Our Vanderbilt baseball team (31-25) travels to Clemson once again to square off with the St. John’s Red Storm (39-15) in the first game of the Clemson Regional, Friday. First pitch is at 11 AM CT and will be televised by the SEC Network. We are the No.2 seed in the Regional and St. John’s is No.3. It’s a rematch of last year’s first game of the Clemson Regional in which we defeated the Red Storm, 13-4.

 No.1 seeded Clemson (45-14) will face 4 seeded Morehead State (37-24). That game will commence at 5 PM CT and will be broadcast by ESPN3.

We came away victorious last year out of the Clemson Regional defeating St. John’s and Clemson 2 out of 3 games to move on to our 6th super regional in 8 years. It would be outstanding to duplicate that effort and go even further. We have now made 13 straight regionals, a current SEC record. 

Right hander Drake Fellows will take the hill for us. Drake is 6-4 with a 3.81 ERA. Drake was strong in his last outing, going 7.1 innings versus Kentucky, giving up just 1 run with 0 walks and 6 K’s in a Commodores’ 6-1 victory on Thursday, May 17th. We went on to sweep Kentucky in the last regular season series of the year. We finished the SEC season at 16-15, falling to Texas A&M, 3-1, in the elimination game of the SEC Tournament. 

The Red Storm will throw right hander Sean Mooney, who had a stellar year at 11-2 with a 2.52 ERA. We hit Mooney hard in the first game of the regional last year, pounding out 10 hits, and 7 runs. But it’s a new year, and he and his team are dangerous. St. John’s finished 15-3 in the Big East  and captured the Big East regular season title and the conference tournament. So we need to be ready.

Our leading hitters are J.J. Bleday, who hit .374 this season though he missed 2 months with an oblique injury. J.J. is a difference maker both at the plate and in right field. Freshman Austin Martin, a member of the top rated class in 2017, hit .332 with a homer, 17 Ribeyes, and 21 steals in 29 attempts. Austin has been really outstanding this season playing numerous positions. He’s extremely versatile and a hugely valuable player to this baseball team. His upside is unlimited if he keeps up his super work ethic. Our other super freshmen are designated hitter Philip Clarke, who hit .302 this season with 4 homers and 33 RBIs and left fielder Pat DeMarco, who hit .276 with 9 homers and 40 Ribbies. Shortstop Connor Kaiser has put together a terrific junior season, hitting .284 with 3 homers and 34 RBI’s, and has only committed 1 error in 209 chances, part of 53 games, for a .995 fielding percentage. That’s beyond excellent. As a team, we fielded at a .983 percentage. We were pretty darn good in the field. Another very valuable player for us this season was catcher Stephen Scott, who hit only .250, but cranked it up at the end of the season and ended up hitting 12 homers and drove in 36. He hit home runs in 6 of his last 7 regular season games.

St. John’s is led in hitting by senior 3rd baseman John Valente, who batted .356 this season with 5 homers and 40 RBI’s. Senior center fielder Jamie Galazin hit .327 with 6 homers and 42 Ribbies. Senior first baseman Chris Stampfi hit .333 with 6 homers and 32 Ribeyes. As you can tell, this team has experience and probably learned a lot from last year’s regional experience, so we need to be ready.

We ended the season on a tough note in the SEC Tournament, we just didn’t hit it that day with runners in scoring position though freshman Tyler Brown gave us a good starting outing. Need the bats to be ready, need a good performance by Drake and the bullpen, if needed, and need to field like we normally do. Riveting time of the year in college baseball. Can’t wait to see our guys compete. Corbs will have’em ready.

Golf team falls just short in the NCAA Championships

After a stellar regular season, our golf team fell in the stroke play of the NCAA Tournament at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, OK, by one shot in the stroke play. We finished +18 with a tough +16 round on the fourth and final day to finish a shot out of the match play. A&M beat us by a shot to secure the eighth and final spot in the match play. Oklahoma State won the national championship yesterday with a 5-0 championship match victory over Alabama.

It was tough for our talented team. It was tough as a Vanderbilt fan to see us not make it. But I believe in Coach Scott Limbaugh and what he’s doing and our future. Coach Limbaugh said it best after the fourth round to vucommodores.com.

This was a very tough day for our guys and certainly not the way we wanted the season to end. I am so proud of how the guys fought until the very end, but, unfortunately, today wasn’t quite enough four our season to continue. We didn’t play to the standard we needed to play to today and that’s not really one person’s fault. But we have to own it. I know our boys are hurting right now and so am I. I love this team and wanted them to be able to play more golf because I truly believe they are special. Theo (Humphrey, senior) gave his heart and soul to this program for four years and he made me a better coach and a better man. I cannot say enough to all our fans and supporters that continue to help us and support us. Vanderbilt golf has a heart and soul and right now it is hurting, but we will find a way to move forward and continue to get better. 

Thanks, Coach, for all you do. We will definitely be back in the hunt next season with a chance to go deep and even win it all. Believe in Coach Limbaugh completely and what he’s doing. 

 

David Price, Dansby Swanson, Walker Buehler, Sonny Gray, Mike Minor, Pedro Alvarez, Ryan Flaherty

All the guys are playing hard as all of our athletes do, and David is really starting to pick it up while Walker is wheeling and dealing, Mike just got a victory last Friday, Dans is firmly entrenched at shortstop for the Braves, Ryan is coming off the bench, Pedro is getting some action, and Sonny had a good outing against the Royals in his start prior to his last outing, but still working to get in the zone, which he can do.

David and the Red Sox defeated Toronto on Memorial Day, 8-3. David battled hard in 5 innings, giving up 4 hits, 2 earned with 4 walks and 4 strikeouts. He hit 93-94 pretty consistently and hit 95 at least once. His cutter was working well at 88-90, and his changeup was pretty effective at 85. It wasn’t his best game, but he really fought hard out there. David moved to 5-4 with a 4.04 ERA. I thought he pitched pretty well overall and actually got nailed in the chest with a line drive in the first inning that could have very well affected his control. But he still pitched his heart out like he always does and did well overall.

David is in a huge matchup with Justin Verlander this Saturday at Houston. Verlander is part of that exceptional Astros’ starting rotation. Verlander is really pitching exceedingly well at 7-2 with a 1.11 ERA. But David really gets up for big games. The game starts  at 6:15 PM CT on FOX Saturday. 

Walker has been awesome. He just went 7 against the Padres on Sunday, and gave up 4 hits, 1 run, with 0 walks and 8 K’s in a Dodgers 6-1 victory over the Padres at Chavez Ravine. Walker was hitting 95-96 consistently, and hit 97 more than once, his location was superb, and his curve and change ups were very effective. Walker threw 93 pitches with 66 of them strikes against only 27 balls, almost a 3:1 ratio which is spectacular. He threw 20 of 25 first pitches for strikes. He’s something else. Walker is now 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA and an exceptional 0.90 WHIP (walks plus hits given up per inning). Anything under 1.00 is sensational. Walker is really doin some serious work. He’ll face the Colorado Rockies Saturday Night at 6:15.

Mike got the victory last Friday against the KC Royals going 6, giving up 7 hits, 4 runs with 1 walk and 4 K’s. Mike moved to 4-3 with a 5.63 ERA. He’s hitting 93-94 with his fastball and his curve and off speed stuff are clicking pretty well. Mike faces the Mariners tonight in Seattle at 9:10. 

Sonny has been fighting himself a little bit. He had a tough outing against the LA Angels last week and is 3-4 with a 5.98 ERA. But he had a super outing against the Royals the start before that, so still believe Sonny can excel this season. Sonny is on the hill tonight vs. the Orioles at Camden Yards at 6:05. Hoping the man can get it cookin again. He certainly has all the stuff to get it done.

