Maxwell Worship, a 6’2″ 185 pound, 5.6 (Rivals) and 85 (247) 3 star safety, has committed to Coach Mason and our football program! 

Maxwell is from Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, FL. a powerhouse in high school football in the Sunshine state. Maxwell joins incoming freshmen corner Randall Haynie and wide receiver James Bostic as Cardinal Gibbons products. Really like this south Florida pipeline. Awesome players come out of that area. Some of the best in the country.

Watched Maxwell’s tape. Super stuff. Maxwell lays serious wood, and creates and gets turnovers. I saw Max take a 25 yard int back to the house, and he had another really nice pick over the middle. I saw him force 2 fumbles on perfect form, physical tackles to the midsection of a running back. He is some kind of sure tackler and turnover creator. We’re getting a fantastic player.

Maxwell moves our class up to 26 in the 247 rankings, and 4th in the SEC by that recruiting service, one spot ahead of Kentucky, which we were behind in the rankings before the Worship commit. We are now 27th on the Rivals rankings. Kentucky is just ahead of us at 25, so we could move ahead of them with another anchor drop.

Really liking this class. And I really like our 2017 team. Will get more into this year’s squad as the summer progresses.

Football players in shooting

I guess most of you know by now about the shooting in Nashville that injured defensive backs Frank Coppet and Tae Daley, and involved wide receiver Donoven Tennyson. It stemmed from Donaven having his cell phone stolen, and as the 3 guys were trying to retrieve it, Frank and Tae were shot. Very fortunately, the injuries weren’t critical. Chris Lee of Vandy Rivals posted this morning that there is more information that sheds a more positive light on our players. Donaven put his cell phone up for sale online, met the guys whom he was selling it to, and the other guys stole it. Donaven called the guys to meet them and took Frank and Tae with him in trying to get the phone back. The boys had a pellet gun with them. The other guys had a shotgun and a pistol and shot at our players.

That’s what I know right now. More information will come out. It was a bad decision by Donaven to sell the phone online in the first place, and it was  terrible decision by the 3 to meet those dangerous guys with a pellet gun and try to get the phone back. Hopefully they and the entire team will learn from this. There will most likely be disciplinary actions by Coach Mason and the school, which is necessary. Just want these guys to get healthy and get their act together. They can’t be out there risking their lives for a phone. Donaven needs a phone. Not sure why he was selling it in the first place. Maybe he wanted to buy another.  They are all 3 good kids and talented players. They just made a terribly unwise decision. It could have cost them their lives. I hope the whole team learns from this and stays clear of ANY potentially dangerous situations. 

The commit of Maxwell is outstanding, so that’s the great news. The players who were involved in the incident will need to take their medicine once Frank and Tae are healthy. 

TPC Potomac at Avenal Farm, Potomac Maryland, just north of D.C.

7,139 yards, par 70

Defending champion: Billy Hurley III, -13, defeated Vijay Singh by 3 shots. 

TV: Thursday-Friday, Golf Channel, 2:30-5:30 PM CT; Saturday, 12-1:30 PM Ct, Golf, 2-5 PM CT, CBS; Sunday, 12-1:30 PM CT, Golf, 2-5:30 PM CT CBS.

Weather: Fine, hot, but it’s late June, early July so expected in D.C. area.

Winner

Going with the 38 year old from Winfield, Illinois by way of Duke University. This player won the Tampa Bay Championship, now the Valspar, in 2013, and also won the Travelers Championship in 2014. He shot 64 last Sunday in the Travelers to finish T-8, and finished T-12 here last year. Like the way he’s trending. Going with the Blue Devil.

Kevin Streelman

Sleeper

Harold Varner III

Finished T-7 here last year and getting closer and closer. 

5.6 and 85 3 star cornerback Rayshad Williams has committed to Derek Mason and the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Pedro was 3 for 6 with a homer and 2 doubles and 3 Ribeyes. That was Pedro’s 16th homer of the season, and his 3 RBIs gave him 50 for the season. Yaz was 2 for 5 with the game winning single in the top of the 11th. Great stuff from both of our guys. Both should be in Baltimore soon. The Orioles need’em!

TPC River Highlands Course, Cromwell, Connecticut, 6,841 yards, par 70

Defending champion: Russell Knox, -14. Knox outlasted Jerry Kelly, who shot -13. The main story was Jim Furyk’s 58 on the final day. Furyk shot a 27 on the front side with 6 birdies and an eagle. He posted 3 more birdies on the backside before coming down a little bit. But he finished with a 31 on the back to post the record setting number.  In typical Furyk fashion though, he finished 5th. Amazing playing, but not enough to get Furyk over the top. 

