April 2, 2018
Vanderbilt returns to action on Tuesday, making the short trek to Middle Tennessee for a 6:00 p.m. tilt against the Blue Raiders from Reese Smith Jr. Field.
The matchup will be broadcast on subscription-based CUSA.tv. Fans can also listen in via the vucommodores app as well as locally on WNSR 560 AM/95.9 FM with Joe Fisher on the call. Pre-game coverage begins 15 minutes prior to first pitch.
ON THE BUMP
LHP Jake Eder (1-3, 3.80 ERA) vs. RHP Grant Williams (2-1, 4.50 ERA)
NEED TO KNOW
With the Major League Baseball regular season getting underway last Thursday, Vanderbilt matched Arkansas, LSU and Mississippi State with a league-leading eight players on MLB Opening Day rosters.
Vanderbilt is on a historic tear defensively. The Dores rank second nationally and first in the SEC with a .985 fielding percentage. Vandy has committed just 15 errors in 991 total chances. The program record is .979, set in 2015.
Vandy has stolen 52 bases this season, ranking 11th nationally and first in the SEC. The Commodores have swiped more than twice as many bases as they had through 28 games a season ago (24).
Eleven different Commodores have accounted for 23 home runs this season. Vanderbilt is one of 12 teams nationally to have 10 or more players produce a homer this year. Vandy is two off the pace of Elon, which leads the country with 13.
The Blue Raiders will be the 19th different opponent and first from Conference USA that Vandy has faced this season. The Dores have faced foes from 13 different leagues including the ACC, American Athletic, America East, Atlantic Sun, Big South, Big 12, Big West, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, PAC-12, SEC, Southland and Sun Belt.
The Commodores are 12-7 in nonconference games this season. In those 19 matchups, outfielder Pat DeMarco has produced 10 multi-hit performances while Connor Kaiser has boasted seven multi-RBI games. Vandy went 2-0 against Middle Tennessee a season ago.
The Commodores hit .447 as a team (38-for-85) while posting a .523 on-base percentage. Fourteen of 16 players who recorded an at-bat registered at least one hit.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP VS. MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Vanderbilt and Middle Tennessee meet for the 141st time in the history of the two programs on Tuesday night.
The Commodores own a 97-43 advantage in the all-time series which began in 1926. For the 24th-straight year, the teams square off twice in the regular season. The final matchup of 2018 will come on May 15 in Nashville.
The Commodores are 24-9 in the Tim Corbin era (2003-present) against the Blue Raiders. Vanderbilt has won three-straight in the series and 15 of the last 17 matchups.
Reese Smith Jr. Field, home of Middle Tennessee baseball, was officially dedicated on April 12, 1983, prior to the Blue Raiders’ matchup against Vanderbilt. The Commodores went on to win the game, 6-5.
VANDERBILT RE-VU
Vanderbilt struggled last week, going 0-4 and experiencing the program’s first regular-season sweep since 2012. The Commodores hit just .138 as a team while scoring nine total runs in four losses to Lipscomb and Florida.
For a third-straight day, Florida bats struck early and often, leading the Gators to an 8-2 victory and a series sweep against Vanderbilt on Sunday in Gainesville, Fla. The Dores went a combined 7-for-40 (.175) with runners on base in the series including finishing 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position during the finale.