Dansby is hitting .260 for a very good Atlanta Braves team. He’s playing excellent shortstop and was 2 for 3 with a double 2 nights ago against the Mets. I like where Dans is. Would like to see him get his average up, but he looks very comfortable as a starting shortstop for the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are presently at 32-23 and a 1/2 game back of the Nationals. The Nationals come into SunTrust Stadium tonight for a huge 4 game weekend set.  Ryan Flaherty is getting some spot playing time for the Braves and pinch hitting. They’ve got another talented player in Johan Camargo, but he’s only hitting .231, so maybe Brian Snitker can try to change it up a little bit and start Ryan. Hoping he’ll do that possibly tonight. Ryan just needs consistent reps and he’ll hit and he always fields well.

Pedro, like Ryan, is getting spot starts at DH. Don’t understand this either. If manager Buck Showalter could realize how a hitter like Pedro needs consistent at bats and then he’ll really produce, then maybe he’ll put him in and the Orioles will play better than their 17-39 record, which is a .304 winning percentage. Showalter needs to change something up. Chris Davis is once again hitting .156 and striking out like a American League pitcher playing at a National League team. He’s not too swift and his defense is subpar, so I would think Showalter could figure that out and give El Toro a shot at first. Not sure why not. I’m very hopeful Pedro will start getting opportunities. He can really produce if given the chance. 

 

The 73rd U.S. Women’s Open will take place at Shoal Creek Golf Club in Birmingham beginning tomorrow through Sunday with the highest stakes in women’s golf on the line and the premier players in the game competing for the most coveted major in golf. Who will capture this year’s Open. I spoke with Shoal Creek Golf Director Eric Williamson to preview this year’s penultimate major at this supreme golf course, and which players he thought were the favorites entering play. The course will be playing 6,693 yards and is a par 72. The defending champion is Sung-Hyun Park, the 24 year old from Seoul, South Korea, who was victorious at Trump National Club in New Jersey last June. It’s been very rainy in the Birmingham area early this week but the forecast looks better going into tomorrow and through the weekend. With highs in the high 80’s and low 90’s. There are chances for rain on Thursday and a slight chance on Sunday, but otherwise pretty good weather. The course is wet from 2 1/2 inches of rain on Tuesday, due to Tropical Storm Alberto, but the grounds crew at Shoal Creek is doing everything possible to make this a marquee event this year. Fox Sports 1 will televise Thursday and Friday from 2 to 7 PM CT, and FOX will take over Saturday and Sunday from 1-6 PM CT. Here is my conversation with Williamson.

DW:  How have preparations gone for the U.S. Open?

EW: I would say there are a couple of fairways that are still thin, 6 and 17 particularly, but overall, the course is in great shape. We have significant rough. They’d like it 2 inches and the majority of the course is 2 inches. The girls don’t miss many fairways but I think they’ll have a difficult time if they’re out of the fairway in some spots.

DW: Is that standard to have a 2 inch rough in the Open?

EW: Yes. I say it’s standard, it depends on the location. If you have a fescue grass maybe it’s a little higher, but a Bermuda rough is penalizing. You can’t control it. They’ll go progressive. They’ll have 2 inches, then 2 3/4, then let it go (first cut, second cut will be 2″, then the next cut is 3″, then the next cut is how it grows). That is pretty accurate I can tell you that.

DW: Do you have a scorecard?

EW: I don’t have an official scorecard, but the distances are pretty accurate. It’s basically a chairman golf course (which means they’ll play the 3 star and 4 star tees; the par 4’s from the 3 star tees or the 6600 tees, and the 4 star tees from the par 3’s and 5’s, which measures 6,800). Number 1, 375, par 4; Number 2, 370 par 4; Number 3, 510, par 5; Number 4, 420, par 4; Number 5, 150, par 3; Number 6, 475, par 5; Number 7, 425, par 4; Number 8, 150, par 3; Number 9, 380, par 4; Number 10, 400, par 4; Number 11, 470, par 5; Number 12, 445, par 4; Number 13, 170, par 3; Number 14, 370, par 4; Number 15, 375, par 4; Number 16, 175, par 3; Number 17, 495, par 3, Number 18, 405 par 4.

The par 3’s are pretty accurate, but they’ll fluctuate the tees.

DW: What does this mean for Shoal Creek?

EW: It means that we’re taking steps in a direction we’d like to go, which is to be a championship golf course for major championships as well as a golf course for our members, which is the intriguing thing about Shoal Creek, is you can have a championship golf course, where the best in the world play, but yet every member can come play and enjoy it. To host the Women’s Open is the biggest women’s event in the world, so to do that is pretty instrumental. It’s instrumental for Shoal Creek, for Birmingham and for the state. (Williamson said you get that kind of experience at Augusta National and Quail Hollow as well. I would say Olympic in San Francisco is in that company. My daughter lives and works in San Francisco, and I visited her a month and half ago and a member out there asked me to play. It was an amazing experience, a spectacular golf course, a more than hospitable pro shop, and one heckuva challenging track. The bunkers were intensely deep. Very memorable).

DW: It’s a huge impact for the city and state.

EW: It is. We’re going to get worldwide coverage for 4 solid days. To have Fox Sports to be here will be really neat.

DW: What makes this course such a true test of golf?

EW: I think the fact that, I call it sneaky difficult, because you have to be accurate off the tee which all these girls are, so that won’t be their problem. Around the greens is extremely difficult. The surfaces are very firm. A lot of the hole locations require a lot of spin and require a high second shot, so your approach is very important. The greens tend to run away from you and the ball tends to run away from you more since the redo (in 2016, Jack Nicklaus who did the original design, also did the redo). The nice thing is that you can get to the hole locations if you hit a precise shot, but if you’re off, the ball will move away from the hole location. If you hit a precise and an intended, accurate shot, the ball will move toward the hole. But if you’re off , the ball will move away from the hole. The greens surround (areas around the greens)  will be difficult.

DW: Can they spin it?

EW: Not as well as the men. They can spin it. The long hitters, Michelle (Wie) Lexi (Thompson), Inbee Park, can spin it enough. For example, going into 4 green, it’s hard to hold the green for any player. There will be some holes where they’ll have to play away from the pin if they’re smart and take a 2 putt and move on. Like on 5 for example. Wherever the pin is, you need to hit it away from the pin and get out if there with a 3 (a par). Because if you’re long the ball is going to chase away from you and it becomes a lot more difficult. (It’s a very difficult up and down from behind the green at 5 with thick grass behind the green and a bunker).

DW: What will the greens be stimping at?

EW: 11 1/2 to 12. (The stimpmeter is a device course superintendents use to put a ball on a known force rolling on the green and determine how many feet the golf ball rolls on the green. Anything 11 or over is very fast. 12 is cookin. 13 and 14 are men’s U.S. Open speeds, outrageously fast.)

DW: That’s pretty quick.

EW: i don’t think you can make it any faster than that due to the undulation. But the undulation of our greens will make it difficult. (There are many slopes in the greens at Shoal Creek, making reading the greens and determining your line and speed extremely challenging.)

DW: Tell me about the difficulty of chipping around the greens.

EW: When you miss the green, like I said, the ball will run away from you. The pins will be tucked away in corners. So you can short side yourself very easily. There are a lot of situations where the hole will be above you, so you’ll have to hit a very precise flop shot or pitch shot or chip it (Bump and run). You’ll have a lot of options. So if you short side it, the green will be running away from you, the greens will be very fast, and getting up and down will be very difficult.

DW: Let’s go through some holes. Tell me about number 1 and what challenges that hole presents (375, par 4).

EW: The nice thing about the first hole is it’s a nice, easy tee shot, so you can gather yourself getting into the round. The downside is if you miss the green long or left or right, you’ve got a very difficult up and down on your first hole. I like to tell players to play to the middle of the green to give yourself a chance to make a nice par. Typically the girls will have a six or 7 iron hitting in. The green has some movement to it. It’s got a peninsula to the right where the hole location will be one day. You have to go over the bunker if it’s on right if you go for the pin. Same thing on the left. You’ll have to carry a bunker. And it’s got some movement in the middle of the green, as well. The green typically slopes back to front. It’s very important to keep every approach shot in front of you and have the pin in front of you, you can stay in good shape. But if you  get aggressive and hit it over, you’re going to get in trouble, it’s a bogey.

