Vanderbilt Baseball Weekly Report – March 22, 2021
Overall Record: 15-3, 2-1 SEC
Streak: Lost 1
Last Week’s Results (3-1)
Tuesday, March 16 vs. Belmont – Win, 4-1
Friday, March 19 vs. #16 South Carolina – W, 3-2
Saturday, March 20 vs. #16 South Carolina – W, 5-0
Sunday, March 21 vs. #16 South Carolina – L, 6-5
This Week (All times central)
Tuesday, March 23 vs. Lipscomb – 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 25 at Missouri – 6 p.m.
Friday, March 26 at Missouri – 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 27 at Missouri – 5 p.m.
Player of the Week Nominee
CJ Rodriguez – C – 5-10 – 200 – Newport Beach, Calif.
Weekly totals: 4 G/4 GS, 4-for-10, 2 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 4 R, 5 BB
- Reached base safely in each of Vanderbilt’s four contests on the week
- Registered team-highs in RBI and runs scored, with five and four, respectively
- Logged five walks on the week, boasting a .600 on-base percentage
- Closed out the weekend 4-for-8, with three of his four hits going for extra bases
- Notched his first career home run with a two-run shot in Sunday’s series finale with South Carolina
- Slugged a team-high 1.125 across the weekend, marking his first career SEC competitions
- Caught all three games on the weekend, including Jack Leiter’s no-hit performance on Saturday
Pitcher of the Week Nominee
Jack Leiter – RHP – 6-1 – 205 – Summit, N.J.
Weekly totals: 1 GS, W, 9.0 IP, 0 R/0 ER, 0 H, 16 K, 1 BB
- Pitched a no-hitter against 16th-ranked South Carolina, making his first career SEC start
- Notched the first regular-season nine-inning no-hit performance in program history since 1971, and first in a SEC conference game since 1971
- Retired 27 batters in a row after walking the first batter of the game on a full count
- Racked up a career-high 16 strikeouts across a career-long 9.0 innings
- Picked up his fifth win of the season to move to 5-0 on the season, and help the Commodores claim the series victory against the Gamecocks
- Owns a 0.31 ERA on the campaign, and has only allowed one earned run across his 29.0 innings of work
- Recorded multiple strikeouts in seven of his nine innings, including striking out the side in the second inning
- Threw strikes on 81 of his 124 pitches, including first-pitch strikes to his final seven batters faced
Freshman of the Week Nominee
Christian Little – RHP – 6-4 – 210 – St. Louis, Mo.
Weekly totals: 1 GS, W, 4.0 IP, 0 R/0 ER, 1 H, 7 K, 1 BB
- A 17-year-old early-enrollee who picked up his second win of the season in Tuesday’s midweek win over Belmont
- Worked a career-long 4.0 scoreless innings against the Bruins
- Allowed just one hit on the evening, while racking up a career-high seven strikeouts
- Struck out half of the batters he faced on the night
Commodore Notes
Vanderbilt went 3-1 across the week. The Commodores began the week with a midweek matchup against cross-town foe Bemont, claiming a 4-1 victory over the Bruins on Tuesday evening at Hawkins Field. Freshman right-hander Christian Little picked up his second win of the season behind 4.0 scoreless innings of work. Little allowed just one hit on the night, while racking up a career-high seven strikeouts. The early-enrollee struck out seven of the 14 batters he faced on the night. Vanderbilt opened Southeastern Conference play on Friday night, as the team welcomed 16th-ranked South Carolina to town for a top-20 matchup. Friday’s matchup proved to be a pitchers’ duel, as the Commodores earned a 3-2 victory in the series opener. Kumar Rocker picked up his fifth win of the season, improving to 5-0. The junior right-hander turned in a spectacular outing, working 8.0 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits while striking out a season-high 14 batters. Sophomore right-hander Jack Leiter followed up Rocker’s performance with a historic outing in Saturday’s contest to help Vanderbilt claim the series. Leiter turned in a nine-inning no-hitter against the Gamecocks, racking up a career-high 16 strikeouts on the day. The sophomore recorded the program’s first regular-season no-hitter since 1971, also marking the first no-hitter in SEC conference play since 2016. Vanderbilt dropped the series finale on Sunday, 6-5, as the Gamecocks scored four unanswered runs across the latter innings of the ballgame to salvage the series on getaway day. The loss snapped a 10-game home winning streak for the Commodores.