008 STATISTICS
VU Game Notes | 2008 Statistics | SEC Standings & Leaders
SOUTH CAROLINA LINKS
Game Preview | Notes & Schedule/Results
Series History
South Carolina leads 39-14 all-time in a series that dates back to 1992. Vanderbilt has won the last three regular season series and seven of the last 10 matchups.
2007 Results in Columbia
03/30/07: Vanderbilt 4, USC 3 (12 inn.)
03/31/07: Vanderbilt 12, USC 1
04/0107: USC 8, Vanderbilt 2
Polls
Vanderbilt is ranked in all the national polls, with a high ranking of No. 4 by Rivals.com. Baseball America ranks the Dores No. 6, with the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association ranking them No. 9. Collegiate Baseball and ESPN/Sports Weekly ranks VU No. 12 this week. South Carolina is ranked No. 4 by the NCBWA, No. 5 by CB, No. 6 by Rivals and the Coaches, and No. 8 by BA. All of the National Polls can be found on page 6 of the release.
The Coaches
VU’s Tim Corbin is 208-111 in his sixth season as head coach. He is 8-10 against the Gamecocks all-time. South Carolina’s Ray Tanner is 510-223 in his 12th season in Columbia. He is 905-396-3 in 21 years overall. Tanner is 27-9 against Vanderbilt all-time.
Radio/TV/Internet
All three games will be broadcast on WNSR 560 AM in Nashville. In addition you can catch the internet version of the broadcast via www.vucommodores.com. Eric Jones will call the action this weekend. This weekend’s games are also going to be webcast for free on vucommodores.com. Live stats via Gametracker can also be accessed through Vanderbilt Athletics official website.
What’s On Tap
Vanderbilt opens its defense of the regular-season Southeastern Conference title this weekend as South Carolina comes to town for a three-game series. The Commodores and Gamecocks will play on Friday at 6 p.m., 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. This marks VU’s 62nd year of SEC play.
Scouting South Carolina
South Carolina is 10-3 on the year after going 2-1 in three games to start the week. The Gamecocks defeated Presbyterian College (school where Tim Corbin coached from 1988-93), 2-1, on Monday and then split a two-game set with Yale on Tuesday and Wednesday.
USC is ranked in the Top 10 in all of the polls and returns six offensive starters from last year’s team that reached the NCAA Super Regionals.
Junior shortstop Reese Havens leads the team with a .411 batting average, four homers and 22 RBI. Junior first baseman Justin Smoak, a preseason All-American and one of the top prospects in June’s amateur draft, is also off to a fine start hitting .362 with three homers and 12 RBI. As a unit, the Gamecocks are hitting .312 with 20 homers and 113 runs scored (8.7 per game.)
South Carolina’s rotation for the weekend will be junior right-hander Mike Cisco (3-0, 2.79 ERA) on Friday, junior southpaw Will Atwood (0-0, 1.35 ERA) on Saturday and sophomore righty Blake Cooper (2-1, 1.80 ERA) on Sunday. Senior right-hander Curtis Johnson is the ace out of the pen with a 1-0 record and 1.29 ERA. He has a save while striking out 13 and walking five in 14 innings on the year. As a team, USC has a 3.53 ERA with 121 strikeouts and 51 walks in 120.0 innings pitched.
Bleachers Are Open
Last season bleacher seating was added for the Nashville Regional with a 1,000 seats bleacher seats erected in rightfield. The move was such a success that it has been added again in time for SEC play this weekend. A limited amount of tickets still remain and can be purchased by visiting the Vanderbilt ticket office or by calling (615) 322-GOLD. With the additional seating, Hawkins Field capacity is now over the 3,000 mark at 3,027. A more permanent seating structure in the outfield is in the works and is anticipated to be in place for the 2009 season.
Giobbi’s Role Grows
Vanderbilt redshirt sophomore Andrew Giobbi is making the most of his opportunities in 2008 and enters the weekend as the team leader in average (.442), doubles (7) and slugging percentage (.605). The Portland, Maine, product has been on fire through the last five games going 8-for-15 (.533) with three doubles and five RBI. He has made a statement in the middle of the order and has come through in scoring situations. Through 13 games, Giobbi is just three doubles away from tying his career high of 10 set a year ago in 40 games. He has also played an error free first through the last five games in 33 chances.