DW: What makes number 2 so challenging (a 370 yard slight dogleg right par 4).

EW: Number 2 is difficult if you miss the fairway. The green and the green surrounds can create difficult scenarios. There are a lot of shoulders off the greens where the green and fringes run away from you. Long is very tough and the green itself is tough to putt due to the severity of the contours (a lot of sloping on the green, so speed and line are paramount).

DW: Number 3 looks like a classic U.S. Open hole with the bunkers surrounding the green. Tell me about that one (510, par 5).

EW: Number 3 is a great risk/reward par 5. The layup (2nd shot)  for your approach (3rd shot) is very important as you want to have the best angle to attack the pin. If you choose to go for the green (on your second shot), you have to miss your second shot in the right place. The greenside bunkers are penalizing and deep, and it is  tough to get the ball close out of them. The green has significant contours and great hole locations.

DW: Tell me about Number 4. That’s a heckuva hole. (420, par 4)

EW: It is. No hazards, and still one of the hardest holes on the golf course. It’s straight, right in front of you. The green sets it apart. It has a huge false front. The green is one of the biggest greens on our golf course around 5500 square feet, but it plays a lot smaller than that because of the false front. The back right hole location is very difficult because it’s a narrow landing area back there. Really any hole location on that green is difficult. There are hole locations on the left that you can get your ball to. But if you’re long, again, it’s extremely difficult to get up and down. 

DW: Tell me about number 7, another challenging par 4. (425 yards, par 4).

EW: You have to avoid the fairway bunker on the right side off the tee because it’s very deep. It’s tough to get your ball on the green from that bunker. The green itself slopes from back to front and left to right for the most part. Depending on where the hole is, that’s another hole you should get away with a par. The only hole location that is accessible is back left, but again, on these greens, you want to play it safe. 

DW: Let’s go to number 9. (380 yards, par 4, number 1 handicap hole).

EW: The hardest hole on the course. Honestly, I don’t think that the girls will have as hard of a time as we do. They’ll play it shorter, I think, for a day or 2. They’ll hit a driver or a 3 wood and have a 160 to 170 yards in. The girls are so accurate and that green is a little longer than most of our greens so they can spin it more. A middle left, back left is pretty tough, so you don’t want to go for that pin, just play for par. And a front hole location is very difficult on that green because the green slopes from back to front (So balls above the hole will be cookin down the hill).

DW; The second shot is tough over water.

EW: Yes the second shot is tough. What makes that shot so difficult is the wind. Players can’t feel the wind. Unless you have local knowledge you can’t figure out the wind. So it’s a very difficult shot because you’re carrying it over all water and the green sits out there like it’s on an island somewhat. You can’t feel the wind without local knowledge and it’s always blowing harder than you think. It makes it very difficult.

DW: What about 12. (445, par 4).

EW: I think they’ll have a very difficult time with that hole unless the pin is back left. The interesting thing about 12 is that’s probably our most penalizing rough on any hole. It’s extremely lush. So they’ll find the fairway with their tee shots, though it’s a pretty narrow fairway. Depending on where the hole location is, that can be an extremely difficult shot on your second shot. The last thing you want to do is put it in the back right bunker, the only bunker around the green, because it’s an almost impossible up and down. If you play it up to the right, the ball will chase down to the hole (if it’s a back left hole location). If the hole is up front, it’s more difficult to hold.

DW: Where do you think the pin will be Sunday.

EW: Back left.

DW: What about No.14. That’s kind of a heckuva hole after the redo.

EW: Oh, yeah, 14 used to be one of our easier holes. Now I think it’s one of our more difficult holes. You’ve got to hit a precise tee shot. If you miss the fairways and you’re in the bunkers or the rough, i don’t know if you have a chance of hitting the green. It’s very difficult. You’ve got to start by getting your ball in the fairway off your tee shot. So from there, they’ll have anywhere from 160 to 130 to an extremely narrow green that is always firm, firmer than most because it sits up a little bit (getting more sunlight and drying it up), and if you’re long you won’t make par. When Nicklaus was re-doing that hole, he said, ‘if you hit it long, I don’t want you to make par.” You’ll have a 15-20 footer in order to get up and down out of the bunkers. You used to able to attack your second shot. Now you can’t.

DW: What’s made the second hole so much tougher?

EW: The green is more narrow. It’s more narrow by 20%. There is more slope in the middle, so the ball based on where it lands will move one direction or another. The bunkers behind the green are deeper. The back bunker is extremely deep and the green runs away from you if you’re in one of those bunkers, so it makes it tough.

DW: Finally, let’s go through 16, 17 and 18

EW: Sixteen is a great par 3 where you can’t be aggressive. The middle of the green is the play. It’ll be a long tee shot anywhere from 175 to 190. The girls will be hitting a longer iron. The hole plays downhill, which is nice. But that green is always one of our firmest greens on our course. So long there is difficult depending on where the pin is. If you hit it in one of the 3 bunkers, unless it’s the back bunker, it’s not that bad of a shot. But a great par 3 that requires extremely consistent iron play. You gotta hit it pretty straight. 

DW: Seventeen is a pretty cool par 5. (495 yards, par 5).

EW: It’s a great second to last finishing hole because you can make a pretty good score on that green, though now the green is more difficult. It’s got an elephant’s back in the middle, so the ball will run away from you. But you can use the slopes on the green to feed the ball in there (on the player’s third shot), based on where the hole is. I can’t see many of the women going for that green because it’s very difficult to hold and you have to carry it over a hazard (a small lake). Unless they play the tees up, I don’t think many will go for that green. But long is tough, like any hole out here. 

DW: Eighteen is quite a finishing hole.

EW: It is. They will probably place the tees where the fairway bunker on the right will come into play. So you’ll have to navigate your way around the fairway bunker. Once you navigate your way around the bunker, every hole location on the green is difficult.

DW: it’s a tough green to read.

EW: It is. There is a lot of movement around the green. But again you can feed your ball to the hole if you hit an accurate (approach) shot. If it’s back left, you can hit it on the right and feed it in. I think the front hole location is toughest to get it close because it’s a small landing area and you’ll have to have a lot of spin on your ball to make it stop. 

DW: And long is pretty tough.

EW: Long is trouble like every hole out here is.

DW: What kind of player can win out here. How does she have to play this course to win a U.S. Open?

EW: I think it’s got to be a player who can read our greens, number 1. I think it’s a player that plays smart and doesn’t try to be too aggressive and picks and chooses when she needs to attack a pin. And I think it’s a player who hits a tee shot fairly accurately. Most of them do, but if you start hitting it in the rough and your driver is off a little bit, you’ve got no chance. And lastly, I think a high ball hitter, to be able to hold the greens, to maybe be able to go at one of two other pins that others can’t will be beneficial. It’s a second shot golf course to me. It always has been. If you’ve got accurate iron play and you can putt and read a green, you’ll have a chance.

DW: Who do you like as favorites?

EW: The obvious right now would be S.H. Park (Sung hyun). She’s the defending champion and she hits it long and high and she can cut it which a lot of these players can’t do. So whenever you’re cutting a shot, it’ll come in a little softer. So I think she’ll be a favorite. Lexi (Thompson) will right there. If she can putt, she’ll be a favorite. She hits it long and high. I think Brooke Henderson, for sure. She hits it long and high. Ariya Juntangarn. She’s very good. And she’s long, long enough. Austin Ernst. She hits it long. LSU graduate. Emma Talley, who won the individual national championship for the University of Alabama in 2015 has a shot. 

DW: What kinds of crowds do you expect?

EW: I’d say 120,000, which would be a great success. Four days of 25 to 30 thousand would be  a big success. That was our best year for the Regions (Tradition) and if we have good weather, I bet we’ll have that. 

DW: How much are you looking forward to this.

EW: Really excited. USGA events are all about golf. It’ll be a way to showcase our course to the rest of the world and we’re excited about that. 

