The LPGA’s first major of the season will take place at the Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, as the players compete for this coveted major championship.

The defending champion is Jennifer Kupcho, who won it in California, where it was played for many years. It now has a fresh start in Texas. The Woodlands is 31 miles from Houston.

There is a stellar field as expected for this major championship.

The Carlton Woods Course is 6,824 yards and is a Par 72.

TV

Thursday, Golf Channel, 10 AM-2 PM CT, 5-7 PM CT

Friday, Golf Channel, 10 AM-2 PM CT, 5-7 PM CT

Saturday, Golf Channel, 2-3 PM CT, NBC, 3-5 PM CT

Sunday, Golf Channel, 2-3 PM CT, NBC, 3-5 PM CT

Weather

Thursday, 80. Fine in the morning, afternoon scattered t storms could develop. 49% chance. Wind SSE 12 MPH.

Friday, 81, Scattered T-storms, 63%, wind WNW 10 MPH.

Saturday, 78, Sunny, wind E 8 MPH.

Sunday, 70, Partly Sunny AM, periods of rain in afternoon, 66%. Wind E 11 MPH.

So, weather could be a factor, but it could move in and out of the Woodlands area quickly. Hoping there won’t be a problem. They’ll get it in. It’s a Major, they’ll get it done.

Odds,

Lydia Ko, 12/1

Nelly Korda, 12/1

Atthaya Thitikul, 14/1

Jin Young Ko, 14/1

Georgia Hall, 18/1

Lilia Vu, 18/1

Hyo-Joo Kim, 22/1

Nasa Hataoka, 22/1

Celine Boutier, 25/1

Danielle Kang, 25/1

Brooke Henderson, 28/1

Charley Hull, 33/1

Lexi Thompson, 33/1

Maja Stark, 35/1

Leona Maguire 50/1

Jennifer Kupcho, 60/1

Ally Ewing, 65/1.

Winner

This is always a tough call in majors on either the men’s or the women’s side. I’m going to take the hot golfer right now. I’m going with the 22 year old from Sydney Australia at 70/1, to capture the championship. She won at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii last week winning a three way playoff and shooting 68 on Sunday. I’ll take,

Grace Kim

Our Vanderbilt Baseball team captured another series this past weekend, taking two out of three from the potent bats of the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Our 4th ranked Dores (D1 Baseball.com rankings) lost Friday 14-6, but won Saturday’s game, 8-5, thanks to some stellar relief pitching. We also won Sunday’s game 6-4 thanks to some more nice pitching, timely hitting and outstanding defense.

We are now 29-7 overall and 13-2 in the SEC. We are first in the East. Florida is next at 11-4. SC, which is 10-4, is third. Kentucky is 10-5. UT, which we play this weekend, is, surprisingly, 5-10 in the conference. Missouri is 5-10 and Georgia is 4-11.

In the West, Arkansas is 11-4. LSU is 9-5. A&M is 7-8. Alabama is 6-9. Miss State and Auburn are 5-10. And Ole Miss, again very surprisingly for the defending national champions, is 3-12.

LSU is still ranked No.1 in the country by D1. They are 29-6 overall. Wake is 31-5 and ranked second. Florida is 30-7 and ranked third. Then us. Arkansas is No.5 at 29-7. South Carolina is No.6 at 30-6. And Kentucky, at 28-7, is No.13.

Excellent relief pitching on Saturday by Greyson Carter and Patrick Reilly. Reilly was awesome going 4, giving up 1 hit with 2 walks and 6 K’s with high 90’s heat and a good mix of sliders and changeups as well. Maldo finished off the final two innings. Reilly earned the victory. Carter Holton started, and looked rusty, but should be fine coming up this weekend I’m guessing.

On Sunday, the great Devin Futrell went 5.1, gave up 4 hits, 2 runs, with 3 walks and 7 K’s. Ryan Ginther came in and pitched the last 3.2, giving up 2 hits, 2 runs with 0 walks and 2 K’s. Against that home run hitting machine, that is good pitching. The defense was stellar on Saturday and Sunday as well. RJ Schreck made a circus catch reaching over the wall in four territory in right field and falling into the bullpen, and, amazingly, holding on to the ball. It was spectacular.

