May 25, 2010
TV: CSS | Radio: 560 AM | XM: 199 | Sirius: 214
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VUcommodores’ SEC Tournament Blog
Southeastern Conference Tournament First Round
5 Seed Vanderbilt (40-15) vs. 4 Seed Arkansas (40-16)
Wednesday, May 26 – Gametime: TBA
CSS TV
Regions Park (10,800)
Series History vs. Arkansas
Arkansas leads 27-17 in a series that dates back to 1970. Vanderbilt won the first game of the series last weekend to extend their winning streak to seven games over the Razorbacks before UA came back to win the final two games. The Commodores are 2-0 against Arkansas at the SEC Tournament including an 11-1 run-rule victory in last season’s semifinal round.
Recent Results
May 22, 2010 Arkansas 7, Vanderbilt 5 Nashville
May 21, 2010 Arkansas 4, Vanderbilt 3 Nashville
May 20, 2010 Vanderbilt 4, Arkansas 3 Nashville
May 23, 2009 Vanderbilt 11, Arkansas 1 (7) {SEC Tournament} Hoover, Ala.
April 11, 2009 Vanderbilt 13, Arkansas 6 Fayetteville
April 10, 2009 Vanderbilt 9, Arkansas 0 Fayetteville
March 30, 2008 Vanderbilt 6, Arkansas 2 Nashville
March 29, 2008 Vanderbilt 6, Arkansas 5 (12) Nashville
May 27, 2007 Vanderbilt 7, Arkansas 4 {SEC Tournament} Hoover, Ala
Polls
Vanderbilt is ranked No. 17 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll, No. 19 by Collegiate Baseball, and No. 24 by Rivals.com and Baseball America. Arkansas is ranked No. 12 in the Coaches poll, No. 16 by CB, No. 14 by Rivals.com, No. 15 by BA.
The Coaches
VU’s Tim Corbin is 316-172 in his eighth season in Nashville. He is 422-310 in 14 seasons overall. Corbin is 12-13 against the Razorbacks. UA’s Dave Van Horn is 316-174 in his eighth season as head coach of the Razorbacks and 901-414 in 22 years overall. He is 13-12 against Vanderbilt.
Radio/TV/Internet
All of Vanderbilt’s games at the SEC tournament can be heard in Nashville on 560 AM WNSR. Joe Fisher will call all the action.
All games of the 2010 SEC Baseball Tournament will air nationwide on XM Satellite Radio on Channel 199 and on Sirius Channel 214.
Wednesday’s game will be televised on CSS and webcast on www.espn3.com. Tom Hart (Play-by-Play) and Brian Jordan (Analysis) will provide commentary.
Fans can sign up for text updates via www.twitter.com/vandybaseball and follow livestats for every game at www.vucommodores.com.
Tickets
Single game tickets are available for purchase online at www.vucommodores.com or through the Vanderbilt Ticket Office (615) 322-GOLD.
What’s On Tap
Vanderbilt opens its second-season this week at the Southeastern Conference tournament in Hoover, Ala. The fifth-seeded Commodores will take on the fourth-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks on Wednesday night in a rematch of last weekend’s regular season series finale at Hawkins Field. The game time for the contest is to be determined as it is the final contest of the four-game day. In the past the start time for that contest was listed at 8 p.m.
The game will be televised on CSS and can also be seen online via www.ESPN3.com.
All tickets can be purchased by logging onto www.secsports.com or calling (800) 732-4849. Fans may also purchase tickets at the Regions Park box office.
About Arkansas
Arkansas is 40-16 overall and 18-12 in Southeastern Conference play after taking two of three from Vanderbilt in Nashville over the weekend. The Razorbacks snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Commodores and claimed the series win for the first time since 2007.
Sophomore third baseman Zack Cox, a prime candidate for SEC Player of the Year honors, missed two of the three games last weekend while dealing with a back injury. He is leading the league with a .432 batting average with eight homers, 11 doubles, 47 RBI to go with 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts. In conference play he is hitting .446 with six homers, six doubles and 25 RBI. Junior outfielder/right-handed pitcher Brett Eibner is the top power source with 18 homers and 61 RBI to go with a .332 batting average.
The Razorbacks are hitting .308 with 75 homers and 427 runs scored (7.8 per game).
Arkansas’ starting pitcher was yet to be announced on Monday morning.
UA’s team ERA is 3.88 with 482 strikeouts and 147 walks in 498.1 innings. The team sports a .965 fielding percentage including a .967 mark in league play.
Commodores Recent Success In SEC Tourney
The Commodores have had a lot of success in recent years in Hoover, reaching the finals in four of the last six times the team has advanced into the postseason, including winning the 2007 title against Arkansas. The Commodores are making their fifth straight trip to the SEC Tournament and seventh trip to Hoover in eight seasons under Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin.