White’s World prediction

I’m going to take the defending champion. She just won a month ago in Texas. I like her to repeat at Shoal Creek.

Sung-hyun Park

Sleeper: Lucy Li

The 15 year old prodigy is some kind of player. She has my man Grant Hamil on her bag and I know she’s spectacular and so is Grant. 

Prediction for the Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour this week

Muirfield Village Golf Club, 7,392 yards, par 72

Defending champion; Jason Dufner

TV: Thursday-Friday, 1:30-5:30 PM Golf Channel

Saturday, 11:30 AM-1:45 PM, Golf Channel; 2-5 PM, CBS

Sunday, 11 AM-1:15 PM, Golf Channel; 1:30-5 PM, CBS. 

Last week’s winner at Fort Worth Invitational: Justin Rose, Bama Golf was right on the money with his prediction. 

Winner

Rickie Fowler

 

Prediction for today’s national championship match between the fifth ranked Crimson Tide of Alabama and the No.1 Oklahoma State Cowboys

Golf Channel will televise from 3-7 PM CT. Tee times start at 2:25 PM CT.

I’m going to take the underdog Crimson Tide. Number 21 in the country senior Lee Hodges, and No,. 26 Davis Riley lead their team to its 3rd national championship in 6 years. Coach Jay Seawell follows up national titles in 2013 and 2014 with another one in 2018.

Alabama 3, Oklahoma State 2 (Match play event, 5 matches with the winner being the first team getting to 3 match victories). 

 

NBA Finals

Going with Steph, KD, Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors barely over a sizzling hot LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. This series could go either way, but I have to pick, so I’ll take the Warriors. Game 1 Thursday night at 8 CT. All games will be on ABC. 

Warriors in 7 over the Cavs

 

Stanley Cup Finals

The Vegas Golden Knights won Monday, 6-4, at home. I picked the Washington Capitals in 7 here and sticking with that. Game 2 is tonight at 7 PM CT on NBC Sports Network. I like the Caps to steal one on the road tonight.

Caps over Golden Knights in 7

 

 

 

Roland Garros hosts the second Grand Slam of the professional tennis season as the French Open commences tomorrow in Paris.

Rafa Nadal has been the King of clay forever it seems like. He has won 56 of his 78 career titles on clay, 11 at Monte Carlo, 11 at Barcelona, 5 at Hamburg/Madrid, 8 at Rome and a record 10 at in Paris. His record at the French is 79-2. He has won 97.5% of his matches at Roland Garros. With Roger Federer sitting this one out after winning the Australian Open for his 20th Slam and now preparing for Wimbledon, this one looks like Rafa’s for the taking once again. But there are some threats. Djoker looks to be getting back to form. Twenty four year old Austrian Dominic Thiem is a factor, and 21 year old German Alexander Zverev won at Madrid 3 weeks ago defeating Rafa on the way to that title.  He lost to Rafa in the final at the Italian Open 2 weeks ago. He’s becoming an elite player. 

On the women’s side, it’s pretty wide open and unpredictable. Serena Williams is back. Can she compete at the level she’s used to and win an improbable 24th major. That’s a big ask after having a baby five months ago. She’s arguably the best of all time though I’d put Chris Evert, Billy Jean King, Martina Navratilova, and Steffi Graf in that company as well because I’d say the competition was tougher when those respective women played. But there are some up and comers on the women’s side, and players who are established stars like Maria Sharapova and Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniaki along with 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens. So it’s wide open in the women’s.

TV: First through the Fourth rounds: 4 AM-2 PM CT, Tennis Channel, NBC.

 Quarters: Tuesday, June 5th, Wednesday, June 6th, 6 AM-12 PM CT all on Tennis Channel;

Semis:  Women’s, Thursday, June 7th, 7 AM-1 PM CT; Men’s Friday, June 8th, 5 AM-1 PM CT. Tennis Channel and NBC.

Finals: Women’s, Saturday June 9th, 8 AM-12 PM CT, NBC

Men: Sunday, June 10th, 8 AM-1 PM CT, NBC

Predictions

Women

I’m going to take the 28 year old left hander from Bilovec, Czechoslovakia, where the Urban Assault Vehicle got captured in Stripes, and Bill Murray and Harold Ramis remarkably maneuvered themselves out of enemy lines. Dewey Oxburger and Sergeant Hulka had a big part in the rescue. She is a major champion, having won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, and just won the Madrid Open 3 weeks ago, so she’s poised to break out on the clay courts in Roland Garros. 

Petra Kvitova’ over Maria Sharapova (who defeats Serena in the fourth round)

7-5, 4-6, 6-4

 

Men

Is there any way Rafa can be stopped from winning his 11th Roland Garros title and his 17th Slam to move to within 3 major titles of Roger? The simple answer is no. He’s unstoppable and just won 2 weeks ago at Rome. I do think he’ll be challenged in the final by the young German stud, Zverev though. This 21 year old is for real. Like the KIng of Clay to once again assert his dominance at the French.

Rafa over Alexander Zverev

6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3

 

The Vanderbilt University Men’s Golf team tees off tomorrow at 12:42 PM CT in the NCAA Championships along with 29 other teams, as we set our sights on taking it 2 steps farther than last year when we were victorious in the stroke play event and advanced all the way to  the Final Four at Rich Harvest Farms Golf Course 60 miles outside of Chicago. This year, our 4th ranked team tees it up with with No.5 seed Alabama and No.6 seed Florida tomorrow at 12:42 PM and Saturday at 7:22 AM CT.  

The NCAA Championship will hold 3 days of stroke play competition, tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, 54 holes, and after 54 holes, the 30 team field will be cut to 15. The 15 teams will play a fourth day of stroke play on Monday and the top 8 teams after 72 holes will advance to the 8 team match play competition. The quarterfinals will commence on Tuesday morning, the semifinals will take place Tuesday afternoon, and the championship match will be held on Wednesday. Golf Channel will televise the final stroke play round from 3-7 PM CT on Monday, the quarterfinals Tuesday from 10 AM-12:30 PM, the semifinals Tuesday from 3-7 PM CT, and the championship match Wednesday from 3-7 PM CT.

We and the other 29 teams will play Karsten Creek Golf Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma, home to the No.1 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys. Karsten Creek is a 7,416 yard, par 72 layout. Key holes are Numbers 15-18. Number 15 is a 215 yard, par 3, that is well bunkered around the green. The green is the largest and most severely sloped on the golf course, so putting will be tricky. The 16th is a 471 yard, par 4, that is a slight dogleg right with a sloping left to right fairway protected on the right by a large tree and a fairway bunker. The green is very large and surrounded by sand. The hole is a glimpse of 3 of the best finishing holes in golf according to the Tulsa World.

No.17 is a 471 yard, par 4 that is considered by many as the most challenging hole on the course. It’s uphill off the tee into a prevailing wind. The tee shot must carry 180 yards to clear the lake. The fairway is extremely tight with large trees and dense undergrowth on either side. The approach is typically 200 yards and into the wind, which could very well be a factor. If the competitor hits it left, the ball will kick down into the lake. Tough hole. No. 18 is a 551 yard, par 5 that is downhill and normally downwind. It has a chance to give up quite a few birdies and maybe some eagles. However, the player’s tee shot must carry 241 yards to clear the lake and the entire length of the hole is bordered by Lake Louise to the left. Big numbers could loom for risk takers. The green sets the stage for an electric finish to the championship round. 

The weather looks hot all weekend and into next week. Tomorrow 91, winds 9 to 15, chance of a t storm: Saturday, sunny, 94, wind 7-10; Sunday, sunny, 96, winds 8-12; Monday, sunny, 95, wind 10-15; Tuesday, sunny to partly cloudy, 95, 10-15 winds; Wednesday, Sunny, 97, winds 12-17. So the intense heat and the wind will be a factor for the last 5 days of the tournament.

