May 2, 2008
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VANDERBILT GAMEDAY CENTRAL
No. 13 Vanderbilt (31-13, 11-9 SEC) at Tennessee (25-20, 11-10)
Lyndsey Nelson Stadium (3,712) in Knoxville, Tenn.
Friday, May 2 at 6 p.m. CT (TV: None; Radio: 560 AM)
Mike Minor (4-3, 3.86 ERA) vs. Nick Hernandez (1-3, 4.82) 
Watch Live Webcast | 
| Follow Live Stats
Saturday, May 3 at 3 p.m. CT (TV: FSN; Radio: 560 AM)
Caleb Cotham (6-3, 3.77 ERA) vs. Bryan Morgado (6-2, 3.20) | Follow Live Stats | Sirius 143
Sunday, May 4 at 1 p.m. CT (TV: None; Radio: 560 AM)
Nick Christiani (5-2, 3.64 ERA) vs. TBA | Follow Live Stats | Sirius 143
2008 VU STATISTICS
VU Game Notes | 2008 Statistics | SEC Standings & Leaders
TENNESSEE LINKS
Game Preview | Game Notes | 2008 Stats | Results
Series History
Tennessee leads 162-136-2 in a series that dates back to 1888. The Commodores have won four of the five series against the Volunteers under Tim Corbin, including a three-game sweep in Nashville a year ago. UT won two of three in Knoxville in 2006 and holds a 54-23 series lead in games played there.
Last Year
04/20/07: Vanderbilt 3, UT 1 (Nashville)
04/21/07: Vanderbilt 4, UT 3 (Nashville)
04/22/07: Vanderbilt 7, UT 6 (Nashville)
05/23/07: UT 6, Vanderbilt 4 (Hoover, Ala.)
05/25/07: Vanderbilt 15, UT 2 (Hoover, Ala.)
Polls
Vanderbilt is ranked in all the national polls, with a high ranking of No. 13 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. ESPN/Sports Weekly puts the Commodores at No. 17. Collegiate Baseball ranks the Dores No. 20 this week while Baseball America and Rivals.com has the team at No. 22. Tennessee is unranked this week. All of the National Polls can be found on page 6 of the release.
The Coaches
VU’s Tim Corbin is 229-121 in his sixth season as head coach. He is 12-5 against the Volunteers all-time. UT’s Todd Raleigh is 25-20 in his first season in Knoxville. He is 282-229 in nine years overall.
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. “Voice of the Commodores” Joe Fisher will call the action. The Saturday and Sunday contests will also be carried on Sirius Satellite Radio on Channel 143. Saturday’s game will be televised regionally by Fox Sports Net. Dave Neal (play-by-play) and Larry Conley (analysis) will provide commentary. Live stats can also be accessed through vucommodores.com.
What’s On Tap
Fresh off final exams, Vanderbilt opens May with a three-game road series against in-state rival Tennessee this weekend in Knoxville. The Commodores and Volunteers will open the set on Friday at 6 p.m. CT, followed by a 3 p.m. CT start on Saturday. Sunday’s finale is set for a 1 p.m. CT start. Saturday’s game will be televised regionally by Fox Sports Net.
Scouting Tennessee
Tennessee is 25-20 overall and 11-10 in Southeastern Conference play after dropping two of three at Mississippi State last weekend. The Volunteers lost a midweek game to Western Carolina, 5-2, on Tuesday and enter this weekend’s action having dropped seven of their last 10.
Sophomore catcher Yan Gomes leads the team with a .350 batting average to go with five homers and 33 RBI. He is hitting .389 in SEC play and all five of his homers have come in league action. Freshman centerfielder Kentrail Davis is a candidate for Freshman of the Year honors with a .345 batting average with nine homers and 37 RBI. Senior outfielder Shawn Griffin is the top power source with 11 homers and 34 RBI. As a team, UT is hitting .294 (10th in SEC) with 49 homers and 282 runs scored (6.26 per game).
Sophomore left-hander Nick Hernandez (1-3, 4.82 ERA) will start for the Vols on Friday with freshman left-hander Bryan Morgado (6-2, 3.20 ERA) scheduled to go on Saturday. Sunday’s starter is to be determined. Junior right-hander Danny Willtz (3-1, 2.41 ERA) leads the team with three saves in 18 relief appearances and has 24 strikeouts and 17 walks in 33.2 innings. As a team, UT sports a 4.96 ERA (11th in the SEC) with 344 strikeouts and 178 walks in 395.1 innings.
De La Osa On Verge Of Becoming School’s Career Hits Leader
Senior outfielder Dominic de la Osa is five hits away from breaking Karl Nonemaker’s school career hits record of 283.
Coming into the season de la Osa was the lone active Commodore in the 200 hit club. Alex Feinberg, Ryan Flaherty, David Macias and Pedro Alvarez have joined him on the exclusive list. De la Osa now has 279 hits in his four-year career, good for third on the all-time list. Feinberg has 244 in his four years and is currently eighth, while Flaherty has 237 in just his third year, good for 10th best in school history. Macias has 229 hits in his career (12th), while Alvarez, who missed 23 games this year, joined the club against Auburn and now has 210 (21st).
