April 14, 2016
VANDERBILT RE-VU
Vanderbilt used a four-run fourth inning to beat Middle Tennessee 7-4 on Tuesday. Ethan Paul drove in two runs with three hits in the win. The Commodores rallied to win the series finale 9-7 at LSU on Saturday. Jeren Kendall drove in four runs with four hits, including his game-winning, three-run homer in the eighth inning. Vanderbilt was edged 3-2 on Friday night at LSU to drop the Commodores second series of the year. Kyle Wright was the tough-luck loser allowing three runs over seven innings. The Commodores dropped the series opener at LSU 13-4 on Thursday night. Jordan Sheffield was rocked for a career-high nine runs in the loss.
ON THE BUMP
Friday, April 15
RHP Jordan Sheffield (4-2, 3.47) vs. RHP Zack Brown (2-5, 6.39)
Saturday, April 16
RHP Kyle Wright (4-2, 1.99) vs. RHP Dustin Beggs (7-0, 2.40)
Sunday, April 17
TBA vs. RHP Kyle Cody (3-2, 4.89)
MY OLD KENTUCKY MATCH-UP
Vanderbilt welcomes Kentucky to Hawkins Field this weekend as the teams reach the halfway point in conference play. The Commodores took two-of-three from the Wildcats last year in Lexington. The teams traded blowout wins in the first two games before the Dores took the series on Sunday with a 7-3 win behind a three-hit, two-RBI day from Jeren Kendall. Jordan Sheffield picked up the win out of the bullpen. Since 2010, Vanderbilt is 14-4 against the Wildcats in the regular season having won all six series. VU is 118-122-3 all-time dating back to an 11-9 win in 1924.
HOME SWEET HAWKINS
The Commodores have enjoyed the friendly confines of Hawkins Field this season, carrying an 19-3 mark into the weekend. The Dores have been dominant, outscoring opponents 197-75 led by Jeren Kendall, who is hitting .386 with five home runs and 28 RBI at home. All three home losses have come in SEC play with pitching dominating on both sides, Vandy is hitting .230 in league home games and allowing opponents to hit .223.
BIG THREE
The Commodores’ offense has struggled over the last 10 games, hitting .267 as a team but Ethan Paul, Bryan Reynolds and Jeren Kendall have begun to heat up. Paul has been red-hot over the team’s last 10 games, going 14-for-34 (.412) with six runs and eight RBI. The freshman started at first base for the first time on Tuesday and matched a career-high with three hits. Reynolds has driven in 14 runs and scored 13 over his last 10 games while hitting .364 (12-for-33) with four home runs. The junior is 9-for-16 (.563) over his last five games with eight RBI. Kendall has 10 RBI and 12 runs scored over his last 10 games and is 9-for-21 (.429) with seven runs and eight RBI over the last five games. The trio has 39 of the team’s 87 hits (45%) during the last 10 games and 23 of the club’s 47 knocks (49%) in the last five.
BETTER DEFENSE?
Despite the Commodores’ recent troubles defensively with the team committing 14 errors over the last 10 games and 21 in the last 15, the Dores are still fielding at a better rate than last year’s team through the first 33 games. VU enters the weekend with 31 errors and a .975 fielding percentage which bests last season’s totals at this point, 37 errors and a .972 fielding percentage. The 2015 Commodores were 27-6 through the first 33 games. The team’s pitching has also been better with fewer walks (116 in 2016, 169 in 2015) and more strikeouts (345 in 2016, 325 in 2015) through the first 33 games.
LINEUP ROULETTE
Vanderbilt’s lineup has been a roulette wheel so far this season with 15 different Commodores drawing at least one start. Only three Vandy Boys have started all 33 games with Jeren Kendall drawing all the starts in right field, Bryan Reynolds in center field and Will Toffey at third base. Shortstop, second base and left field have all seen four different starters. Ethan Paul became the third Commodore to start at first base on Tuesday night. The Vanderbilt batting order has seen plenty of change with every spot in the order seeing multiple players, with the sixth spot in the lineup featuring nine different Commodores to this point. Alonzo Jones’ name has come up the most often in the six-spot of the VU lineup.