Coach Scott Limbaugh will send senior Theo Humphrey, juniors Will Gordon and Patrick Martin, sophomore John Augenstein and redshirt freshman Mason Greenberg onto the course. The championship will take the top 4 scores each day to compute the winner in stroke play and the top 15 and ultimately top 8 finishers. 

Humphrey grew up and lived in New York City until he was 15, when his family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, where he spent his years in high school before coming to Vanderbilt to play. Theo has had a well decorated career and was named as the SEC Player of the Year this season. I spoke with Theo on Tuesday and here’s what our talented senior had to see as his team prepares for the ultimate opportunity in college golf.

DW: How’s life, how’s golf going right now?

TH: It’s going pretty well. Prepared and ready for the NCAA’s in Oklahoma. Hope we can finish the season off the right way.

DW: I know you were selected SEC player of the year, what does that mean to you?

TH: It’s a huge honor. A lot of great players have been able to win that. To be in that company and be rewarded for my good play this season is obviously exciting and something I’ll always remember and be proud that I achieved.

DW: Tell me about growing up in Greenwich. That’s an interesting place to grow up. And tell me about your family.

TH: My parents met in college at Fordham University in New York City and they’re life long New Yorkers. I was born out in Chicago actually, my parents moved there for a brief period of time. I lived in New York City until I was 15 and then the last few years we’ve lived in the suburbs in Greenwich, Connecticut. I love the Northeast. It’s been a great place to grow up and play golf. The weather is not as good as it is in the south but there are so many unbelievable golf courses to play on, so from that perspective it’s been great.

DW: What courses do you like playing up there?

TH: My favorite course I’ve played is Winged Foot. I live about 10 minutes from there, and I have some friends who are members. I get to play there a good bit. My home course is Sleepy Hollow, it’s a C.B. MacDonald course on the Hudson River and it’s really nice and a lot fun to play. 

DW: What are your parents’ names and what are they doing?

TH: Tom and Cynthia. My dad works in finance at a small investment bank called Guggenheim. My mom currently does not work, but she is a lawyer. 

DW: Tell me about your siblings.

TH: I have a 17 year old sister, Ava , who has one more year left in high school before college, and she’s figuring out her college plans. She does horseback riding. I don’t think she knows the answer if she will do Equestrian in college. She’ll have to see how it all falls. 

DW: What schools is she looking at right now.

TH: She’ ll be looking this summer and early fall.

DW: Theo, you had a heckuva summer making the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur, tell me about that experience.

TH: Last summer. I finished second at the Northeast Am, I finished second at the Players AM, and obviously making it to the semifinals of the U.S. Am was a really fun week. My dad caddied for me, which was a lot of fun. He’s done it a couple of times before, but that was the first time on a big stage, so we had a lot of fun together.  It would have been nice to win one or two more matches, but I think everything kind of happens for a reason.

DW: Where was the event played?

TH: Riviera in LA. 

DW: Did you learn from that experience how to compete even better for your senior year?

TH: I don’t know if I learned how to compete any better, but it definitely helped prove to me that I’m one of the best players in college golf and I can take confidence from that when I’m playing this year knowing I can beat those guys.

DW: Are you pleased with how your senior year has gone so far?

TH: Yes, I have. It’s been a good year. There are a couple of shots here and there that I wish I could get back in a couple of final rounds. I’ve been playing some great golf and winning an event this spring was awesome. Being around guys who make me better has been awesome too.

DW: You won the Schenkel Invitational (in Georgia)? 

TH: That’s correct.

DW: I know it’s late in the season, but is there a part of your game you want to hone up before the NCAA’s?

TH: I’ve been practicing my chipping this past week. It’s normally the best part of my game, but at (NCAA) regionals it was pretty bad, so I’m trying to get back to knowing what I’m good at, and put in a little extra time and take confidence in that and it’ll be better this week.

DW: Theo, golf is such a confidence game, so how do you maintain that confidence even if things aren’t going as well?

TH: I think a couple bad tournaments here and there or a couple of bad rounds, it’s easier to keep the confidence because you know the work has been really good. Having said that, going through bad stretches of golf, it’s tough because you have to see some results after a while. Thankfully, I haven’t gone through that in a while, I’ve been confident and that’s allowed me to play some good golf.

DW: Tell me about this team. You have everybody back from a team that made the Final Four last year except Matthias (Schwab), a lot of veterans. Do you need to lead or with the experience with Will, Patrick, and John you don’t need to lead as much? How do you feel about that?

TH: I think in terms of how to play the golf course and how to handle the moments, the pressure, I don’t need to lead in that regard. Those guys have been there. We go about things differently but we all know what we’re doing. But I think on the course leading by example, telling these guys the right things and kind of being somebody they can look up to because I am the only senior. And in the smaller things, being a leader is important. In terms of how to hit your 7 iron, where you need to hit it, I don’t need to lead those guys there. They know what they’re doing.

DW: Do you like being a senior in a leadership role?

TH: Yes, it’s fun. I like being impactful on the other guys and help them out. Just kind of show them how to do it the right way. I love it.

DW: How is it playing for Coach Limbaugh?

TH:Limbaugh has meant a lot to me. He’s taught me so much, not only as a player, but I’ve grown up so much as a person. I attribute everything to him. He’s really pushed me a lot in all the best ways. He’s someone I can trust. He’s helped me take what I have and make me as good of a player as I can be, and he’s really prepared me for professional golf.

DW: I know you’re totally locked in this weekend, but what are your goals in golf, your future goals.

TH: I never have been a super goal oriented person. I’ve kind of always thought about one day, one week at a time and do the best at what I have that week. I’ve been told I do a lot of things well, and if I do what I can hopefully that’ll be good enough, though I can’t control what the other guys do.

DW: What are you going to get your degree in?

TH: Economics.

DW: What will you do with that after golf?

TH: I really don’t know,. Golf is what I’ve always wanted to do, but at the same time I know the reality is it doesn’t work out for everybody. I’ve always been a good student and tried my best at school. I know an Econ degree is pretty applicable, so I know I’ll have some doors open if golf doesn’t work out in a few years.

DW: What is your GPA now?

TH: 3.6.

DW: Tell me this, what do you know about Karsten Creek Golf Course?

TH: I know it’s hard and it’s a really, really good course. There is definitely a premium on driving the ball in the fairway. They’ve got some crooked holes and places where you can’t find the ball, so playing from the fairway will make it a lot easier. I just know it’s a good, fair test and I think it’ll be a good golf course for us. Obviously I don’t know that, but I feel like it’s a pretty good setup. 

DW: Your freshman year you made the Elite 8, your sophomore year you made the Elite 8, and last year you made the Final Four. I know the competition is fierce every year, it’s amazing what you guys have done. What do you think it’ll take to win it all?

TH: I think with the way the format is with 4 rounds of stroke play and match play obviously you need to play good golf to make it into that final 8 and we’ve done that the last 3 years. In match play, things just have to go your way more than they have for us. Match play is a lot more volatile than stroke play. It doesn’t always reward the best team or best player. With that said, I think we’ve got what it takes to make the match play and we can go from there.

DW: Is there a PGA player you look up to and like to emulate?

TH: Growing up I’ve always rooted for Phil Mickelson. I was at his first Masters win in 2004 and that’s when I started rooting for him. But as far as emulating anybody, not really.

DW: What’s your dream foursome?

TH: I think you gotta put Tiger Woods in that. Phil Mickelson as well. And Jack Nicklaus is arguably one of the best players ever, him or Tiger.

DW: You’ve played a lot of great courses. What are the top courses you’ve played and tell me why.

TH: I’d say for my favorite course, probably Augusta, that would be my favorite. I’d say Shinnecock where the U.S. Open is this summer. Winged Foot. Those are probably my top 3 that I’ve played.

DW: What is the hardest course you’ve played?

TH: When I played it, I would probably say Shinnecock because when I played it, it was so windy. All things being equal, I’d say Winged Foot is the hardest.

DW: Finally, Theo, what makes Augusta so special?