Minor Named To Clemens Award Watch List
Sophomore left-hander Mike Minor was named to the Clemens Award initial watch list last week. The award is given out to the top college pitcher in the country and was won by David Price a year ago.
Minor heads into Friday’s game with a 2-1 record and 1.66 ERA. He has 21 strikeouts and just six walks in 21.2 innings pitched on the year. He was an out away last week from pitching a complete game four-hit shutout, but gave up two-run hit to take a tough 2-1 loss. He did finish with his first complete game in college and opponents are just hitting .183 against him.
The Chapel Hill, Tenn., native went 9-1 with a 3.09 ERA with 88 strikeouts and 19 walks in 90.1 innings en route to Freshman All-American honors in 2007. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Year by sebaseball.com and also played on Team USA, finishing with a team best five wins and 1.64 ERA.
Cotham Comes Through
Redshirt freshman Caleb Cotham is making the most of his appearances with four strong outings that has thrust him into the weekend rotation. The Mount Juliet native threw three scoreless innings to pick up a save against Oregon State in the season opener on Feb. 22. He followed that up with a four-inning start against Evansville on Feb. 27 in which he did not allow a run on five hits while striking out three. Against No. 21 Louisville last week, Cotham held the Cardinals scoreless through six innings before giving up his first run of the season (14.1 scoreless innings). He struck out nine and walked only one in temperatures below freezing. He followed that up with four innings of one-hit ball in the 5-3 win over Western Carolina on Tuesday. For the season he is 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA with 19 strikeouts and seven walks in 18.1 innings.
Commodore Tidbits
Vanderbilt is 5-1 in its last six to move to 10-3 overall … The Dores opened the week with a rout of nationally ranked Louisville, 17-6, last Tuesday and then played a close series against Illinois-Chicago over the weekend. The Flames won the first game in their last at-bat, scoring two run with two outs in the ninth off of Commodore ace Mike Minor who was going for a complete game shutout. The 2-1 loss to UIC was Minor’s first of the season and just his second in 13 decisions in his career … VU then rebounded with four runs in the bottom of the ninth on Friday to win 5-4. All of the runs came with two outs and two strikes on every batter, capped off by a Ryan Flaherty fly ball that got lost in the snow, allowing the game-tying and winning runs to score … Saturday’s game against Illinois-Chicago was cancelled due to snow and the Dores then pounded out 16 hits in the 9-3 series clinching win on Sunday … The Commodores took a two-game midweek series against Western Carolina and enters the weekend with a four-game win streak … In the last five games, VU is hitting 308 as a team with five homers, 11 doubles and 27 RBI. The pitching staff recorded a 2.60 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 16 walks in 45.0 innings … Alex Feinberg continues his hot start to the season, going 8-for-15 (.533) last week with a double, homer and seven RBI. He is second on the team with a .435 average through 13 games with a .527 on base percentage … Leadoff hitter David Macias went 9-for-19 (.474) with four runs scored last week and is now hitting .397 with five doubles and 14 runs scored on the year … Ryan Flaherty rebounded with a 7-for-16 (.438) week with a homer and eight RBI. He now leads the team with 13 RBI … Two other players, Brian Harris and Curt Casali responded with their first significant action. Harris was 4-for-11 (.364) in four games (three starts), while Casali started in all four games, going 5-for-11 (.357) with five runs scored … Freshman Taylor Hill made his first career start on Friday and delivered, striking out seven with three walks in 5.2 innings. He allowed a run on three hits. He followed that performance with two scoreless innings against Western Carolina, striking out four in the relief sting … Redshirt junior Steven Schwartz made the most of his first appearance at Hawkins Field, retiring all 10 batters he faced in Sunday’s win over Illinois-Chicago. He ended up striking out three in 3.2 innings of relief to pick up his first win at Vanderbilt … Chase Reid threw two innings against UIC, allowing one unearned run on two hits with two strikeouts to pick up the win, his second of the year … VU lost a game due to snow and now has 55 on the schedule … This weekend’s schedule concludes a stretch of nine games against NCAA regional teams from a year ago.
