April 21, 2016
VANDERBILT RE-VU
Vanderbilt rallied late on Tuesday night to beat Central Arkansas 8-6. Tyler Campbell’s RBI-single pushed the Dores in front to help Collin Snider win his third game of the year. The Commodores dropped the series finale against Kentucky 3-0 on Sunday. John Kilichowski took his first loss of the season allowing two runs out of the bullpen. Vanderbilt clinched the series with a 3-2 win over Kentucky on Saturday. Bryan Reynolds’ two-run single in the eighth inning pushed VU past the Cats. The Commodores used an outstanding performance from Jordan Sheffield to win the series opener against Kentucky 3-0 on Friday. Sheffield struck out a career-best 14 in his first career shutout.
ON THE BUMP
Friday, April 22
RHP Jordan Sheffield (5-2, 2.91) vs. LHP Aaron Soto (4-1, 4.13)
Saturday, April 23
RHP Kyle Wright (4-2, 1.70) vs. LHP Zach Warren (4-4, 2.98)
Sunday, April 24
TBA vs. TBA
TENNESSEE SHOWDOWN
Vanderbilt heads east to take on Tennessee in the two teams’ annual series. The Commodores took two-of-three from the Volunteers last season at Hawkins Field, highlighted by Carson Fulmer’s eight scoreless innings and 12 strikeouts on Friday night. VU clinched the series on Sunday with four-RBI games from Zander Wiel and Karl Ellison. The Commodores’ last trip to Knoxville in 2014 produced a series loss after the Dores let a late lead slip away on Saturday night before being shutout on Sunday. VU avenged the loss in the first game of the SEC Tournament with a remarkable 3-2 victory. Vanderbilt is 160-158-3 all-time vs. Tennessee.
TWICE IS NICE FOR SHEFFIELD
Jordan Sheffield earned Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season along with national accolades for his 14-strikeout shutout of Kentucky last Friday. The right-hander fanned a career-best 14 in his first career shutout to become the first Commodore this season to go the distance and first since Carson Fulmer last year. Sheffield earned SEC honors earlier this season for his performance against Xavier when he punched out a then career-high 12 over 7.2 scoreless innings.
STREAKING INTO THE WEEKEND
Bryan Reynolds, Jeren Kendall and Tyler Campbell all enter the weekend on hitting streaks. Reynolds carries a team-best, nine-game streak that has seen the junior go 14-for-29 (.483) with 10 RBI and six runs scored. Four of Reynolds 14 hits have gone for extra bases with a pair of home runs and a pair of doubles. Kendall has hits in each of his last six games, going 11-for-26 (.423) with eight RBI and six runs scored. The sophomore has four extra-base hits with two doubles, a triple and a home run during the streak. Campbell has a season-best, seven-game hitting streak entering the weekend. The senior has come up with big hits during his streak, including the go-ahead, RBI-single in Tuesday night’s win over Central Arkansas. Campbell is 9-for-25 (.360) with five runs scored over his last seven games.
PITCH PLEASE
Vanderbilt’s pitching staff was spectacular in helping the Commodores go 3-1 last week, posting a team ERA of 1.75 and allowing opponents to hit just .215. Jordan Sheffield posted his first career shutout and the team’s fifth blanking of the season against Kentucky on Friday night. Sheffield teamed up with Kyle Wright and Patrick Raby to allow only one unearned run over the weekend across 20 innings. The trio fanned 25 led by Sheffield’s career-best 14. Add Ryan Johnson to the list and the Dores’ starting pitching allowed three runs, two earned, over 24 innings (1.29 ERA).
IDENTITY CRISIS
The Commodores’ offense breezed through the team’s first 17 games this season helping lead the Dores to a sparkling 16-1 record. The offense posted big numbers hitting .320 as a team with 14 home runs and scoring 9.6 runs per game to outscore opponents 186-112. But since the beginning of Southeastern Conference play (last 20 games), the offense has struggled, hitting .256 as a team – hitting .251 in SEC games and .272 in the team’s five non-conference games. Over the last 20 games, VU is 13-7 and outscoring opponents 112-89 (5.6 RPG). The Commodores’ power has been maintained with 12 homers over the team’s last 20 led by Bryan Reynolds’ six. The junior leads the offense, hitting .338 with 23 RBI and 19 runs since league play began.