TH: Obviously you’re going to be biased with all the history and all the good shots, but that aside, it’s just the most beautiful golf course I’ve ever seen. It’s fantastic. It’s absolutely incredible. Everything is perfect. It’s easier when you have an unlimited budget like they do, but still it’s so impressive and so much fun to play.

DW: How fast are the greens there?

TH: They were pretty normal speed not too fast.

DW: How fast will these greens be at Karsten?

TH: They’ll be 13, pretty fast.

Note: (Greens are measured by a stimpmeter which is a device that measures the speed of a putting green by applying a known force to a golf ball and measuring the distance traveled if feet. Anything over 10 1/2 is fast, and 13 is very fast, U.S. Open like).

DW: How excited are you for this weekend?

TH: I’m really excited. I’ve had a great four years here, and this is a great opportunity for me and an even greater opportunity for our team. So I can’t wait to get there.

DW: How’s your experience been at Vanderbilt? 

TH: It’s been great. Academically it’s been great. I’ve met a lot of people, friends I’ll have for life and obviously the golf, it’s been an unbelievable place to be a great player and hopefully that’ll continue into my professional career. 

 

 

 

Defending champion: Kevin Kisner, -10. Outlasted Sean O’Hair, Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth by a shot.

Colonial Country Club, 7,209 yards, par 70, the 71st time this tournament has been played on this course. The Tour started playing there in 1946. Only Augusta National in 1934 has hosted a PGA tournament for a longer period of time. 

Last week, 21 year old South African born and former NCAA team champ at Oregon, Aaron Wise, shot 23 under to win the Byron Nelson on Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas. He defeated second place finisher Marc Leishman by 3 shots. Wise, the ultra-talented youngster, shot 65,63,68,65, in a superior display of golf. 

TV this week: Thursday-Friday, Golf Channel, 3-6 PM CT; Saturday-Sunday, Golf Channel, 12-1:45 PM CT, CBS 2-5 PM CT.

It’s going to be hot in Fort Worth. 92 tomorrow, 95 Friday, 97 Saturday and Sunday. It’ll be an endurance test, which favors the younger guys. 

Prediction

I’m going to take a 24 year old Texas college educated player, but it may not be the one you’re thinking of. Believe in the way he’s playing. He’s knocking on the door of winning as regularly as you can on tour after emerging victorious at the John Deere Classic last July. I took him at the Players, and I’m going to take him again here.

I like the Clovis, California native by way of SMU to take home the hardware from Colonial.

Bryson DeChambeau

 

Our phenomenal women’s tennis team came up two games short of capturing another national championship. We won the doubles point over No.15 Stanford with victories by Astra Sharma/Fern Contreras and Emma Kurtz/ Emily Smith, but Stanford captured the first 2 singles point as the great Summer Dvorak fell for the first time in 8 matches, 3-6, 2-6. Emma Kurtz lost her match, 3-6, 3-6. But the great Sharma came back convincingly and won her No.1 singles match, 7-6, 6-3 to even things up at 2-2. Stanford took a 3-2 lead with Christina Rosca falling, 4-6, 2-6. We were down 3-2 and had lost the first sets of our final 2 chances with Fernanda losing her first set and Amanda losing hers’. But Amanda came back and was victorious, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in a courageous effort, so it came down to Fern’s match for the national championship. After falling, 4-6, in the first, Fern battled back and captured the second set 6-2. The third set was remarkable. Fern was down 4-5 and facing a match point at 40-40. When the game got to deuce, the next point decided the game and in this case, potentially the match. Fern fought off match point and captured the game to even the score at 5-5. As the great Geoff McDonald said afterwards to the press, “We were 5 points from winning the national championship.” Fern was 40 all at 5-5 and fell on game point and lost 5-7 as the No.15 Cardinal captured the national championship.

But that doesn’t even come close to taking away what these amazing young women accomplished this season. They were both regular season and SEC tournament champs, a remarkable feat. With the regular season down to the wire and us at 10-1, South Carolina at 10-1 and Florida at 10-1, we had to go to South Carolina and Florida for the final weekend. We defeated South Carolina, 4-2, and went to Florida with both teams at 11-1. Florida took a 3-1 lead in the match, in front of a very pro Gator fanbase, and was leading 4-1 in the final 3 singles matches. We came back and won all 3 matches. It was truly remarkable. Then we dominated the SEC Tournament defeating Florida, 4-0, to win the SEC tournament championship. We then defeated Alabama State, Clemson, Miami, Florida State and Georgia Tech to earn the right to play for it all. We came up just short but completed a 27-4 season with multiple accolades. Astra was named Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Tournament and Astra/Fern and Emma and Emily were named to the All Tournament team for doubles. The match ends the career of recent graduate Astra and Peyton Robinette, who both just earned their degrees. 

The great Astra will be moving on into the professional ranks, which is extremely exciting as she joins last year’s standout senior Sydney Campbell as both try to navigate their ways to elite levels in professional women’s tennis. I can’t wait to keep up with both young women. We have an awesome group coming back.

Hats off to Coach Geoff McDonald, who has not only trained young women to be  phenomenal tennis players, but has also mentored phenomenal students with a team GPA of 3.6, and who are, to every single one of them, amazing young women. This team is the standard bearer for women’s tennis nationally along with Stanford. Stanford owns multiple national championships, but we’re on our way to capturing many more under the great McDonald.

One of my readers, MM Hamlett, put it best on Twitter yesterday.

What a run by the Vandy Women’s Tennis team! The Championship match could not have been closer. I’m so proud of the #FightDores! We’ll get them next time.

Amen, MM, amen. 

Vandy baseball falls to A&M, 3-1

Just couldn’t get the bats going yesterday. We were just 2-for-16 (.125) with runners on base and 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Our defense was questionable at times, though we made some good plays. Our pitching was very good. Freshman Tyler Brown gave us 5 innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 runs, with only 1 earned, 1 walk and 4 K’s. Jackson Gillis pitched an inning and gave up 2 hits, but battled and didn’t allow a run. Maddux Conger pitched 2 solid innings. Maddux looks like he could be a key guy for us in the NCAA’s either out of the bullpen or as a fourth or fifth starter. he throws mid 90’s and looks good with his control and his location. He went 2, gave up 2 hits, 1 earned, a bunt single that knocked in a run from third, with 0 walks and 2 K’s. Chandler Day got the Aggies out 1-2-3 in the ninth. So I was very encouraged with our pitching. Our pitching staff is coming together. Some guys are shaping up for the NCAA’s. I like the direction our staff is headed going into the postseason. Austin Martin kept up his awesome work this year, in every aspect of the game, with 3 hits. Julian Infante added 2 hits. Julian has started to get it going with the bat, which is huge with the tournament coming up. Julian plays an awesome first base as well.

So we’re out of the SEC Tournament, but that’s not a bad thing, really. It’s actually a pretty good thing. It gives us a lot of time to get ready for the NCAA  Tournament, that is the most important tournament. We can figure out some things with the bats this week, keep solidifying our pitching and defense, and get mentally prepared for all important postseason play. This is what the guys have been dreaming about since day 1 back in October and it’s about here. Know they’re pumped.

The field will be announced this coming Monday, 5-28, at 11 AM CT on ESPNU. We’ve been projected by D1baseball.com as a No.2 seed. I think that will still stand on Selection Monday. With our strong finish, taking 6 of our last 7, that should be the case. Not totally positive, but we’re in no matter what for the 13th consecutive year under the amazing guidance of Coach Tim Corbin. Some have us projected to the Raleigh, NC, NC State regional. Will let you know as soon as it’s announced on Monday. 