Vanderbilt SEC Tournament History Under Corbin
Vanderbilt has played in four SEC Tournament championship games since 2004, the most of any team in the SEC during that span … VU has made six SEC Tournament Championship games in the program’s history … Since 2007, Vanderbilt has gone 11-4 in the tourney … Vanderbilt owns a 30-23 all-time record at the SEC Tournament and has been crowned tournament champions twice in school history: (2007, 1980).
Last year, Vanderbilt became the second No. 8 seed in as many years to advance to the finals, (Ole Miss, 2008). VU defeated top-seeded LSU, 4-1 in the first round behind a complete game gem from junior southpaw Mike Minor. A day later, the Commodores outlasted fifth-seeded South Carolina, 5-4 behind a 11-strikeout performance by freshman All-American Sonny Gray to advance to its fourth straight SEC Tournament semifinal vs. No. 7 Arkansas. Caleb Cotham continued Vanderbilt’s strong run of starting pitching, as he threw seven frames of five-hit ball and the VU offense did its part en route to 11-1 win over the Razorbacks in seven innings in semis before falling 6-2 to LSU in the championship. Following the championship game, Steven Liddle, Andrew Giobbi and Minor were named to the SEC All-Tournament Team.
In 2008, the Dores made it to the semifinal round beating Ole Miss to force a second game for the right to go to the championship game, but lost to end the chance of a repeat.
In 2007, VU lost its first game against Tennessee before storming back for five straight wins to capture the crown. In doing so, it became the first team since Alabama in 1996 to win both the regular season and conference tourney trophies.
SEC Tournament Results Under Corbin (17-9)
2009 – Runnerup (3-1)
May 20 Vanderbilt 4, LSU 1
May 21 Vanderbilt 5, South Carolina 4
May 23 Vanderbilt 11, Arkansas 1 (7)
May 24 LSU 6, Vanderbilt 2
2008 – Semifinal Round (3-2)
May 21 Vanderbilt 7, Florida 3
May 22 LSU 9, Vanderbilt 2
May 23 Vanderbilt 7, South Carolina 5
May 24 Vanderbilt 7, Ole Miss 4
May 24 Ole Miss 8, Vanderbilt 7
2007 – Champion (5-1)
May 23 Tennessee 6, Vanderbilt 4
May 24 Vanderbilt 3, Mississippi State 2
May 25 Vanderbilt 15, Tennessee 2
May 26 Vanderbilt 13, Ole Miss 1 (8)
May 26 Vanderbilt 7, Ole Miss 6 (10)
May 27 Vanderbilt 7, Arkansas 4 (Championship)
2006 – Runner-up (3-2)
May 24 Vanderbilt 9, Georgia 4
May 25 Vanderbilt 11, South Carolina 1 (7)
May 27 Georgia 5, Vanderbilt 4
May 27 Vanderbilt 11, Georgia 1 (7)
May 28 Ole Miss 9, Vanderbilt 3 (runner-up)
2004 – Runner-up (3-1)
May 26 Vanderbilt 6, Georgia 0
May 27 Vanderbilt 3, Florida 0
May 29 Vanderbilt 6, Florida 5 (12)
May 30 South Carolina 3, Vanderbilt 2 (runner-up)
2003 (0-2)
May 22 Auburn 3, Vanderbilt 1
May 23 South Carolina 3, Vanderbilt 2
Giobbi named Johnny Bench Award Semifinalist
Senior catcher Andrew Giobbi was named one of 16 semifinalists for the 2010 Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award on Wednesday, May 19.
The Portland, Maine, native has had an outstanding season thus far behind the plate, having thrown out 21 of 48 runners attempting to steal. He has also caught a pitching staff (calls own game) that has a stellar 3.66 team ERA; best in the SEC. Offensively he usually bats in the middle of the order and enters the SEC Tournament with a .300 batting average with seven homers and 52 RBI.
Giobbi and LSU catcher Micah Gibbs were the lone representatives from the SEC to make the semifinal list.
This is the second year in a row “Gio” has been named to the watch list and the first time he has advanced as a semifinalist.
Ballots will be sent to the national voting panel at the end of May for a vote to determine the three finalists. The finalists will be announced June 2, 2010 prior to the NCAA Regionals and Major League Baseball Draft. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at the 13th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on July 1, 2010.
Jason Esposito: Record Setter
Sophomore third baseman Jason Esposito set a new school record, and likely an SEC record (not found in record book), having reached safely 17 straight times over four games.
The streak began against Mississippi State (5/14-5/16) when he was 8-for-11 (.727) with four doubles, six runs scored with seven walks and three stolen bases.