Last week’s 117th U.S. Open

Brooks Koepka was flawless on Sunday shooting a 67 to finish the tournament -16 and capture his first major by 4 shots over Hideki Matsuyama and Brian Harmon, who both posted -12. Hideki had a strong finish and Harmon hung tough, but Koepka was unbeatable that day. Was a little disappointed in the venue. Erin Hills posed not much resistance to the players who were in contention, certainly not Justin Thomas on Saturday, when he posted 63 in round 3, and Koepka, who breezed through his round on Sunday. It just didn’t seem like Koepka had any stress the whole round. Just like a routine round with friends on a Saturday for Brooks. USGA Executive Director Mike Davis has tried to be creative with his choices for venues lately, but his 2015 choice of Chambers Bay was disastrous, and this choice of Erin Hills wasn’t much better. This tournament needs to get back to a major test of perseverance to an extreme level. Next year, 2018, the 118th playing will be at Shinnecock Hills, which is a classic venue, so that should be a very good challenge. The classics need to be the immediate future for the Opens. In 2019, the Open is at Pebble Beach, 2020, Winged Foot, and 2021, Torrey Pines, so some signature Open courses coming up. Davis should stick to those tried and true courses for a while until he can find a new one that will demand the ultimate test to the players.

Really good field this week with the likes of Rory, Jason Day,. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas competing.

Weather: Good overall. Temperatures in the low to mid 80’s. Clouds and sun, with rain chances on Friday and Saturday. Sunday is a sunny day for the most part with winds at 7-12 MPH.

TV: Thursday-Friday, Golf Channel, 2:30-5:30 PM CT; Saturday-Sunday: GC, 12-1:30 PM CT; CBS, 2-5 PM CT.

Key Holes on River Highlands course

No. 15, 298 yards, par 4

One of the most electric holes on the tour. This hole can obviously be reached, but there is water on the left and sand on the right. Should lead to some drama on Sunday with players trying to catch the leader, and going for eagle if possible. Anywhere from 2 to 6 can happen on this gem of a hole.

No. 16, 171 yards, par 3

The 171 yard hole requires a well struck mid to 8 iron shot with a lot of water to carry as there is a lake in front. The green is narrow and pin locations can make it even more challenging with a lot of slope in the greens for some uneven putts. 

No. 17, 433 yard, par 4

This is a tough hole with water covering the entire right side of the hole and a bunker on the left. Tough, intimidating, pressure-filled drive on Sunday. Then the player has to carry water on his second shot with wind a factor, it’ll be gusting up to 12 MPH, maybe more, so club selection is crucial. There will be huge crowds for this hole, particularly on Sunday, as it will be a major determining factor on who wins this golf tournament.

No. 18, 444 yards, par 4

This is a good birdie opportunity for the players, and Sunday, some guys will need it. A well struck drive leaves a mid to short iron into the green that is pretty small and circular. There is a trap in front and a trap on the right side, so a miss into either one of those can be a problem come the 72nd hole. Should be riveting with a massive crowd waiting behind the green.

Winner

Like this 30 year old from Savannah, GA. via the University of Georgia, to capture the championship after finishing in a tie for 2nd last week at the Open. He is a classic competitor, who puts forth 100% every shot. He won at the Wells Fargo in May, and I see him in the victory circle again. Going with this Dawg to win at River Highlands. 

Brian Harmon

Darkhorse

This 24 year old young gun from Birmingham, AL, by way of the University of Alabama, finished T-9 last week at the Open shooting 69, 68 in the third and fourth rounds. Like where he’s headed. He clinched the national championship for the Crimson Tide in 2014 with a 22 foot eagle putt. It was dramatic and super clutch. He’s going to win soon, maybe here.

Trey Mullinax

Vanderbilt football added 4 new Vanderbilt football commits last week. Huge news.  I’m a little under the weather right now, so want to get back to full go and watch film and give you more detail on these really good football players we added last week, but here’s what I’ve got so far….

Four star wide receiver Camron Johnson out of Brentwood Academy in Nashville is on board. Camron was a high level SEC recruit and we beat out the heavyweights Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, etc.. for Camron. That’s super stuff. Camron’s Brentwood Academy teammate, high 3 star Gavin Schoenwald, a 6’5″, 225 tight end who we beat out in a recruiting war with South Carolina for, also committed. This was really tremendous news as Gavin is outstanding and was high on our board, and we didn’t know if we could beat out Muschamp and SC for him, but we prevailed.