We’ve got a new opportunity coming up, a new season, and the one that counts the most. We can excel this season, still. And the great news is we’re playing a lot of super talented freshman who are laying the foundation for awesome things to come for this baseball program. So a lot to be excited about with the NCAA Tournament coming up and the amazingly bright future that is ahead for our program. We have a solid sophomore class led by superb right fielder JJ Bleday, and a solid junior class. Not sure how many guys will come back for their senior years, but hopefully quite a few. And we have the No.1 recruiting class coming in as freshmen next year. We may lose some in the draft, but we should have an outstanding group of freshmen for the 2018-19 season. Our 2019 class is also ranked No.1, and our 2020 class is No.2. So no slowing down Corbs and this program. Just ready to see how far we can go in this year. We can certainly go the distance. We are a pretty hot club right now despite the hiccup yesterday. A&M pitched well and had some timely hitting, but I do like where our team is at.

David Price, Sonny Gray, Walker Buehler, Mike MInor flourishing in Big Leagues

David was superb last Thursday in Fenway defeating the Baltimore Orioles, 6-2. David pitched a 9 inning, complete game. In 9 innings of work, DP allowed 5 hits, 2 runs, a 9th inning, 2 out, 2 run homer by Manny Machado, he walked 0 batters and struck out 8. He threw 95 pitches, 69 for strikes against 26 balls. Seventy four percent of his pitches were strikes. His accuracy was off the charts great. David hit 93, 94 most of the time and hit 95 a couple of times. His cutter, at 88-89, was stellar, and his changeup was clicking. All in all a spectacular performance by David. David moved to 4-4 and now has a 4,38 ERA. He’s struggled a little bit and was on the DL for a little while before this start, but he looks back. Dennis Eckersley, the great commentator for the Red Sox New England Sports Network (NESN) broadcast team, called DP, “the most important player on this team.” I agree. Chris Sale is a fantastic Number 1 guy, but David solidifies the rotation and is a leader in the clubhouse. This relatively young team will need David’s leadership and stellar pitching to go the distance this season. David is certainly up to the task. Proud of DP.

Sonny was just as good for the Yankees Sunday in a 10-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on the road. Sonny pitched 8 innings, allowed just 4 hits, with 1 earned, 1 walk and 5 K’s. He threw 92 pitches, 62 for strikes against 30 balls, a very good over 2:1 ratio. His fastball was hitting 93 consistently and got to 94 several times. His breaking ball was working perfectly, as well, His off speed stuff was clicking, too. Sonny moved to 3-3 with a 5.48 ERA. Sonny had been struggling this season, probably putting a lot of pressure on himself with this team picked by some to win the World Series with its amazing collection fo talent, but he just seemed calm, poised and highly confident on the mound, the Sonny Gray we’re used to seeing. Hoping this is the start of something special for the man.

Walker Buehler pitched another gem for the Dodgers, but the team came up short, 2-1, to the Colorado Rockies on Monday Night. Walker went 7, gave up just 2 hits, 1 earned, a home run, walked 0 and struck out 6. Walker threw 90 pitches with 61 for strikes against 29 balls, another terrific 2:1 ratio of strikes to balls. His fastball was on fire. He hit 97 a couple of times and struck out a Rockies batter in the seventh on a 97 mile per hour heater. Walker was dealing. His change up was solid as well. Walker is ready for the prime time. The Dodgers, after a very slow start, are starting to find themselves having swept the Nationals at over the weekend at Washington and just won last night over the Rockies. So they’ll get back in it in the NL West. They’re only 4 1/2 back now, so they’re in it. Walker is a key part of the Dodgers’ resurgence. Walker is now 2-1 with a 2.38 ERA. He did not take the loss Monday Night.

Mike MInor pitched a  solid game against the Chicago White Sox Sunday. Mike pitched 5, gave up 6 hits, 3 earned, with 0 walks and 9 K’s. His fastball was hitting 93-94, and his off speed stuff was outstanding. Mike and the Rangers took the loss, 3-0, but I was very encouraged with how our man pitched. Mike fell to 3-3 with a 5.59 ERA, but he pitched very well and it could very well be the start of some really good pitching out of MIke.

Men’s Golf

Our Men’s Golf team will be competing in the NCAA Championships starting this Friday. Huge deal for the team. Theo Humphrey, Will Gordon, Patrick Martin, John Augenstein and the team advanced to the Final Four last year, and look to take it 2 steps farther this year. The tournament will be played at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Oklahoma State will be hosting. There will be 30 teams competing, with the teams all playing 3 days of stroke play, and, after 54 holes, the field will be cut to the top 15 finishers in stroke play. On Monday, the 15 teams will compete in the final stroke play competition and the top 8 qualifying teams will earn their spots in the match play quarterfinals. The quarters and semis will be played next Tuesday and the Championship match will commence next Wednesday. We’ve got a very talented, hungry team and the best coach in America in Scott Limbaugh. As Coach Limbaugh always says, and it might be cliche but who cares, it’s so accurate, it’s not just one day at a time, but one shot at a time. That’s how you become special. This team has a very good shot to do that. We’ll be paired with Alabama and Florida for the first 2 rounds Friday and Saturday. Will keep you posted throughout the weekend. Golf Channel will televise the quarters, semis and championship match next Tuesday and Wednesday. Will let you know TV times if we get there. We have a very good chance of doing that. 

 

Dansby

Justify is a 2:5 favorite and everybody already has this horse as better than American Pharoah. If he wins the Preakness today (5:38 PM CT post time, NBC) they might start saying he’s better than Secretariat. Please.

With the overwhelming hype, I just can’t pick this overwhelming favorite. I’ll take the 3:1 thoroughbred that gave Justify a run for his money at the Derby.

Good Magic

Drake Fellows pitched a superb game last night in an 8-1 Commodores’ victory over Kentucky before 3,018 partisans Hawkins Field.

We move to 29-24 on the season and 14-14 in the SEC. No.19 Kentucky dropped to 34-19 and 13-15 in conference.

Drake was on fire last night. In 7..1 innings, Drake gave up only 3 hits, 1 run, with 0 walks and 6 K’s. He was spectacular. His fastball was hitting anywhere from 91-94 and his breaking stuff was dominating. Drake just dominated last night. Fellows moved to 6-4 on the season and now has a 3.80 ERA. Super work by our sophomore hurler.

Freshman DH Philip Clarke led the hit brigade going 3 for 5 with 3 RBIs including 2 doubles, Philip now has 15 on the season. Freshman left fielder Par DeMarco crushed a breaking ball over the Monster in left for a 2 run shot, Pat’s 8th of the season. Junior shortstop Connor Kaiser was 2 for 4 with 2 Ribeyes and Stephen Scott was 2 for 5 with a Ribbie. Junior first baseman Julian Infante was 2 for 3 with a run scored. Great to see Julian hit the ball well. Would really like to see Julian get his bat going because that could really help us. He was such an awesome hitter last year, and it’s been a struggle for him this year, but he could be snapping out of it at just the right time.

Chandler Day came on and closed out the game blanking the Wildcats giving up 1 hit, with 1 walk and 3 K’s.

We pounded out 12 hits. If our pitching gets it going we’re going to be a really stellar team and last night was a super start to the weekend. Defense was superb again. Connor Kaiser is like a Hoover Vacuum at short, nothing gets by him. He’s just a stellar player for us this year and one of our key leaders.

Patrick Raby on the hill for us tonight versus a pitcher to be determined by Kentucky. 6:30 PM CT on SEC Network+. Really like the way we started off this series.

 

Number 2 Women’s tennis defeats Miami (FL), 4-0

The Women’s tennis team advanced to the Elite 8 in Winston-Salem N.C. with a dominating 4-0 victory over Miami yesterday. We will now face Florida State Saturday at 3 PM CT in the Elite Eight. The match will be streamed by vucommodores.com.

No. 11 Astra Sharma and Fernanda Contreras won their doubles match, 6-0, and Emma Kurtz and Emily Smith won in doubles, 6-3, to clinch the doubles point. Astra, No.11 in the country in singles, defeated the No.3 player in the country, 6-4,6-2. Christina Rosca, and Amanda Meyer also won their singles match to clinch it at 4-0.

The No.2 ranked Dores are now 26-3. Another big test on Saturday versus FSU., The Seminoles defeated Florida, 4-3, yesterday. So tremendous test for our women. But as always, they’ll be ready.