Enrique Bradfield Jr. hit his 5th homer of the season, a big hit on Sunday, to right central. On Saturday, Schreck and Jack Bulger homered. Schreck with his 9th, and Bulger with his 4th. RJ’s was long and Jack’s was a rocket. Both over 400 feet.

Enrique was involved in one of the most unusual plays I’ve ever seen in college or professional baseball. With the bases loaded, our great freshman second baseman RJ Austin hit a deep shot to left central. The ball looked like it was going over the wall. The SC center fielder jumped up and appeared to knock the ball up in the air and catch it on his way down to the turf. Enrique tagged up and scored and guys were trying to move up. Then, there was massive confusion amongst the umpiring crew whether it was a SAC fly and the CF caught it, or it was a hit off the wall. The umpires at first called it a catch and ruled that Bradfield Jr. had left third base too early and called him out for an inning ending double play. They then looked at it again and called it a single off the wall, which it was, more like a double, with Bradfield Jr’s run counting. But Schreck was forced out at third. Austin, who thought it was caught and trotted off the field, was forced out at first and that was an inning ending double play. But EBJ’s run counted to put us up, 5-4. Just a cluster. Could have cost us a much bigger inning, but it was tough to tell. The umpires did their best sorting it out. Fortunately, we were still victorious.

It was a huge series victory over a terrific Carolina team. The guys deserve a lot of credit for hanging tough after a difficult 14-6 loss Friday Night. Loved our pitching and defense on Saturday and Sunday.

Today, we face Indiana State, which is 22-12 and 11-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Sycamores are coming off a sweep of Belmont over the weekend. Corbs calls them a “regional team.” They’ll be a challenge today at 6 PM CT at the Hawk. SEC Network+ will broadcast.

Then, Tennessee over the weekend in Knoxville. The game Friday is at 5 PM CT on the SEC Network. Saturday, it’s an 11 AM CT first pitch on ESPN2. And Sunday’s game commences at 12 PM CT and ESPN2 will broadcast the finale as well. So, it’s a big week for the team.

Men’s Golf

Our No.1 ranked Vanderbilt Men’s Golf Team embarks on the postseason Wednesday as we aim to be successful at the SEC Championships at the SEC Island Golf Club, the Seaside Course, in St. Simon’s Island, GA.

Our team has put together a massively successful season winning 6 tournaments versus top notch fields. We are ranked No.1 by both the Golfstat and Golfweek rankings. We are the two-time defending champion at the SEC Championships.

Coach Limbaugh and Assistant Coach Gator Todd will send out Cole Sherwood, William Moll, Matthew Riedel, fifth year senior Reid Davenport and stellar sophomore Gordon Sargent, who is the No.1 ranked Amateur golfer in the world right now. More on GS in a second. Sophomore Jackson Van Paris will serve as a potential substitute if needed. ‘

Sherwood, Davenport, Moll and Riedel were all part of the 2021 SEC Championship team, while Moll, Davenport, Sherwood and Sargent were on the ‘’22 squad the won the conference championship.

All 14 SEC programs will compete the first 3 days, Wednesday-Friday, in stroke play competition. The top eight teams after stroke play will compete in match play, with the quarterfinals Saturday morning, the semifinals Saturday afternoon, and the Championship match on Sunday. The SEC Network will televise Sunday’s Championship Match beginning at 6:30 AM CT and running till 12 PM CT. Live scoring can be found on Golfstat.com.

Coach Limbaugh, as his usual superb motivating coaching attests to, says we need to lock in, play with a purpose and have fun playing golf. He and Coach Todd, as always, will have the guys ready.

Gordon

Gordon Sargent was named as one of the 10 semifinalists for the Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank.

Gordon is the defending individual NCAA national champion and career victories leader at Vanderbilt.

There are 9 other contenders.

The Hogan Award annually awards the top men’s Division I, II, III, NAIA and NJCAA college golfer based on all collegiate, amateur and professional events over the past 12 months.

It’s one of the premier awards in college golf along with the Jack Nicklaus and Fred Haskins Awards.

