May 1, 2008
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THURSDAY, MAY 1- 6:23 PM
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Here are some of the headlines to get you ready for the Commodores (31-13, 11-9 SEC) critical road series with Tennessee (25-20, 11-10) this weekend in Knoxville.
REBOUNDING FROM THE KENTUCKY SERIES
Vanderbilt’s series loss to Kentucky last weekend was the team’s first home three-game series loss since falling to the Wildcats in 2006 at Hawkins Field. That home streak extended over 13 series overall including nine SEC series, a pretty good run considering how tough the league is year in and year out.
The big question is how the team will respond to last weekend’s disappointment.
“The feeling of what happened last weekend doesn’t really deter where we’re going to go and what I think we’re about to do,” said Coach Corbin. “We need to take on the challenge of trying to win some more ball games down the stretch and try to become the best team we can be at the right time of the year.”
“Coach (Corbin) met with us Monday and told us to put that series behind us,” said junior shortstop Ryan Flaherty. “We’ve got to learn from that and not let it happen again. After Friday’s win, we let a couple of games get away from us and we didn’t play our best baseball, that’s for sure. Now we all of a sudden have to get ready for a series in Knoxville.”
The Commodores were able to take a couple of days off following Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to Kentucky because of final exams.
“I gave them two days off because I wanted to get them away from the field for awhile because I felt like a lot of things were piling up on them,” said Corbin. “They had exams, and a lot of things to do and I just felt like giving them a couple of days off at this time of year was the right thing to do. Sometimes you need that break more than needing to get right back out there, so it was time to kind of cool the engines down a little bit.”
From here on out, the team will be able to focus 100 percent on the diamond without having pressure from tests and assignments in the classroom… something the guys are looking forward to.
“Getting done with exams is always a good thing,” said Flaherty. “Now all of a sudden you become kind of like a pro baseball player where you’re spending all your time towards baseball. But you have to take care of your time now. You’ve got a little free extra time and can spend it in the weight room or getting extra swings, so it should help us.”
INTENSITY HEATS UP FOR STRETCH RUN
Right now, the Commodores stand in fourth place in the SEC and are only a half game behind second in the East.
But that positioning doesn’t mean there’s security in the standings.
With nine SEC games still left, including six on the road with the lone home series against overall leader Georgia, the ‘Dores could drop out of the top eight if they don’t produce down the stretch. VU’s only 2 1/2 games from falling to ninth place, a position that doesn’t get you in the conference tournament, which could impact their shot at a NCAA bid.
“If you don’t play your best baseball on a weekend here (SEC), you’re done, you’re cooked because you’re not going to have a shot of winning a baseball game,” said Corbin. “It’s very difficult. It comes down to a pitch, an at-bat or a play always. I know that’s been said many times before, but it’s the truth, and that’s why it’s said so much.
“We’ve got nine games in front of us right now that are very important to finish at the top of the conference and they’re very important in terms of postseason play. The first goal is to try to get to Birmingham and play in the SEC tournament and I think that’s paramount right now.”
The players also know the importance of turning it up to the next level this time of year.
“If you look at the SEC, it’s a tight race and nothings close to being resolved yet,” said Flaherty. “If you look at us, our future lies ahead. We’re got three SEC weekends left and we’re playing three teams on our side of the conference that are right with us or ahead of us, so these are a big three weeks and we kind of hold our own fate as far as we’re concerned.”
“Everybody’s beating up on everybody, it seems like,” said starting pitcher Mike Minor. “No team is just dominating everybody. It’s anybody’s game right now and everyone just needs to play their hardest. We need to play at the top level of our game in every inning and every out.”
It should be noted that the team is still playing for a SEC championship and the right to host a regional like last year, so there’s a lot on the line with every game from here on out.
THE RIVALRY WITH TENNESSEE
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| Tennessee coach Todd Raleigh |
Not only are the stakes high with the season winding down, but the most crucial series of the season to date comes at instate rival Tennessee.
Corbin has had a lot of success against the Vols, going 12-5 overall in his six years at Vanderbilt (winning four of five series), but this year will mark the first time he will face a UT team not coached by Rod Delmonico.
Tennessee hired Todd Raleigh from Western Carolina last June after he spent eight years with the Catamounts, winning two Southern Conference titles and making two NCAA appearances.
The Vols come into the series struggling of late, dropping seven of its last 11 ball games. But don’t get too excited based on that stat alone. UT hasn’t surrendered a home series all season at Lyndsey Nelson Stadium. And even though the ‘Dores swept Tennessee last year in Nashville, the three games were decided by a total of four runs.
“It’s a big series with the SEC East being all bunched up,” said Tennessee head coach Todd Raleigh. “It’s against our rival, it’s instate, and they’ve kind of been the class of the East over the last couple of years. It’s a big weekend. This week’s probably got a little special meaning to it and we’re looking for it.”
Corbin downplayed the rivalry, though, by saying that he doesn’t see the series with UT being any different than any other opponent in the SEC.
“It’s just another opponent that you have to play well against in order to get to the next step,” said Corbin. “Outside of that, I don’t go into a war room and start slamming my fist on a desk saying, ‘This is a big rivalry and we got to have this game.’ I don’t treat it like that at all. I treat it more like any other team we play.”
So with all the rivalry talk amongst fans and media, has Raleigh noticed anything about it since arriving in Knoxville?
“I think people want this rivalry to be nasty,” said Raleigh. “I want it to be a heated rivalry and I want it to be great, but I don’t think it’s ever going to get to the point where we’re ever going to cross those lines. Life’s too short for that.”
COACHING TIES BETWEEN TEAMS
Not only are there ties between the players (Tennessee has 17 players from the state and Vanderbilt has 13), but there’s a strong connection among the coaching staffs of both teams. Let’s see if I can break this down.
*Both Tim Corbin and Todd Raleigh were mentored by Jack Leggett.
*Raleigh played for Leggett when he was at Western Carolina (1988-91) and Corbin was an assistant coach for Leggett at Clemson (1994-2002).
*VU assistant coach Erik Bakich played for Raleigh for one season (1999) at East Carolina.
*UT assistant coach Bradley LeCroy played for Clemson (1997-2000) while Corbin was an assistant coach, and was also teammates with Mike Calitri, VU’s Director of Baseball Operations.
So, after sorting it out (sure I messed part of it up), here’s what was said about the relationship between the coaches:
Raleigh on Corbin
“I’ve known Tim, I don’t know how long,” said Raleigh. “He coached with my mentor, Coach (Jack) Leggett, so I have nothing but respect and admiration for Tim.
“There are so many ties between us and Vandy that it’s going to mean more. There’s no question about it. But our kids don’t see that so it really doesn’t come into play. I won’t even bring it up to our kids because they’re not getting into that deep with it.”
Corbin on Raleigh
“I know Todd very well,” said Corbin. “We have a lot of common from the standpoint of we’re both northeast guys, and we both worked for a head coach who put us in this position to coach where we are right now.
“I was very supportive of him getting that job and I felt all along that he would do a great job. I just felt like he would bring a mentality and a disposition to those kids that was different. I thought once he got things together he’d bring in a new energy to them that I think the kids would respond to. I think that’s been seen and they’ve had a lot of good wins.”
EXTRA WEEKEND NOTE
Finally, keep your eye out for Dominic de la Osa’s stat line this weekend. The senior outfielder is only five hits away from breaking Karl Nonemaker’s school career hits record of 283. Good luck, Dom!