Vanderbilt baseball pounded out 15 hits and scored 21 times in a 21-4 victory over Middle Tennessee Tuesday Night at the Hawk. That sets up a tremendously important series starting tonight through Saturday against the 19th ranked Kentucky Wildcats.

We enter the Kentucky series at 28-24 and 13-14 in the SEC. Kentucky is 34-18 and also 13-14 in the conference. We are presently 9th in the conference and could climb as high as 3rd with a big weekend or as low as 12th if it doesn’t go as well. So major stuff going on at home starting tonight at 6:30 on SEC Network+. Game 2 is Friday Night @ 6:30 on SEC Network+, and game 3 is Saturday at 1 PM also on SEC Network+. All of those 3 games can be streamed on your computer, Ipad or phone.

Tonight, right hander Drake Fellows takes the mound for us. The sophomore is 5-4 with a 4.06 ERA, and has pitched quite well quite a lot this season. Drake will face Kentucky right hander Sean Hjelle (7-4, 3.86). Tomorrow night, right hander Patrick Raby takes the hill for us. Rabes had a stellar start against Tennessee last Saturday and comes in with a 4-5 record and a 3.43 ERA. Rabes looks like he’s back to his form from a year ago, which is super heading into this series and into the postseason which begins next Tuesday in Hoover, AL. at the SEC Tournament. Kentucky’s pitcher for Friday is to be determined at this point. Right hander Mason Hickman takes the mound for us Saturday afternoon. Mason is 7-2 with a 4.53 ERA. Mason has struggled as of late, but his arm talent and his mental makeup are certainly there to turn it around and give us a good performance on Saturday and going forward. Mason will face UK left hander Zach Thompson, who is 2-0 with a 4.56 ERA.

It’s so good to have J.J, Bleday back in right field. The sophomore was awesome in his return to the field last weekend against Tennessee after being out for 2 months with a oblique injury. J.J. not only crushed the ball all weekend, but he also threw out a runner at home on Saturday evening that kept the score 2-0, Tennessee early in the game. From there on, Rabes settled down and pitched masterfully in a 7-2 victory. We were victorious in game 1 last Friday Night, 7-6, but dropped Sunday’s matchup 8-7.  Really hit the ball well all weekend and kept it up this past Tuesday.

J.J. is such a valuable player for our team and we really missed him when he was out Awesome to have him back. Stephen Scott has been spectacular at the plate. He was 3 for 5 against Middle Tennessee with a homer, his 10th of the season and 4th in 4 games, a double, and 5 Ribeyes. Stephen is a really valuable player for us as well. Freshman 3rd baseman Jayson Gonzalez was struggling with his bat after coming back from injury, which always throws a player’s rhythm off, but was excellent at the plate Tuesday, going 3 for 6 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Bleday didn’t have a hit but walked 5 times and scored twice. Again his presence in the lineup just makes us a much better team. Connor Kaiser was 2 for 2 with 2 Ribbies, 2 runs scored, 2 walks and a double. Connor is not only hitting it well at .281, but also his defense at shortstop is beyond spectacular. In 186 chances, Connor has committed only 1 error. Wow. We are fielding at a .982 percentage this season which is the top mark in program history as of today. The program record was set in 2015 at .979. Dansby and all those guys.  

So we have an opportunity to do some really outstanding things this weekend. Our pitching needs to be good as the Wildcats can always hit. Freshman Tyler Brown got the start against MTSU, and though he had a rocky third, Tyler’s stuff was good and he’s an asset to the staff and the team. Maddux Conger came in for the 4th and pitched 3 innings of 3 hit ball with 0 runs, 1 walk and 4 K’s. Maddux and Tyler can bring it in the mid 90’s, so we’ll need their arms going forward. They both may be able to help us this weekend. Paxton Stover, Justin Wilson and A.J. Franklin pitched one inning apiece of shutout ball to close out the victory. Good to see the bullpen pitch so well. We’ll need them to be good this weekend and in the postseason.

Will have full reports throughout the weekend on each game. Tonight is the first one, and a huge game for us. Gotta try and take care of business at home starting tonight. Hopefully they’ll be a super crowd tonight at the Hawk.

Men’s Golf advances again to NCAA Championships

The No.2 ranked Vanderbilt men’s golf team advanced to the NCAA Championships with 29 other teams in a field of 30 by shooting 11 under par yesterday and finishing 3rd with a score of 22 under in the Kissimmee Regional hosted by Central Florida. The top 5 teams in each of the 6 regionals advanced to the NCAA Championships at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The championships will be held May 25-30th, next Friday through the following Tuesday with the first three rounds the top 15 teams that advance after the first 54 holes. Those 15 teams will play a final 18 hole stroke play competition on Monday with the 8 top teams matriculating into the match play to determine the Final Four and eventual national champion. The quarterfinals and the semifinals will take place Tuesday, May 29th, and the championship match will be Wednesday, May 30th. We have reached the Final Four 2 years in a row and have a superb team that has a shot to do well in Stillwater, where Oklahoma State is the host. Oklahoma is the defending national champion and in the championships as well. Oklahoma State, also in the championships, is No.1 ranked team in the country and we are No.2.

Florida won the regional shooting a blazing -42. Central Florida was next at -30. I will say, both teams are very familiar with the course, so both had an advantage. We came back from a tie for fifth place to capture third when Johnny “Clutch” Augenstein sank a birdie putt on No.9, his 18th hole, to catapult us over North Carolina into third place. North Carolina and Kent State rounded out the top 5. Teams from the other regions qualifying for the NCAA Championships are, from the Raleigh Regional, in order, Texas, Duke, NC State, Augusta University and Arizona State; from the Columbus, Ohio Regional, Oklahoma State, Illinois, UNLV, Northwestern and Texas Tech; from the Norman, Oklahoma Regional, Oklahoma, Brigham Young, North Florida, Arkansas and Auburn advanced; from the Stockton, California Regional, Kansas, Stanford, Iowa State, Alabama and Oregon advanced; and from the Bryan, Texas Regional, Texas A&M, Clemson, Baylor, UCLA and Kentucky advanced. Braden Thornberry from Ole Miss, who won the NCAA individual national championship last year, will compete as the top single player from the other teams that didn’t qualify to play in the Championships. Only one player makes it from that group and Thornberry is quite good. 

Sophomores Patrick Martin and Will Gordon were stellar yesterday. PMart shot a 5 under, 67 and Will shot a 4 under, 68. Theo Humphrey shot 1 under, 71, and Clutch shot 1 under, 71, so excellent, sharp performance by the team in a critical time with our championship hopes on the line. Confident in our ability to do well in the field of 30. Like Coach Scott Limbaugh always says, one day at a time, one round at a time. Very much looking forward to seeing the guys compete. Highly competitive NCAA Tournament with elite teams and players so there’s a tremendous challenge in front of us. The quarters, semis and championship matches will all be televised by the Golf Channel Tuesday and Wednesday, May 29th and 30th.

Women’s Tennis in Sweet 16 today

Our awesome women’s team plays No. 16 Miami today. We are the No.1 overall seed in the tournament and No.2 in the country, while Miami is the 16th seeded team in the Sweet 16 at Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Miami has a tremendous track record though. This is Miami’s 12th time in 13 years to reach the Sweet 16. Miami is 18-7 overall and finished 11-3 in the ACC. This is the Canes 23rd all time Sweet 16 appearance. We are 24-3 overall and won the SEC regular season and SEC Tournament titles for the second straight year finishing 12-1 in the conference and 13-0 at the Currey Tennis Center. Astra Sharma, Fernanda Contreras, Christina Rosca, Emma Kurtz, Amanda Meyer and Summer Dvorak have been spectacular this season and need to continue to be so today.

There will be a live stream of today’s match on the vucommodores.com women’s tennis page. Just go to the site and then the Vanderbilt Women’s tennis schedule page and you can stream it.  The match begins at 3 PM CT.

Will have a lot more coverage coming up on VU Confidential.