Commodore Tidbits
Vanderbilt went 3-2 last week and won its 30th game of the year this week, marking the fifth straight year of reaching that mark. It tied the school record previously set by Larry Schmittou’s teams from 1971-75 … The Commodores opened the week by scoring 19 runs in two midweek games, but ended it by scoring just six runs in the Kentucky series. It was the lowest output in conference play since the Georgia series in Athens in 2003 … VU’s series loss to Kentucky was the team’s first home three-game series loss since losing to the Wildcats in 2006 (13 series overall, 9 SEC series) … VU batted .293 on the week with four homers and 25 runs scored (five per game) … The pitching staff sported a 4.00 ERA with 46 strikeouts and 24 walks in 45.0 innings … The pitching improved in the UK series, limiting the top offensive club in the SEC statistically to just a .245 batting average and 11 runs scored (3.00 ERA). They combined to strike out 29 Wildcats with 13 walks … Dominic de la Osa went 8-for-18 (.444) on the week with a homer, four RBI, two doubles and five runs scored. His two doubles gives him 60 for his career, one short of the school record of 61 set by Sean Luellwitz (1999-2002). He also had eight hits on the week, giving him 279 in his career, four shy of the school record of 283 set by Karl Nonemaker (1999-2002) … Shea Robin also had a good week with a 5-for-14 (.357) showing with three doubles and two RBI. He is now hitting over .300 on the year at .305 … Pedro Alvarez had seven hits, four of them doubles, on the week and is hitting .392 in SEC play … Jordan Wormsley recorded three hits in a start against Belmont with two RBI … Steven Liddle went 6-for-11 (.545) on the week in four games, including three starts, to boost his batting average to .279 on the year … Mike Minor returned to form on Friday night, holding the Wildcats to just five hits and one unearned run in six innings with nine strikeouts and two walks … Russell Brewer recorded a win and notched a save this week in two appearances… Brett Jacobson pitched three scoreless innings in two relief outings, including getting a save against Belmont … Richie Goodenow made three relief appearances and struck out two and walked four in 2.1 innings while not giving up a run of his own … The Commodores committed 10 errors on the week, for a .948 fielding percentage. The errors led to six unearned runs on the week. VU made six errors in the UK series, while the Wildcats played error free baseball the entire weekend … The Commodores have now lost just as many games as last season and one more SEC game than a year ago when they finished 54-13 overall and 22-8 in league play … Vanderbilt has the week off as players complete their final exams. The team will then take on in-state rival Tennessee in Knoxville over the weekend.
Underclassmen Hurlers Coming Together
Vanderbilt came into the season with just two upperclassmen pitchers with significant experience in junior right-handers Nick Christiani and Brett Jacobson. The Commodores have had to rely on youth on the mound and the group under pitching coach Derek Johnson has started to solidify down the stretch.
Sophomore ace Mike Minor has recorded 18 strikeouts and just four walks in 13 innings in his last two starts. Redshirt freshman right-hander Russell Brewer is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in his last four outings with two saves. He has eight strikeouts and a walk in six innings in that span. Redshirt southpaw Richie Goodenow has not given up a run in his last eight appearances as a specialist and has five strikeouts in 4.1 innings in his last six outings. True freshman Chase Reid is second on the team in appearances with 16 and sports a 3-0 record and 2.57 ERA. Two other freshmen, Taylor Hill and Mark Lamm (redshirt) have performed well in midweek action. Hill is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in his last two starts, while Lamm has 20 strikeouts and 10 walks in 19.2 innings on the year.
Christiani Coming On Strong
Junior right-hander Nick Christiani has come on strong in the month of April after being left off the 25-man roster against Arkansas (March 29-30). Since that time the New Jersey native has gone 4-1 with a 2.64 ERA and has 26 strikeouts in 30.2 innings. Christiani moved back into the weekend rotation against Mississippi State on April 13 and responded by giving up just two runs on three hits in seven innings of work with 10 strikeouts. He then picked up the win with five innings of five hit ball against Auburn on April 20. Christiani threw his first career nine-inning complete game against Kentucky on April 27, giving up three runs, two earned, on six hits with five strikeouts and two walks. The feat was done, despite sitting for nearly two hours due to a rain delay. He is now 5-2 on the year with a team best 3.64 ERA and has 48 strikeouts and 19 walks in 54.1 innings.
Coach Corbin Call-In Show/Radio Notes
Head coach Tim Corbin has started a four-week run of one-hour call-in shows on 104.5 FM The Zone. “Voice of the Commodores” Joe Fisher will host the show at the Commodore Sports Bar and Grill located in the Holiday Inn Select on West End. The remaining shows will air on May 5 and May 12 from 7-8 p.m.
In addition Coach Corbin does a weekly interview at 4:06 p.m. on Mondays with 560 AM WNSR.
Alvarez and de la Osa Approaching School Homer Record
Pedro Alvarez and Dominic de la Osa are within reach of the school’s career home-run record. Alvarez missed 23 games and has hit three homers since his return at the start of April to up his career total to 43. That ties him with Glenn Davis for third on the school’s all-time list. De la Osa has six homers on the year that ties him with Cam Hazen for fifth most in school history. Alvarez needs six more round-trippers and de la Osa needs seven to tie Scotti Madison’s mark of 49 set from 1977-80.
De la Osa broke Boomer Whipple’s mark of 809 career at-bats against Ole Miss and now has 863 going into the Tennessee series. De la Osa also has 60 career doubles, just one off the school mark of 61 set by Sean Luellwitz from 1999-2002.