Vanderbilt Baseball Weekly Report – April 26, 2021
Overall Record: 31-7, 13-5 SEC
Streak: Won 1
Last Week’s Results (3-1)
Tuesday, April 20 vs. Austin Peay – W, 7-0
Friday, April 23 vs. #4 Mississippi State – W, 6-2
Saturday, April 24 vs. #4 Mississippi State – L, 7-4
Sunday, April 25 vs. #4 Mississippi State – W, 7-4
This Week (All times central)
Friday, April 30 at Florida – 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 1 at Florida – 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 2 at Florida – 2 p.m.
Pitcher of the Week Nominee
Kumar Rocker – RHP – 6-5 – 245 – Athens, Ga.
Weekly totals: W, 1 GS, 9.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R/1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
- Notched the second complete game of his career in the series opener with fourth-ranked Mississippi State
- Held the Bulldogs to just three hits on the evening, while allowing just one earned run
- Picked up his nation-leading ninth win of the campaign to improve to 9-1 on the season
- After allowing a run in the very first frame, went on to retire the side in order in five of his next eight innings of work
- Struck out eight batters in the contest
- Has allowed just one earned run across his last two starts and 16.0 innings of work, both coming against top-five ranked opponents
Newcomer of the Week
Chris McElvain – RHP – 6-0 – 205 – Thompson Station, Tenn.
Weekly totals: W, 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R/1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
- Picked up his third win of the season against Mississippi State to improve to 3-0 on the season
- Worked a career-long 5.1 innings of work to help stabilize the matchup against the fourth-ranked Bulldogs
- Entered the game in the first inning as the Commodores trailed 3-0, with one out and the bases loaded
- Stranded seven Bulldog runners on base across his 5.1 innings of work
- Struck out four on the afternoon
- Helped Vanderbilt pick up the series win for the second weekend in a row against a top-five opponent
Commodore Notes
Vanderbilt posted a 3-1 record on the week. The Commodores began the week with a 7-0 midweek win over Austin Peay, marking the team’s 25th consecutive win in the midweek – a streak that dates to March 2019. The Commodores picked up their sixth shutout of the season behind a strong start from sophomore Thomas Schultz, who picked up his fourth win of the campaign. The weekend saw Vanderbilt claim its second consecutive weekend series win over a top-five ranked opponent, as the team welcomed fourth-ranked Mississippi State to town. Junior Kumar Rocker earned his ninth win of the season, as the right-hander notched the second complete game of his career to help Vanderbilt defeat the Bulldogs, 6-2, in Friday’s series opener. The Commodores dropped the second matchup of the weekend before bouncing back to take the finale and claim the series. After falling to an early 4-0 deficit, Vandy completed the comeback on Sunday en route to claiming a 7-4 victory over Mississippi State. Sophomore Chris McElvain picked up the win behind a career-long 5.1 innings of work in relief. Carter Young notched his 10th homer of the season with the go-ahead bomb in the fifth to put Vanderbilt in front. Nick Maldonado earned his third save of the campaign, covering the final 3.1 frames, while holding the Bulldogs hitless across the span. The series win marked Vanderbilt’s first against a top-five ranked opponent since the Commodores took two of three from then-No. 5 Ole Miss on April 13-15, 2018.