May 29, 2017
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt hasn’t played a baseball game since last Tuesday, when it opened the SEC tournament with a 7-4 loss to South Carolina in Hoover, Ala. But that layoff hasn’t bothered Commodores’ outfielder Jeren Kendall. In fact, the junior has used the extra reps at Hawkins Field to his benefit.
“I just faced one of the best pitchers in the country just the other day,” Kendall said. “I actually had a little bit of success against him, but he got me the last [at-bat].”
That pitcher? Kendall’s Vanderbilt teammate, Kyle Wright. The lanky junior is a potential No. 1 overall pick in next month’s Major League Baseball draft, but during a recent weekend scrimmage, Kendall wasn’t stifled by the talented gunslinger at the plate.
“His first A-B, he jumped a fastball and scorched one off the left-field wall,” Wright said. “But I got him the next go-round.”
Kendall and Wright have tried to make the most of Vanderbilt’s layover in between the SEC and the NCAA tournaments. On Monday, the Commodores learned they landed a spot in the Clemson NCAA Regional, where they’ll take on St. John’s on Friday at 11 a.m. CT. When the two programs face off, it will have been 10 days since Vanderbilt’s last game.
Head coach Tim Corbin said it’s unclear whether the calendar will have any effect. But he pointed to the Dores’ 2014 NCAA championship run as a successful case study.
“We’ll see,” Corbin said. “We’ve been in this position before. In 2014, [the break] was one day less because of our training regimen. We played well in the regional, played well in the super regional and obviously we got to Omaha and did some damage there.
“I think it’s all about the collection of energies. This time of year, it’s the confidence, how the kids are talking to themselves and each other, and that really probably has the most affect on positive outcomes.”
There will be no shortage of storylines when Vanderbilt hits the road for Clemson. Dores’ associate head coach Scott Brown spent 10 seasons as an assistant at St. John’s before arriving on West End. Corbin, meanwhile, enjoyed a lengthy stop at Clemson as an assistant from 1994-2002 prior to becoming the head coach at Vanderbilt.
Kendall and Wright expect to garner a little spotlight, as well. Both players earned First Team All-SEC honors and will soon become first-round picks, with Wright projected by many as the No. 1 overall selection. Wright allowed just six runs on 17 hits over his final 46.2 innings on the year, with 62 strikeouts and just eight walks. Kendall, meanwhile, entered the postseason hitting .313 with 27 extra-base hits and leading the Commodores with 15 home runs.
If this ends as the final chapter in Kendall and Wright’s Vanderbilt careers, they hope to leave a deep NCAA tournament run in their wake.
“Thinking of it that way is kind of sad,” Kendall said. “This could possible be the last time playing with this team. [But] I’m not really looking ahead. We’re just trying to go through this process as slow as we can.”
Vanderbilt’s trip to Clemson marks its 12th straight appearance in the NCAA tournament, the longest active streak in the SEC. But for the Dores to stage a postseason run, they’ll have to adjust to being on the road. Friday’s matchup will be Vanderbilt’s first NCAA Regional game away from Hawkins Field since 2012. That means no current player has experience in an NCAA Regional on the road.
Still, Corbin said the Commodores are often at their best away from Nashville.
“We take pride in going on the road,” Corbin said. “We enjoy it. It’s like a big camping trip. You’re taking a big family on the road.”
No. 2 seed Vanderbilt faces No. 3 seed St. John’s on Friday at 11 a.m. CT on SEC Network.