Brooks Koepka played outstanding to win the Open, but I was proud of Brandt Sneds. Brandt finished T-9 at -8. Great showing by B, and I expect him to be a contender at the Open Championship next month at Royal Birkdale in England, July 20-23rd, and at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, August 10-13th. Like what I saw out of Brandt. Thanks.
 

Erin Hills Golf Club, Erin, Wisconsin, 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee

7,741 yards, par 72

156 players

Purse: $12 million

Winner’s share: $2,160,000

Defending champion: Dustin Johnson, -4, Oakmont

2014 champion, Martin Kaymer, Pinehurst

2015 champion: Jordan Spieth, Chambers Bay

Weather: Thursday: 86, partly sunny, 25% chance, wind 8-13 MPH; Friday: 80, 25% chance, 8-12 MPH; Saturday: 85, 49% chance, 8-13 MPH; Sunday: 75, 60% chance of showers, 16-29 MPH.

TV: Thursday-Friday, Fox Sports 1, 10 AM-5 PM CT, 5-8 PM CT FOX; Saturday, 10 AM-7 PM CT FOX; Sunday, 10 AM-7:30 PM CT, FOX.

Key tee times: All times Central

7:07 AM-Charley Hoffman, Jason Dufner, HIdeto Tanihara-The reason I mention this group is because Duf is playing so well right now. He just won the Memorial and has really gotten it turned on with his game. Duf has a shot here. He’s got the complete game to win it if his putter is clicking.

7:18 AM-Brandt Snedeker, Alex Noren, Tyrrell Hatton-The key guy here is Noren. He’s a darkhorse to me. He’s won 5 times on the European Tour in the past year. I like him as a factor this weekend.

7:51 AM-Rafa Cabrera Bello, Thomas Pieters, Brooks Koepka- All 3 of these guys have a shot. Cabrera Bello seems to always be in contention on tour, Pieters is a young talent from Great Britain who was superb in the Ryder Cup and gave it a good run at the Masters. Koepka is close to getting a breakout victory.

7:51 AM, 10th tee-Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm- This is a blockbuster group. Hideki was en fuego earlier this year and is highly capable. The question with Fowler is, will he ever capture a major. He’s still young at 28, but at some point he needs to convert. Rahm has a major ahead of him, possibly 3, 4, or 5. The guy is a massive talent. All 3 of these guys can be right there on Sunday.

8:02 AM- Gary Woodland, J.B. Holmes, Jason Kokrak- These guys are all major bombers, which is really essential for this extremely long track. I don’t see any of these guys winning, but their driving will be worth watching. They can flat out destroy the golf ball.

8:13 AM- Tee 10-Danny Willett, Zach Johnson, Angel Cabrera- These guys are all major champions, so they know what it takes. Willett is the 2016 Masters champ, Zach won the 2007 Masters and the 2015 Open Championship at St. Andrews, and Angel won the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont and the 2009 Masters, so I like their experience in winning majors.

8:24 AM-Kevin Kisner, Billy Horschel, Branden Grace-See all 3 of these guys being factors. Horschel recently won the Byron Nelson in Dallas, and Kisner won the next week at the Dean & Delcuca in Fort Worth. Grace is a heckuva player. 

8:24 AM, Tee 10-Matt Kuchar, Francesco Molinari, Patrick Reed- Kuchar has been close a lot this year, but don’t see him having enough length on this course, though his driving accuracy and putting are superb. Molinari is like Cabrera Bello, he’s been in the hunt on tour events all season. Reed has not been great this year, but his Ryder Cup performance still makes me think he’s got an outside shot.

8:35 AM- Webb Simpson, Ernie Els, Lucas Glover-Webb, Glover and Ernie are all previous Open champions, Ernie won it twice, though a long time ago in ’94 at Oakmont, and ’97 at Congressional, along with his 2 Open Championships in 2002 (Muirfield) and 2012 (Royal Lytham and St. Annes). Still a great player, though don’t see the 47 year old South African keeping up with the younger guys. The 31 year old Simpson won the U.S. Open in 2012 at Olympic CC. The 37 year old Glover was an Open winner in 2009 at Bethpage Black and has shown signs of a resurgence.

