May 19, 2011
Game Notes in PDF Format 
Corbin on 104.5 The Zone Thursday morning
Gray on 104.5 The Zone Wednesday
VANDERBILT RE-VU
Florida outlasted the Commodores in 12 innings to claim the series with a 6-3 win. The loss dropped the Commodores into a three-way tie with the Gators and South Carolina atop the SEC. Vanderbilt pounded out 18 hits en route to a 14-1 win over Florida on Saturday. Aaron Westlake belted a grand slam and drove in five runs in the win. Grayson Garvin notched his 11th win of the year, working seven solid innings. Florida rallied for two runs in the top of the ninth of Friday night’s suspended game to stun the Commodores 6-5. The loss marked the first time this season the Dores had blown a lead when leading after eight innings. Vanderbilt finished the team’s nonconference schedule with a 5-1 win over Louisville Tuesday night. Curt Casali and Connor Harrell each hit two-run homers to lift the Dores over the Cardinals.
ON THE BUMP
Thursday, May 19
RHP Sonny Gray (9-3, 1.91) vs. RHP Michael Palazzone (8-3, 3.09)
Friday, May 20
LHP Grayson Garvin (11-1, 2.08) vs. LHP Alex Wood (4-6, 4.38)
Saturday, May 21
HP Taylor Hill (4-0, 3.14) vs. LHP Blake Dieterich (2-3, 2.95)
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
The race for the Southeastern Conference championship comes down to the final weekend with South Carolina, Florida and Vanderbilt all vying for the crown with 20-7 records in the conference. The Commodores can still reach or break the school record for the most SEC wins in VU history, which the 2007 team set at 22 on their way to a SEC championship. The Dores have not won the final series of the year since 2007 and are a combined 1-8 over the last three years against Florida, Tennessee and Arkansas in the final three-game set of the season. The last time Vandy won the final series of the regular season was at Georgia, when the Commodores took two-of-three from the Bulldogs.
ESPOSITO ON BASE
Jason Esposito saw his 27-game hitting streak come to an end last week in Louisville but the Commodores’ hot corner has reached base in 38 straight games. The last time Esposito did not reach base was against Brown in the second game of a doubleheader on March 6 when he went 0-for-3 in the seven-inning game.
DOUBLE UP
Connor Harrell has been the Commodores hottest hitter over the last 10 games hitting .483 (14-for-29). The Texan has found his power stroke as well hitting three home runs, six doubles and driving in nine runs. Six of Harrell’s 10 doubles have come in the last 10 games and three of his four homers have come during the stretch.
PLAYING THE BULLDOGS
The Commodores return to Athens for the first time since 2009 when VU took two-of-three from Georgia. The two teams played only one game last season with Vandy emerging with the victory and the other two games being washed out due to a flood in Nashville. Head Coach Tim Corbin is 14-11 in his tenure on West End. Vanderbilt is 94-116 in the all-time series against the Bulldogs dating back to 1896.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Vanderbilt is 14-4 on the road this season and have outscored opponents 88-45. Freshman Tony Kemp leads the offense with a .451 average while four of Aaron Westlake’s 11 home runs have come away from Hawkins Field. The Dores’ starting rotation of Sonny Gray, Grayson Garvin and Taylor Hill has combined to strike out 94 batters in 15 starts. The team has posted a 2.45 ERA on the road this season.
NATIONAL PITCHER OF THE YEAR
The College Baseball Hall of Fame released the 25 quarterfinalists this week for the National Pitcher of the Year award and the Commodores were well represented placing three pitchers on the list. Vanderbilt was the only school to be represented three times on the list with juniors Grayson Garvin, Navery Moore and Sonny Gray making the list. The SEC and Big 12 each placed six pitchers on the list.
GRAY MOVING UP
Junior Sonny Gray is on the move up the career all-time lists. The right-hander has moved into sixth place all-time with 284 career strikeouts. David Price (2005-07) holds the school record with 441 strikeouts. Gray is now tied for third place all-time with Mike Willis (1969-72) with 24 wins. Jeff Peeples (1970-73) holds the school record with 29 wins.
ESPOSITO RUNS INTO TOP 10
Jason Esposito moved into the Top 10 all-time for stolen bases in a career at Vanderbilt when he stole a base on Opening Day against San Diego. The junior third baseman has added to his total and now is in eighth place with 62 stolen bases. Next up on the list is Nick Morrow (1991-94), who had 65 steals in his career. Charles DeFrance (1980-82) holds the school record with 96 stolen bases. Esposito is third all-time with 57 doubles in his career.
TIME CHANGE
This weekend’s series will be played Thursday, Friday and Saturday instead of the normal Friday, Saturday and Sunday format. The entire SEC will play Thursday-Saturday this week in preparation for next week’s SEC Tournament. Friday night’s game at Georgia has been moved to 6 p.m. CT.