April 4, 2018
Vanderbilt Game Notes – Georgia Game Notes
After spending 16 of its last 20 games away from home, Vanderbilt opens an eight-game homestand on Thursday night at 6 p.m. against Georgia.
The opener is slated for ESPNU while Friday’s 6:30 p.m. middle game and Saturday’s 2 p.m. finale will be streamed on the SEC Network Plus.
Fans can listen to all three games courtesy of 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
Thursday, April 5
RHP Drake Fellows (4-1, 2.72 ERA) vs. RHP Chase Adkins (3-0, 4.76 ERA)
Friday, April 6
RHP Patrick Raby (2-4, 2.67 ERA) vs. LHP Ryan Webb (1-2, 3.64 ERA)
Saturday, April 7
TBA vs. TBA
NEED TO KNOW
Georgia will be the eighth Top 25 opponent (D1Baseball.com poll) that Vanderbilt has faced this season. The Dores boast a 10-5 record against ranked teams this season including wins against No. 25 Duke (2x), No. 24 Houston, No. 19 Mississippi State (3x), No. 19 LSU (2x), No. 11 UCLA and No. 8 TCU.
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 1,018 total chances. The program record is .979, set in 2015.
Vandy has stolen 52 bases this season, ranking 12th nationally and first in the SEC. The Commodores have swiped exactly twice as many bags as they had through 29 games a season ago (26).
Georgia head coach Scott Stricklin spent two seasons (2000-01) as the pitching coach at Vanderbilt. Stricklin’s final recruiting class at Vandy was ranked No. 7 nationally by Baseball America.
Despite its recent struggles at the plate, Vanderbilt has hit .300 in 14 home games this season. The Dores have averaged 8.71 runs and 11.14 hits per game at Hawkins Field while boasting a .497 on-base percentage.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP VS. GEORGIA
Vanderbilt and Georgia meet for the 234th time in the history of the two programs on Thursday night. The Bulldogs own a 120-113 edge in the all-time series but the Commodores have won 13 of the last 14 dating to 2013.
The Commodores are 34-15 in the Tim Corbin era (2003-present) against Georgia. Vanderbilt has won eight straight series against Georgia dating to the 2009 season. Vandy has swept UGA three times in that span.
Vandy took 2-of-3 a season ago, capturing the series with a 10-5 victory in the finale. Dores have produced double-digit runs in five of the last eight games against UGA and has averaged 8.3 runs per game in the last 10 matchups.
VANDERBILT RE-VU
Middle Tennessee secured a 4-3, seven-inning victory in a matchup cut short due to inclement weather at Reese Smith Jr. Field on Tuesday night.
The No. 15 Commodores appeared to have a come-from-behind victory within its grasp as Alonzo Jones struck a two-out grand slam in the eighth inning for a 7-4 Vanderbilt advantage. Moments later, with two down and a full count on Austin Martin, the game was stopped due to weather in the area. The game was officially called just over an hour later and by rule reverted back to its previous completed inning, erasing the results from the top half of the eighth.