April 13, 2017
Vanderbilt Game Notes 
| Florida Game Notes
VANDERBILT RE-VU
Vanderbilt dropped its first midweek game of the season on Tuesday night in a 5-2 loss to Tennessee Tech. Chandler Day took his first loss of the season despite striking out nine in 4.1 innings. The Commodores dropped the series finale at South Carolina 6-1 on Saturday. JJ Bleday had two hits in Drake Fellows’ first career loss. Vanderbilt rallied late and clinched the series with a 5-3 win in 13 innings at South Carolina. Julian Infante hit a two-run homer in the 13th and Matt Ruppenthal pitched seven scoreless innings of relief to pick up the victory. The Commodores held on to win the series opener at South Carolina on Thursday night 7-6. Jason Delay finished a home run shy of the cycle and drove in three runs in support of Patrick Raby.
ON THE BUMP
Thursday, April 13
RHP Patrick Raby (5-3, 2.49) vs. RHP Alex Faedo (5-1, 2.82)
Friday, April 14
RHP Kyle Wright (1-4, 4.81) vs. RHP Brady Singer (4-1, 1.60)
Saturday, April 15
TBA vs. RHP Jackson Kowar (5-0, 2.72)
FACING FLORIDA
Vanderbilt welcomes Florida back to Hawkins Field. The Gators have claimed the last two series between the two teams, taking two-of-three games both times. The Commodores used a shutout performance from Kyle Wright in the second game of last year’s series in Gainesville to win 5-0. In the last meeting between the two teams in Nashville in 2015, the Dores let a late lead slip away on Saturday game three in a 9-7 loss. This season’s series marks the fourth straight year the two teams have met in a Thursday-Saturday series. Vanderbilt is 72-132-1 all-time against Florida dating back to 1927.
HAWK SWEET HOME
Vanderbilt returns home for the team’s first four-game week in nearly a month. The Commodores have not played four straight home games since wrapping up a 15-game home stand in mid-March. The Dores will not play four straight games at Hawkins Field again until Tennessee visits at the end of the month then Austin Peay and Missouri travel to Nashville to open the month of May. Including tonight’s game, Vanderbilt has 14 home games remaining on the schedule.
HOME AND AWAY
The Vanderbilt offense has been more productive inside the confines of Hawkins Field this season with the squad hitting .267 and scoring 6.6 runs per game compared to .255 and 5.1 runs per game on the road. Julian Infante has led the team in hitting at The Hawk (.316) and on the road (.360) but Jeren Kendall’s power has been on display when playing on the turf at Hawkins Field. Kendall has hit six of his team-leading 10 home runs at home and driven in 19 of his 26 runs at home.
SAVING THE BEST FOR THE BEST
Matt Ruppenthal has saved his best stuff for Southeastern Conference teams. In six relief outings, the right-hander has allowed just three runs, two earned, on six hits with 11 strikeouts over 16.2 innings. He matched a career-best with seven scoreless innings out of the bullpen last Friday to pick up his first win of the year at South Carolina in the Dores’ 5-3 comeback victory.
HONORING NO. 41
Vanderbilt will honor the late Donny Everett on Saturday in a ceremony prior to the game. His parents – Susan and Teddy – will throw out the ceremonial first pitch and receive a framed No. 41 Vanderbilt jersey. Prior to the season, head coach Tim Corbin took No. 41 out of the rotation in Everett’s honor. Everett tragically passed away last June before the Commodores opened play in the NCAA Regional.
IN AND OUT
Hawkins Field has adopted a new ticket policy for the remainder of the 2017 season with all tickets, both season and single-game tickets, may be used to gain admittance to unoccupied seats in the infield or outfield. The only ineligible seats are in Sections E and F behind home plate and those in the Vanderbilt player guest section on the third base side. Fans with baseball tickets will be permitted to sit in unoccupied seats. If a fan comes to claim the seat with the ticket for the specific seat occupied, please be courteous and move to another seat. If you cannot find a seat, please ask an usher to assist you. Bleachers are available in left field. The outfield and infield are connected through Memorial Gym’s ramp adjacent to the baseball complex located down the third base line. For more information click here.