He broke a 27-year old school record having reached base safely 15 consecutive times from Friday to Sunday. The record was 14 set by Tim Brecht in 1983.
Esposito then had a chance to go for the NCAA record (18–Shaun Larkin, Cal State Northridge, Feb. 8-12, 2002 – 4 games) on Thursday against Arkansas.
He recorded a double in his first at-bat and added a single in his second at bat to extend the streak to 17, before getting called out on strikes to end the skein.
In addtion to that streak against Mississippi State on May 16, he walked five times, tying the school single game record for base on balls last achieved by Hunter Bledsoe in 1999.
The consecutive times reaching safely streak is as follows (from sixth inning on May 14 on):
Friday vs. Mississippi State 5/14: Single, Double, Walk
Saturday vs. Mississippi State 5/15: Double, Walk, Single, Single, Single, Double
Sunday vs. Mississippi State 5/16: Walk, Walk, Walk, Walk, Double, Walk
Thursday vs. Arkansas 5/20: Double, Single, Struck Out Looking, Single
Commodore Tidbits
Vanderbilt (40-15, 16-12 SEC) went 1-2 on the week dropping the final regular season series of the year to Arkansas at Hawkins Field … The Commodores won their 40th game on Thursday, marking the third time in four years (2007, 2008, 2010) they have achieved that mark and the fourth time in eight years under Tim Corbin (2004 as well) … VU lost the final series of the regular season for the third straight year and the fourth time in five years … Vanderbilt extended its win streak over the Razorbacks to seven straight games after Thursday’s win before dropping the final two games by a combined three runs … The 16 conference wins tied for the second most wins in the Corbin era. VU won 16 in 2004 and 2006 and then a school record 22 in 2007 … Freshman outfielder Connor Harrell led the team with a 5-for-10 (.500) showing at the plate … Sophomore third baseman Jason Esposito went into the series having reached safely 15 consecutive times and got on base the first two times on Thursday (double, single) to extend the skein to 17 before getting called out on strikes in his third at-bat. He was one shy of the NCAA record of 18 consecutive times to reach base (Shaun Larkin, Cal-State Northridge 2002) … Sophomore first-baseman Aaron Westlake homered in all three games on the weekend and has four round-trippers over the last six games dating back to the Mississippi State series. He now has 11 on the year to lead the team, and it’s also a new career high, besting the 10 he hit as a freshman a year ago … Bryan Johns went 2-for-6 (.333) with a double and two RBI in two starts on the weekend. VU is 28-7 with him in the starting lineup … The Commodores hit .260 as team with five homers, four doubles and 12 runs scored (4.0 per game) … Sonny Gray picked up his team leading eighth win of the year on Thursday, allowing three runs on seven hits in eight innings with nine strikeouts and three walks … Grayson Garvin threw three innings of one-hit scoreless relief with five strikeouts and a walk in Saturday’s loss … Chase Reid picked up the save with an inning of relief on Friday and pitched again in relief on Saturday. He allowed two unearned runs on three hits in 3.2 innings with three strikeouts and a walk on the weekend … Drew Hayes made two relief appearances, striking five and walking just one in two innings of work … Richie Goodenow recorded two outs, including one via strikeout in his short relief stint on Friday night … The Commodores had a 3.67 team ERA with 31 strikeouts and nine walks in 27.0 innings … VU finished the regular season tops in the league in ERA at 3.66 and third in team batting average at .316.
Brewer Closing in Saves Record
Redshirt junior Russell Brewer recorded his sixth save of the season in the Commodores 11-10 win over Middle Tennessee on April 21, giving him 18 saves in his career. He needs one more to tie Ryan Rote who notched 19 saves in two seasons as a Commodore. Brewer is eighth in the SEC in saves and sports a 3.07 earned run average in 19 relief appearances with 39 strikeouts and eight walks in 29.1 innings pitched. He was added to the Stopper of the Year Watch List on April 15.
Player Saves Years at Vanderbilt
1. Ryan Rote 19 2004-05
2. Russell Brewer 18 2007-present
3. David Daniels 15 1992-95
Commodores Had Longest Road Trip In College Baseball
As Division I baseball starts up this week across the country, one Vanderbilt record that will not be beaten is longest trip of the year. Vanderbilt traveled 6,648 miles to Tokyo, Japan and an additional 1,797 miles to Hong Kong over the Thanksgiving holiday week. Due to a generous gift by Vanderbilt alum Bill Kaye, the Commodores were able to fly to Japan and face four of the top teams in Japan’s collegiate system. Along with the quality competition the kids were able to experience different cultures, each with their own unique traditions and histories. The team went 1-1-2 on the field and learned valuable lessons off the field as well.