8:35 AM- Tee 10- Martin Kaymer, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson-Powerhouse group here of the last 3 U.S. Open winners. Kaymer has 2 majors, the ’14 Open at Pinehurst and the 2010 PGA at Whistling Straits. Spieth had the huge year in 2015 winning the Masters and the Open at Chambers Bay. Dustin’s been through the roof good in the last year ever since winning last year’s Open at Oakmont.

1:03 PM-William McGirt, Keegan Bradley, Kevin Na-These guys are all pretty good and Bradley won the 2011 PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club as a rookie. Na brought up a lot of controversy about Erin Hills this week as he posted a video Sunday of the fescue rough off the fairways that is 3 feet high and very thick. Some are saying it has prompted the USGA to cut some of it down on holes 4, 7 and 12. Jack Nicklaus always said if there was a competitor complaining about the course in a major, he knew it wouldn’t be a problem beating that guy.

1:14 PM CT-Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia- Sergio is playing with so much confidence that I consider him a factor here. Bubba has kind of fallen by the wayside, but his length will help him here. Scott maybe.

1:47 PM- Henrik Stenson, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Louis Oosthuizen-All could be factors. All 3 are major winners, with Charl winning the 2011 Masters, Louis winning the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews, and Henrik winning the Open Championship last year at Royal Troon.

1:58 PM-Jimmy Walker, Justin Thomas, Paul Casey-Walker won the PGA Championship at Baltusrol last year, Thomas had been tearing it up in the winter and finished tied for 4th, 2 weeks ago at the Memorial. Casey has been threatening to win a PGA event, but hasn’t gotten over the hump.

2:09 PM- Jason Day, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy- McIlroy is a 4 time major winner at 28 and looks to have his game face on this week. Rory was asked about the fescue and the complaints some of the players have made about it, and he said the fairways are 50 yards wide, world class players should be able to deal with that and handle it. I liked it. Rory won the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional CC, the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, and 2012 and 2014 PGA Championships at Kiawah Island and Valhalla CC respectively. Justin is the 2013 U.S. Open champion played at Merion GC. Day won the PGA in 2015 at Whistling Straits and seems to be playing better. This is a headliner, marquee threesome as well.

2:20 PM-Steve Stricker, Stewart Cink, Phil Mickelson-The interesting thing here is will Phil be able to make it from his daughter’s high school graduation to the Open. The graduation is at 10 AM PT, so he’d have to have a 4 hour rain delay to make it. There is a pretty good chance of bad weather in Erin today and tonight, so that could hold it up. The 46 year old is the 2004, 2006 and 2010 Masters Champion, the 2005 PGA Championship winner at Baltiusrol, and the 2013 Open Championship winner at Muirfield in Scotland. Cink won the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry in an epic major as he defeated then 59 year old Tom Watson in a playoff. Stricker has been playing well lately at 50 years old and has won 12 times on tour, and this is his home turf. I don’t see him having enough to win at Erin Hills, though he could get in contention.

The length of this course really favors the power guys. There are 4, 600+ yard par 5’s. The 18th can play as long as 663 yards. Like one of the bombers to get it done here. Sunday could be a grueling day if the weather forecast is accurate. Will take a lot of perseverance. 

Winner

This young gun is tied for 11th on tour in driving distance at 305, he’s 12th in greens in regulation, he’s 29th in strokes gained putting, and while his accuracy is 161st, Dustin’s is 160th, and with the width of these fairways, and all the rain the course has been getting, which will prevent a lot of roll out into the fescue from the fairways, he should be fine. His strokes gained total is 6th on tour. DJ is first. He’s tied for 1st with Jon Rahm in top 10 finishes this season. While Dustin is always the favorite these days, he hasn’t gotten a chance to play as much with the birth of his second son on Monday, so I’m going with the 24 year old from Goshen, Kentucky by way of the University of Alabama, a 3 time winner on tour this season. Like this young stud to capture the 117th United States Open. 

Justin Thomas

Darkhorses

Duf

Billy Horschel

I know everybody was disappointed in the weekend, but sometimes you have to hand it to the opponent. Oregon State could really pitch, defend, and were a tremendous hitting team, which kind of surprised me. They’ve got a good shot to win it all.

