March 22, 2018
Eighth-ranked Vanderbilt opens its 15-game Southeastern Conference home slate this weekend, welcoming No. 19 LSU to Hawkins Field for a Top 25 showdown.
Friday’s opener is set for 8 p.m. with Saturday’s middle game at 7:30 p.m., with both games broadcast on ESPNU and through the WatchESPN app. Sunday’s finale is scheduled for noon on ESPN2.
Fans can also listen to all three broadcasts on Nashville’s WNSR SportsRadio 560 AM and 95.9 FM or worldwide through the VUCommodores app.
ON THE BUMP
Friday, March 23
RHP Drake Fellows (3-0, 1.91 ERA) vs. RHP Zack Hess (3-2, 5.08 ERA)
Saturday, March 24
RHP Patrick Raby (2-2, 1.45 ERA) vs. RHP Caleb Gilbert (2-1, 4.21 ERA)
Sunday, March 25
TBA vs. RHP Ma’Khail Hilliard (5-0, 0.77 ERA)
NEED TO KNOW
Vanderbilt welcomes LSU to Hawkins Field for the first time since March 14-15, 2014. The Commodores have won three-straight series against the Tigers in Nashville and seven of the last 10 series overall.
Friday marks just the second home game for Vanderbilt in the month of March. After opening the season with 10-straight at the friendly confines, the Commodores have played 11 of the last 12 away from The Hawk.
Vanderbilt pitching has been lights-out with runners on base, holding opponents to a .177 batting average (55-for-310). The staff limited Mississippi State to a .078 average (4-for-51) with runners on during SEC Opening Weekend.
With Vanderbilt’s sweep at No. 19 Mississippi State, the Dores moved to 8-1 in games vs. D1Baseball.com ranked foes. Vandy has defeated No. 25 Duke (2x), No. 24 Houston, No. 19 Mississippi State (3x), No. 11 UCLA and No. 8 TCU.
Vandy, Ole Miss and Oregon State are the only three teams nationally to rank in the Top 35 for batting average, earned run average and fielding percentage. The Dores are seventh in fielding (.984), 24th in ERA (2.88) and 32nd in batting average (.298).
Five Vanderbilt freshmen have made starts this season while 15 total have made appearances. The unit is hitting .334 (102-for-305) with 65 runs and 61 RBIs while posting a 3.80 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 75.2 innings.
Vanderbilt’s .984 fielding percentage ranks seventh nationally and second in the SEC. The Commodores have committed just 12 errors in 759 total chances. The program record for fielding percentage is .979 set in 2015.
The Dores have recorded 65 two-out RBIs and are hitting .306 (77-for-252) in those situations. Austin Martin (7-for-14), Philip Clarke (11-for-24) and JJ Bleday (10-for-23) have paced Vandy in those situations, batting .500, .458 and .435.
Vanderbilt shortstop Connor Kaiser has reached base safely in 24 straight-games dating to a season ago. The streak is the longest for a Vandy player since Bryan Reynolds‘ 41-consecutive games between May 21, 2015 and March 31, 2016.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP VS. LSU
Vanderbilt and LSU meet for the 101st time in the history of the two programs on Friday night.
The Tigers own a 58-42 all-time advantage in the 100-game series which began in 1943; however, the Commodores have won seven of the last 10 series against LSU and three-straight in Nashville.
This weekend marks the first time since March 14-15, 2014, that Vanderbilt has faced LSU at Hawkins Field. Vandy is 8-4 against the Tigers since the facility opened in 2002, including taking 2-of-3 in 2014.
Current LSU associate head coach Alan Dunn spent two seasons (1991-92) as an assistant coach at Vandy. The former Alabama standout, who went 11-1 on the mound with the Crimson Tide, worked primarily with Commodore pitchers.
VANDERBILT RE-VU
Vanderbilt allowed a season-high eight runs Wednesday night, falling 8-5 to Belmont at First Tennessee Park. Belmont scored five runs on three hits, three free passes and a Vanderbilt error in the fifth inning, jumping ahead 6-1.
Vanderbilt swept Mississippi State on SEC Opening Weekend, outscoring the Bulldogs, 19-4, while recording the program’s first sweep in Starkville since 2010. Vandy posted a 1.33 ERA and limited MSU to a .194 batting average. The Dores pitching staff limited the Bulldogs to a .078 average (4-for-51) with runners on base in three games last weekend.