Vanderbilt Commodores (33-16, 11-13 SEC) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (40-9, 17-7 SEC)
Game 1: Friday, May 10 @ 6 p.m. CT • SECN+
Game 2: Saturday, May 11 @ 2 p.m. CT • SEC Network
Game 3: Sunday, May 12 @ 2 p.m. CT • ESPN2
Nashville, Tenn. • Hawkins Field
Series Preview: Vanderbilt hosts its final three home games of the regular season this weekend as No. 1 Tennessee comes to Music City.
- Vanderbilt and Tennessee will be meeting Friday for the 347th time since 1897. The Volunteers lead the all-time series 184-160-2.
- The Commodores and Volunteers will be on national television twice this weekend with Saturday’s game airing on SEC Network followed by Sunday’s game on ESPN2.
- Vandy is 26-6 at home this season with a .302 average and a 3.49 staff ERA. The Dores are averaging 7.5 runs per game at home.
Last Time Out: Vanderbilt beat Louisville 4-2 on Tuesday at Hawkins Field to win the Battle of the Barrel.
- Devin Futrell earned the win with 5.0 innings of work. Futrell held Louisville to one run on three hits and struck out six batters.
- Jonathan Vastine hit Vanderbilt’s fifth leadoff homer on the season to start off the bottom of the first. Vastine has two of Vandy’s leadoff home runs in 2024.
Golden Spikes Award: RJ Austin was one of 45 players named to the 2024 Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List.
- Austin leads Vanderbilt in RBI (48), hits (60), runs scored (42) and stolen bases (21).
- The sophomore from Atlanta was named SEC Tournament MVP last season and has a team-high 19 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games this season.
- Among Power 5 players with 20 or more stolen bases this season, Austin is third in RBI with 48, leading all SEC players.
Johnny V: Vanderbilt shortstop Jonathan Vastine was recently named the No. 18 shortstop by D1Baseball.com.
- Vastine leads the team in doubles (15) and, after leading Vandy with 18 doubles in 2023, is looking to become the first Commodore since Dansby Swanson to lead the team in doubles in back-to-back seasons.
- In D1Baseball’s shortstop rankings on May 9, Vastine (No. 18) is the second-highest ranked SEC shortstop behind Texas A&M’s Ali Camarillo (No. 12).
Cunningham in Control: Junior Bryce Cunningham was named SEC Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season on April 29.
- Cunningham threw a two-hit, complete-game shutout vs. Mississippi State (April 26) as Vandy defeated the Bulldogs, 4-0.
- Cunningham totaled four strikeouts and tossed 122 pitches in Vanderbilt’s second complete-game shutout on the season.
Scoring Early: Vanderbilt has scored 91 runs in the first two innings this season, averaging nearly two runs per game in the opening frames.
- Vandy is outscoring its opponents 49-31 in first innings and 42-17 in second innings.
- The Dores are 16-1 when they score in the first frame and 21-4 when scoring first.
Top Relievers: Junior Ryan Ginther and freshman Brennan Seiber were named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year midseason watch list on April 24.
- Ginther and Seiber have four saves each this season. Vandy is one of only two SEC schools with multiple players on the watch list.
200 K’s for #20: Junior Carter Holton recorded his 200th career strikeout at South Carolina on March 23.
- Holton has registered five quality starts this season. He has 10 or more strikeouts in four starts and eight or more strikeouts in seven starts.
- Among active SEC pitchers that have pitched their entire careers in the SEC, Holton ranks fourth in career wins (18), second in strikeouts (242) and third in innings pitched (193.1).
Welcome to the Show: With the call-ups of Austin Martin (Twins), Jack Leiter (Rangers) and Tyler Ferguson (Athletics) this season, Vanderbilt leads all schools with 15 alumni to appear on MLB rosters in 2024, including the IL.
- Austin Martin made his debut with the Minnesota Twins on March 30.
- Jack Leiter made his MLB debut for the Texas Rangers on April 18.
- Tyler Ferguson made his MLB debut with Oakland on May 7. With Ferguson’s debut, 34 former Commodores have made their MLB debuts since Tim Corbin’s first season at Vandy in 2003.