But I was proud of the effort of our baseball team this year. Corbs did one of his best coaching jobs ever, and that’s a very high bar, with the adversity, sadness and toughness from the end of last season that carried over into this season. The coaches and players dug deep and ended up putting together a very good season. The Clemson Regional was phenomenal. We had everything clicking in those games. The pitching by Matt Ruppenthal and Jackson Gillis in the clinching game last Monday Night was nothing short of spectacular. Will Toffey was just electrically good. Will finished the season hitting .354 with 12 homers and 64 RBis and played tremendous third base. He was my most valuable player this season. Jason Delay was phenomenal. Our senior catcher came back for his senior year, and became a top 3 catcher in the country, defensively and offensively. Jason hit .309 with 2 homers and 41 RBI’s and threw out over 40% of the baserunners who attempted to steal. Jeren Kendall had another stellar year. He committed 1 error all season, 1. That’s superb. Jeren hit .307 with 15 homers and 33 RBIs. Ro hit .290 and made some awesome plays in left. The younger guys played well, particularly at the end of the season. Kyle and Rabes pitched so well towards the end of the season. This just wasn’t their best series.

Now Kyle, Jeren, Jason, Will and Ro are in the draft today. That’s exciting. Kyle will go top 3, Jeren is in the top 12, and if there are 30 something better players than Will Toffey in this draft, I want to see them. Will is a first rounder without a doubt. I don’t see how it’s possible not to draft him in the first round. Jason should go in the top 3 or 4 rounds. Jason will be a great pro. Ro should go somewhere. He had a super finish to his senior year. And they were such great representatives of our baseball program and our school. Excited to see the guys matriculate to the Show in the future. The MLB draft is today starting at 5 PM CT on the M:B Network. 

And what a job Coach Tim Corbin did with the team. He was awesome. Best in the business. We are very fortunate to have him. Corbs is the best. Scott Brown did another stellar job with the pitchers, and our other coaches did exceptional jobs. 

Excited to see what happens with our guys in the draft. Will keep you posted on that.

We have good talent coming back next season and a really good freshmen class coming in. I like what we’ll be next year. 

Proud of the entire team from Corbs on down. Another exceptional season for Commodore baseball with many more to come under Coach Tim Corbin. Like what we look like next season with Julian Infante at first, Ethan Paul at 2nd, the awesome Connor Kaiser at short, and quite possibly the talented Harrison Ray at third. Alonzo Jones can definitely help us somewhere. He’s too talented not to have him somewhere. We’ll have to replace some outfielders, but J.J. Bleday looks to have a bright future in right. Stephen Scott is talented in left. We’ll have to figure out center, but we’ll have talent we’ll develop. We’ll lose Jason at catcher, but Ty Duval is a talent and can step in. We’ll have some freshmen who can help next season at catcher as well. Reed Hayes is versatile for us as DH and reliever. He should have a big year next season. On the mound, Rabes comes back as our Friday Night guy, most likely. We’ll see how that develops in the fall. And guys like Drake Fellows and Chandler Day can be weekend guys. We’ll have to develop some other starters. I like what Jackson Gillis can do for us next year as a closer or even as a starter. Zach King has good talent, wherever Corbs wants to use him. Guys like Maddux Conger should develop. Will need some help again from the freshmen for our pitching staff. 

So we should have another highly competitive team next season that has a chance to go to Omaha. Excited for all we have going in Vanderbilt athletics. Corbs is Corbs, just always producing a winning product. Love what D Mase is doing with VU football. Bryce is going to make our basketball program elite very soon, and Geoff McDonald and Scott Limbaugh have us as highly elite women’s tennis and men’s golf teams, respectively. Will have more this summer on our pro baseball guys, talks with Bryce on next season and his new players, D Mase and his exciting football team in 2017, our pro golfers, will check in with Scott and Geoff and any other stuff that comes up on the VU sports scene. A lot to be excited about, and our young athletes are such superb people.

Excited about this summer and this fall with Coach Mason and his Vanderbilt Commodore football team having bright prospects. Ralph Webb, Kyle Shurmur and company should be a fantastic team. Can’t wait. Thanks. 

The 149th Belmont Stakes, Belmont Park, Elmont, New York, crowd, 110,000+

1 1/2 miles, dirt track

Track record: Secretariat, who else? 2:24. 

Post time: Saturday, 5:37 PM CT, 

TV: NBC

Weather: Mostly sunny, 76, Wind 10 MPH SSW.

