May 25, 2011
VANDERBILT RE-VU
Vanderbilt wrapped up the regular season 44-9 overall with a 22-8 record in the Southeastern Conference. The Commodores clinched the series over Georgia with a 17-7 win Saturday afternoon to win a share of the SEC crown. After blowing a 6-0 lead and trailing 7-6 in the eighth inning, Vandy rallied for 11 runs over the final two frames to post the team’s 44th win of the year. For the second straight day all nine hitters in the Dores’ lineup produced at least one hit with five collecting two hits or more. Vanderbilt evened the series with a 9-3 win Friday night. Freshmen T.J. Pecoraro and Kevin Ziomek tossed 6.1 scoreless innings in the win. Georgia took the series opener from Vanderbilt 5-4 Thursday night. Bulldogs starter Michael Palazzone shutdown VU with a complete game win retiring 18 of the last 19 batters he faced.
ON THE BUMP
Wednesday, May 25
RHP T.J. Pecoraro (7-0, 1.73) vs. RHP Michael Palazzone (9-3, 3.23)
Thursday, May 26
TBA vs. TBA
LOTS OF ACCOLADES
The SEC honored several Commodores this week with All-SEC accolades. Junior Grayson Garvin was named the league’s Pitcher of the Year after going 9-0 with a 1.83 ERA in SEC play. The lefty led the league with 11 wins on the year. Tony Kemp was tabbed the Freshman of the Year after hitting .342 for the year and .402 in SEC games during his first collegiate campaign. Aaron Westlake joins Garvin and Kemp on the All-SEC first team after leading the Commodores with 13 home runs and a .360 batting average. Juniors Sonny Gray and Jason Esposito along with freshman Conrad Gregor were placed on the All-SEC second team. Kevin Ziomek along with Kemp and Gregor represent VU on the All-SEC Freshman team. Gray and Esposito were also tabbed on the All-Defensive team.
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK
The Commodores’ season has already rewritten parts of the Vanderbilt record books. Tim Corbin’s squad matched the school record with 22 SEC wins and won the school’s first SEC championship since 2007. The team’s 44 wins are the second-most in the regular season in school history and the Dores’ nine losses are the fewest in a regular season in Vanderbilt history.
TOURNAMENT TIME
Vanderbilt enters the SEC Tournament for the sixth straight year and eighth time in nine years under Tim Corbin. In 15 trips to the tournament the Commodores are 31-25 overall and 18-11 under Corbin, including the 2007 championship and runner-up finishes in 2009 and 2004.
PLAYING THE BULLDOGS
The Commodores face the Bulldogs after VU took two-of-three from Georgia in the final weekend of the regular season. The two teams played only one game in 2010 with Vandy emerging with the victory and the other two games being washed out due to a flood in Nashville. Head Coach Tim Corbin is 16-12 in his tenure on West End against Georgia. Vanderbilt is 96-117 in the all-time series against the Bulldogs dating back to 1896.
TOPSY TURVY TEN
The Commodores came down the final 10-game stretch 6-4, including losing back-to-back games for the first and only time this year, despite outscoring opponents 73-37. Vandy hit .313 as a team over the regular season’s last 10 games belting 12 of the team’s 37 home runs for the year. The long ball was also in play for the Dores’ opponents with 15 balls leaving the yard over the last 10 games compared to only 11 over the team’s first 43 games of the season.
NATIONAL PITCHER OF THE YEAR
The College Baseball Hall of Fame released the 25 quarterfinalists this week for the National Pitcher of the Year award and the Commodores were well represented placing three pitchers on the list. Vanderbilt was the only school to be represented three times on the list with juniors Grayson Garvin, Navery Moore and Sonny Gray making the list. The SEC and Big 12 each placed six pitchers on the list.
GRAY MOVING UP
Junior Sonny Gray is on the move up the career all-time lists. The right-hander has moved into fifth place all-time with 290 career strikeouts. David Price (2005-07) holds the school record with 441 strikeouts. Gray is now tied for third place all-time with Mike Willis (1969-72) with 24 wins. Jeff Peeples (1970-73) holds the school record with 29 wins.
ESPOSITO RUNS INTO TOP 10
Jason Esposito moved into the Top 10 all-time for stolen bases in a career at Vanderbilt when he stole a base on Opening Day against San Diego. The junior third baseman has added to his total and now is in eighth place with 62 stolen bases. Next up on the list is Nick Morrow (1991-94), who had 65 steals in his career. Charles DeFrance (1980-82) holds the school record with 96 stolen bases. Esposito is third all-time with 58 doubles in his career.
