#11 Vanderbilt Commodores (34-15, 14-10 SEC) at #15 Tennessee Volunteers (38-11, 14-10 SEC)
Game 1: Friday, May 9 @ 4:30 p.m. CT • SEC Network
Game 2: Saturday, May 10 @ 4 p.m. CT • ESPN2
Game 3: Sunday, May 11 @ 2 p.m. CT • ESPN2
Weekend Preview: Rivalry Week for Vanderbilt continues with a three-game series at Tennessee beginning Friday.
- Vanderbilt and Tennessee will meet for the 352nd since 1897 on Friday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
- The Commodores went 2-3 against the Volunteers last season and have 162 wins in the all-time series.
- Vandy won the finale at Hawkins Field last season behind a dominant start from JD Thompson. Thompson threw 6.0 shutout innings with nine strikeouts and two hits allowed.
- Colin Barczi’s first collegiate home run came against the Volunteers in Vandy’s 13-4 win on May 22, 2024 in the SEC Tournament.
- Vanderbilt and Tennessee enter the series tied in the SEC standings, both with a 14-10 record.
Last Time Out: Vanderbilt dropped a hard-fought contest at Louisville on Tuesday, falling 5-4 in the 13th edition of the Battle of the Barrel.
- Freshman Brodie Johnston hit a game-tying solo homer in the sixth inning Tuesday, his 10th on the season. Johnston leads all SEC freshmen in homers, second in RBI and is third in doubles.
- Vanderbilt won the series over then-No. 18 Alabama, taking the opener and finale.
- The Dores trailed by five runs in the eighth on Sunday before winning 9-7 on a two-run, walk-off homer by Braden Holcomb.
- Prior to Holcomb’s game-winner, Brodie Johnston tied the game with a two-run double.
- Johnston was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week for the second time this season. He hit .438 (7-for-16) in Vandy’s four games on the week with three doubles, five RBI and three runs scored.
On the Mound and Behind It: Vanderbilt’s pitching staff boasts a 3.78 ERA, 13th best in D1 and fifth in the SEC.
- Vandy’s pitchers have reached double-digit strikeouts in 37 of 49 games this season and in 13 of the last 14 games.
- Vandy leads the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (12.2) and ranks fourth nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (7.06).
- The Dores’ six shutouts are second in the SEC.
- Defensively, Vandy owns the ninth best fielding percentage in DI (.982), third in the SEC.
- JD Thompson’s 88 strikeouts rank seventh in the SEC. Sawyer Hawk’s six saves is fifth.
- Connor Fennell has made nine appearances in SEC action, going 3-0 with 59 strikeouts to just eight walks in 34.0 innings
Hitter Spotlights: Riley Nelson continues to swing a hot bat, owning a .375 average in SEC play, third highest in the league.
- Nelson is hitting .361 on the season to lead the team. He has six home runs, five of those coming against conference foes.
- Braden Holcomb hit a triple, solo home run and walk-off, two-run homer in his final three at-bats vs. Alabama on Sunday. Holcomb is hitting .350 in SEC games with six homers and 19 RBI. He’s fourth in the SEC in slugging (.717).
- Brodie Johnston leads the team in home runs with 10. The freshman’s 22 RBI in SEC games also leads the team.
- Big Innings: Vandy has scored four or more runs in an inning 21 times this season.
- The Dores have scored seven or more runs in an inning five times including a nine-spot twice.
Johnny V: Vanderbilt shortstop Jonathan Vastine has been one of Vanderbilt’s best hitters in conference play to compliment his premier defense.
- The Florida native was named to the midseason watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award recently, recognizing the country’s top shortstop.
- Vastine is hitting .309 in 24 SEC games with four home runs, a double and 15 RBI.
- In eight Game 3’s in SEC series this spring, Vastine is 16-for-31 (.516) with two homers, a double and 10 RBI. Vandy is 6-2 in those games.
- He led the team in doubles (18) last season and, after leading Vandy with 18 doubles in 2023, became the first Commodore since Dansby Swanson to lead the team in doubles in back-to-back seasons.
- In D1Baseball’s 2025 preseason position rankings, Vastine came in at No. 10 among all shortstops.
- According to D1Baseball’s Synergy stats, Vastine’s 11.27 defensive runs saved last season was good for eighth nationally and ranked first among SEC shortstops.
Stopper of the Year: A pair of Commodores were named to the midseason watch list for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year last week, awarded to the top reliever in college baseball.
- Sawyer Hawks and Miller Green were two of 56 relief pitchers on the watch list.
- Hawks has six saves this season and boasts a 1.26 ERA over 35.2 innings of work. He has 47 strikeouts to eight walks and is holding opposing hitters to a .153 average.
- Green has five saves over 14 appearances. In 19.1 innings, the southpaw has 23 strikeouts to eight walks.
RJ Doing RJ Things: Junior RJ Austin leads the SEC with 20 stolen bases and is tied for most triples with four.
- He walked off WKU on April 1 with an RBI single in the 10th inning.
- Austin hit the go-ahead, two-run single in the seventh inning to help lift Vanderbilt past Texas A&M on March 22.
- He hit two triples in the win over Saint Mary’s on Feb. 21, the first Commodore since Tony Kemp in 2012 to do so.
- Austin’s 15 multi-hit games this season is second on the team. His 11 multi-RBI performances is tied for second on the team.
