May 29, 2009
Vanderbilt Postgame Notes
* Vanderbilt falls to 12-15 all-time at the NCAA Tournament, including 9-9 under seventh-year head coach Tim Corbin. The Commodores lead the all-time series against the Blue Raiders 81-40. Middle Tennessee has won two of three contests this season.
* Vanderbilt faces the loser of tonight’s Louisville-Indiana contest Saturday at 2 p.m. CT.
* Vanderbilt left 12 runners on base against Middle Tennessee, including seven in scoring position. The Commodores stranded runners on second and third in the third inning while leaving the bases loaded in the fifth and the ninth.
* Starting left-hander Mike Minor recorded seven strikeouts against Middle Tennessee to increase his season total to 110. He moved past Damon Yee (106) for seventh place. Minor’s 101 strikeouts last season is tied for eighth with former Commodore Mike Byrd (1999).
* Minor (6-5) tossed his third complete game in his last four starts, allowing five runs on 10 hits to go along with seven strikeouts and four walks. He surrendered four runs on four hits, including a grand slam as Middle Tennessee jumped out to a 4-0 advantage. However, the south paw settled down to surrender only three hits, while striking out five over the next five innings. He had retired seven consecutive batters when Middle Tennessee’s Tyler Dennis homered down the left-field line to lead off the bottom of the seventh.
* Third baseman Jason Esposito registered two RBI in the game, including a single in the fourth and a run-scoring groundout in the eighth.
* Centerfielder Jonathan White doubled to lead off the ninth inning, extending his season-best hit streak to nine consecutive games. Rightfielder Steven Liddle saw his seven-game hit streak come to a close, going 0-for-5 against Middle Tennessee.
* Designed hitter Aaron Westlake registered his 25th multi-hit game of the season (one behind team-leader Steven Liddle), going 3-for-4 with a single in the second and double in the fourth inning.
* Freshman second baseman Riley Reynolds made a pair of dazzling defensive plays in the bottom of the fourth inning to hold the Commodore deficit at 4-2. Reynolds twice dove to his left to assist in a pair of outs. The second effort prevented a Blue Raider from possibly scoring from second base.