April 12, 2010
Monday Interviews with Corbin and Gray | Live Video and Live Stats | 
Purchase Tickets
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt baseball will continue its eight-game home stand this week starting with a Tuesday contest against local foe Middle Tennessee at 6 p.m. at Hawkins Field.
The Commodores are 26-8 overall and 6-6 in Southeastern Conference play after dropping two of three at home against No. 8 South Carolina over the weekend.
Senior right-hander Drew Hayes will take the mound on Tuesday for VU. Hayes is 3-0 on the year with a 5.74 ERA. He picked up the win in his last outing against Belmont on April 6, allowing five runs on seven hits in five innings with seven strikeouts and two walks.
The Blue Raiders are 20-12 overall and 9-6 in Sun Belt play after taking two of three against Florida International in Murfreesboro over the weekend.
Sophomore outfielder Justin Guidry leads the team with a .432 batting average with five homers and 39 RBI. Junior second baseman Justin Miller is the top power source with 12 homers, 14 doubles and 45 RBI to got with a .314 batting average. As a team MTSU has a .329 batting average with 53 homers and 268 runs scored (8.4 per game). Junior preseason All-American Bryce Brentz has been out with an ankle injury and has missed 12 games due to it. He was hitting .354 with eight homers and 17 RBI before the injury.
Freshman right-hander Daniel Palo (0-0, 6.50 ERA) will take the mound for the Blue Raiders on Tuesday. He gave up three runs on three hits in 2.1 innings in his last start against Austin Peay on April 7. Palo walked three and struck out one in the no-decision as the Governors rallied to beat MTSU 19-13. On the season he has 10 strikeouts and 11 walks in 18.0 innings of work.
The Blue Raiders pitching staff has a 5.90 team ERA with 187 strikeouts and 119 walks in 286.2 innings of work.
Vanderbilt leads the all-time series 83-41 and went 2-2 against the Blue Raiders in 2009. The teams split the regular season series, each winning on their own field before meeting again in the NCAA Louisville Regional. MTSU won the opening round game, 5-4, before Vanderbilt came back to win 6-0 in an elimination game on Sunday.
Single game tickets are available through the Vanderbilt Athletic Ticket Office at (615) 322-GOLD or online via www.vucommodores.com.
After Tuesday’s contest, VU will host Auburn (22-11, 7-5 SEC) in conference action this weekend. The teams open on Friday at 6 p.m. and will continue on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.