NASHVILLE, Tenn. – No. 10 Vanderbilt will host No. 17 UCLA for a three-game series beginning Friday at Hawkins Field with all three games airing on SEC Network+.
First pitch for Game 1 on Friday is at 4:30 p.m. CT. Saturday’s game will begin at 1 p.m. and Sunday’s finale is set for a noon start.
Probable Starting Pitching Matchups
Friday: Vandy – LHP Carter Holton vs. UCLA – RHP Jake Brooks
Saturday: Vandy – LHP Hunter Owen vs. UCLA – RHP Alonzo Tredwell
Sunday: Vandy – LHP Devin Futrell vs. UCLA – RHP Kelly Austin
Last Time Out
• The Commodores split a pair of midweek contests, falling 5-4 to Central Arkansas on Tuesday and defeating UAB 13-1 in seven innings on Wednesday.
• Junior Alan Espinal homered twice in Wednesday’s victory. All three of his hits this season have been home runs.
• Freshman David Horn earned his first collegiate win on the bump, throwing two scoreless frames vs. UAB.
• Head coach Tim Corbin recorded his 950th career win.
• Junior Enrique Bradfield Jr. swiped his 96th career stolen base on Wednesday to tie the Vanderbilt record (96, Charles DeFrance, 1980-82)
Series Preview
• Vanderbilt will face UCLA for the fifth time with the all-time series even at 2-2.
• The weekend series marks UCLA’s first visit to Hawkins Field. All four previous matchups were in Los Angeles.
• The most recent meeting came in the shortened 2020 season with UCLA winning 3-2.
• This is the second consecutive season where Vandy hosts a ranked nonconference opponent for a three-game series. The Dores opened the 2022 campaign at home against No. 7 Oklahoma State.
Familiar Faces
• Vanderbilt and UCLA have unique ties that go all the way back to 2000.
• Head coach Tim Corbin and UCLA head coach John Savage served as assistant coaches together on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in the summer of 2000.
• Two Commodores (Sam Hliboki and RJ Schreck) are both from Los Angeles. Matthew Polk is from nearby Long Beach and David Horn’s hometown is Mission Viejo.
Big Innings
• Vanderbilt has scored three or more runs in an inning seven times through the first five games.
• The Dores have scored 16 of their 44 runs this season in the second inning of contests.
• Vandy pushed eight runs across in one frame vs. Texas and plated seven runs in an inning against Oklahoma State.
Chasing History
• Enrique Bradfield Jr. needs one stolen bases to break the program record (96) set by Charles DeFrance (1980-82).
• The junior outfielder’s 96 career stolen bases ranks T-7th in SEC history. Tennessee’s Mike Basse (1989-91) holds the all-time record of 145.
• Bradfield has stolen 46 or more bases in each of his first two seasons. He was 46-for-46 in 2022 after going 47-53 as a freshman in 2021.
• He is the SEC’s current active leader in career stolen bases. No other SEC student-athlete had more than 35 entering the season.
National Rankings
Where the Dores rank statistically among NCAA DI teams.
26th – Runs Scored (44)
14th – Stolen Bases (10)
12th – K/9 (13.1)
2nd – Triples (5)
Individuals
Alan Espinal – 8th – Home Runs (3)
Davis Diaz – 9th – Runs (9)
Calvin Hewett – 20th – Runs (8)
Alan Espinal – 26th – RBI (9)
Calvin Hewett – 3rd – Stolen Bases (6)
Grayson Moore – 17th – Strikeouts (10)