Prediction:

Going with the 2 time Kentucky Derby and 2 time Belmont winning trainer Todd Pletcher again. Pletcher won this year’s Derby with Always Dreaming and has a 6:1 horse in the Belmont. Like the horse’s credentials and 23 year old jockey Jose Ortiz from Puerto Rico is hungry. This horse skipped the Preakness, so it’s rested. That was the Preakness winner team’s strategy as Cloud Computing skipped the 143rd  Derby then won the 142nd Preakness. Like Pletcher holding his horse out of the Preakness and capturing the 149th Belmont, the longest and oldest race of the Triple Crown at a mile and a half. This 3 year old wins the Test of Champions. 

Tapwrit

Vanderbilt (36-23-1) @ No. 1 Oregon State (52-4)

Goss Stadium, Corvallis, Oregon, capacity, 3,315

Coaches:

Tim Corbin, VU, 15 seasons, 643-312-1, 67%, 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, 7 Super Regionals, 3 CWS appearances, 2014 National Championship, 2015 national runner-up. 2 players selected first overall in MLB draft, David Price (2007), Dansby Swanson (2015). 

Pat Casey, Oregon State, 23 seasons, 830-444-5, 69%, 2 National Championships, 2006, 2007.

Oregon State: No.1 in the country. 52-4 overall, 29-1 Pac-12. Pac 12 Champions. Regional victories over Holy Cross and Yale twice.

Vanderbilt: Clemson Regional winner. Beat St. John’s 13-4, Clemson, 9-4, loss to Clemson 6-0, Win over Clemson to clinch, 8-0.

Game times: Tonight: 8 CT, ESPN2. Saturday, 8 PM CT, ESPN. Sunday (if necessary) 8 PM CT, ESPN2.

Starting pitchers: Vanderbilt, tonight; RHP Patrick Raby, 10-3, 2.36 ERA, 27 walks, 85 strikeouts, opponents average, .223. Oregon State, probable: LHP Luke Heimlich, 11-1, 0.76, 22 walks, 128 K’s, opponent’s average, .129.

Saturday: VU, RHP Kyle Wright, 5-5, 2.98, 28 walks, 113 K’s, .210. Oregon State, probable, RHP Jake Thompson, 13-0, 1.30, 34 walks, 106 K’s, .180. Pac-12 pitcher of the year.

Sunday: To be determined.

Leading hitters: Vanderbilt; Third baseman Will Toffey, .350, 11 Hrs, 62 RBIs. 1B Julian Infante, .322, 11 Hrs, 62 RBIs. CF Jeren Kendall, .312, 15 Hrs, 52 RBIs, 19 for 23 stolen bases. Ro Coleman, .311, 7 for 9 stolen bases. In his last 11 games, Will Toffey is 24-for-48, .500 average, with 6 home runs and 22 Ribbies. Wow. VU hitting .283 as a team.

Leading hitter for Oregon State is 2B Nick Madrigal, .380, 4 Hrs, 34 RBIs. 15-of-17 SBs. Pac 12 player of the year. The Beavers hit .294 as a team.

VU has hit 50 homers this season and OSU has hit 27. We have 337 RBIs, they have 305. We have 111 doubles and 17 triples and they have 100 doubles and 17 triples.

Our team ERA is 3.54 and our fielding % is .976. Oregon State’s team ERA is 1.78 and they are fielding at .977%

For us to win:

Corbs would say, we have to be good in all 3 phases of the game, take it pitch by pitch, on the mound, on defense and at the plate. And that’s exactly what we need to do to be victorious tonight. We need to play like we did against Clemson in games 2 and 4. We were spectacular in those games. The Beavers have excellent starting pitching, so we’ll have to be locked in at the plate and take advantage of scoring opportunities.

And while OSU’s first 2 starters are very good, so are ours. Rabes and Kyle are 2 of the best in college baseball, if not the best. We have developed depth in our pitching staff with Matt Ruppenthal pitching spectacularly well Monday Night at Clemson, and Drake Fellows having a good outing on Sunday Night versus the Tigers. We also have Chandler Day, who could start for us if necessary. Zach King, Jackson Gillis, Collin Snider, Maddux Conger and Reed Hayes are very good out of the pen.

While they are a very well rounded club, we have a super team as well, and have been really battle tested having the toughest strength of schedule in the country, and with 6 SEC teams in the Supers, that says something about the strength of the SEC. This will be very, very challenging, but I like our chances.

We just need to be the best Vanderbilt baseball team we can be. Corbs likes it one game at a time, even moreso, one pitch at a time, both on the mound and in the field, and one pitch in one at bat at a time. He wants us to do that tonight before we think about anything else. Tonight is the key. Gotta lock in on every pitch. If we do that, we’ve got a really good chance. Tonight is all that matters right now.