Pedro Alvarez Out For Six Weeks
Junior third baseman Pedro Alvarez will be sidelined indefinitely with a hand injury. The National Player of the Year candidate and two-time first-team All-American has a broken bone in his hand that will force him out of action for a minimum of six weeks. He had successful surgery on Feb. 28.
Alvarez suffered the injury in his first at-bat against Oregon State in the season opener and was held out of the following two games against Arizona State and Miami (Ohio).
The New York City native is considered the top junior professional prospect by Baseball America and is on the initial Golden Spikes and Brooks Wallace Award Watch Lists. He has led the USA Baseball National Team in hitting over the last two summers.
Alvarez entered the year with a career .359 batting average to go with 40 homers, 36 doubles and 132 RBI. His 40 homers is sixth all-time in school history and nine away from tying Scotti Madison’s mark of 49 set in four seasons from 1977-80.
Players Pick Up Preseason Recognition
The preseason honors roll in for Vanderbilt baseball as three players were named to Baseball America’s and Rivals.com All-American teams.
Junior third baseman Pedro Alvarez headlined the group as Rivals.com Preseason Player of the Year. Joining Alvarez in the publication’s first-team All-America list is senior outfielder Dominic de la Osa and junior shortstop Ryan Flaherty.
Baseball America had Alvarez on its first-team, de la Osa on the second-team and Flaherty on its third-team.
Alvarez led the Commodores with a .386 batting average to go along with 18 homers and 68 RBI en route to unanimous All-American honors a year ago. He led the USA Baseball National Team in hitting for the second straight summer and is listed by Baseball America as the No. 1 college prospect entering the 2008 season.
De la Osa led the Commodores with 20 homers in the 2007 season and also batted .378 with 20 stolen bases and 62 RBIs. He was one of only three players in the country to have 20 homers and 20 stolen bases and was also a unanimous All-American selection. The Florida native was drafted in the 10th round by the Detroit Tigers, but returned to Vanderbilt for his senior year after playing the Cape Cod League over the summer.
Flaherty finished the spring with a .381 batting average to go with four homers, 23 doubles (tied for team high) and 57 RBI. He carries a school record 35-game hitting streak into the 2008 campaign. The Maine native was a second-team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rivals.com and started at second base for the USA Baseball National Team over the summer.
The threesome were recently named to the Golden Spikes Award Watch List by USA Baseball.
Mike Minor joins the trio on the initial Brooks Wallace Award Watch List as well. Minor went 9-1 with a 3.09 ERA with 88 strikeouts and 19 walks in 90.1 innings en route to Freshman All-American honors. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Year by sebaseball.com and also played on Team USA, finishing with a team best five wins and 1.64 ERA.
Commodores Picked To Finish First in SEC (East) By Coaches
Vanderbilt is predicted to repeat as the 2008 Southeastern Conference baseball champions, as voted by the league’s 12 baseball coaches in the 17th annual preseason SEC poll.
The Commodores, ranked as high as No. 3 nationally in the preseason polls, seek to capture their fifth SEC Championship, having also won titles in 1973, 1974, 1980 and 2007. Vanderbilt returns eight position starters and four pitchers from their 2007 squad which also won the SEC Tournament and earned the National No. 1 Seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Since 1996, the SEC has named a regular season champion as well as a tournament champion. Prior to 1996, the tournament champion was considered the SEC Champion.
Alvarez and de la Osa Approaching School Homer Record
With 18 homers in 2007, Pedro Alvarez moved into sixth place on the school’s career list with 40 total jacks. Also in the Top 10 after a stellar junior campaign is Dominic de la Osa with 38.
Alvarez needs nine more round-trippers and de la Osa needs 11 to tie Scotti Madison’s mark of 49 set from 1977-80.
De la Osa has a couple of other school records within reach as well in career at-bats and doubles. He has 740 at-bats, trailing Boomer Whipple’s mark of 809 set from 1992-95. De la Osa also has 50 career doubles, just 11 off the school mark of 61 set by Sean Luellwitz from 1999-2002.