On Friday, May 4th, the 10 semifinalists will be paired down to three finalists. The three finalists will attend a black tie dinner on Monday, May 22nd at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth where the winner will be announced. GS has an excellent shot.

Thanks to Will Owens of Vandy Baseball Communications and Chad Bishop, the do everything sports information contact at Vanderbilt, for providing some of this information.

Bowling wins it all once again

I don’t follow bowling and haven’t rolled a game in quite a long time, but very much appreciate our Vanderbilt Bowling team for winning another National Championship. That is awesome.

For Coach John Williamson, it was his third national championship at Vanderbilt, along with championships in 2007 and 2018.

Our team, led by our great senior Mabel Cummins, was superb in coming back from a 3-1 deficit in games, to capture the National Championship. The other members of the team are Freshman Victoria Varano, sophomore Kailee Channell, junior Caroline Thesier, sophomore Paige Peters, sophomore Kaylee Hitt, freshman Alyssa Ballard, senior Amelia Keifer, junior Amanda Naujokas, and junior Jennifer Loredo.

What an effort by a remarkable group of young women. Coach Williamson and the team deserve so much credit.

It’s hard to win a national championship in any sport, so for this team to do it and for Vanderbilt Bowling to do it three times in 16 years, is a testament to the stellar job Coach Williamson is doing and the extraordinary work by our young women. Fantastic job, ladies. The Vanderbilt Nation is proud of you.

The NBA playoffs commenced Saturday as 16 teams are now competing for the Larry O’Brien Trophy awarded to the NBA Champion.

And the Stanley Cup Playoffs are ushered in tonight as 16 teams in the National Hockey League try to capture Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Both trophies will be awarded in June.

The NBA Playoffs can be seen on ESPN, TNT, ABC, and NBA TV, while the Stanley Cup Playoffs can be viewed on ESPN, ESPN2, TNT and TBS.

The NBA Finals begin on Thursday, June 1st, with game 1, and conclude with Game 7, if necessary, on Tuesday, June 18th. ABC will telecast the entire Finals.

The Stanley Cup Finals commence on Saturday, June 3rd, with the rest of the Finals’ dates and times to be determined. TNT will broadcast the Cup Finals.

The Milwaukee Bucks finished with the best record in the NBA, but were defeated last night by the Miami Heat in game one and are uncertain on the status of their great center, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was injured in last night’s game. Could be a problem going forward for the No.1 overall seed.

In the NHL, the Boston Bruins finished the regular season 65-12-5 with 135 points, 22 points better than the Carolina Hurricanes, which finished with 113 points. Teams get 2 points for victories and a point for an overtime loss. A loss does not count against the point total. The Bruins 65 victories and 135 points are now all time records in the history of the National Hockey League.

So, there will be plenty of phenomenal clashes in both leagues coming up in the next two months.

Here are White’s World’s predictions for the NBA and the NHL Playoffs, respectively.

NBA Playoffs, All series best 4 of 7

Eastern Conference

Miami Heat over Milwaukee Bucks in 6

New York Knicks (excellent team) over Cleveland Cavs in 6

Philly Seventy Sixers over Brooklyn Nets in 6

Boston Celtics over Atlanta Hawks in 4

Western Conference

Denver Nuggets over Minnesota Timberwolves in 5

LA Clippers over Phoenix Suns in 6

Sacramento Kings over Golden State in 7

LA Lakers over Memphis Grizzlies in 6

Eastern Conference Semifinals

Knicks over Heat in 7

Celtics over Sixers in 7

Western Conference Semis

Kings over Lakers in 7

Clippers over Nuggets in 7

Eastern Conference Finals

Celtics over Knicks in 6

Western Conference Finals

Kings over Clips in 7

NBA Finals

I love this Sac Town Kings team. Coach Mike Brown is a stud and so are the great De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, both Kentucky players. If you want to win a Super Bowl in the NFL, draft Alabama players. If you want to win a World Series in baseball, draft Vanderbilt players. And if you want to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the NBA, draft Kentucky players. It’s mind blowing how many suoperstar Kentucky players there are in the NBA. It’s also mind blowing that John Calipari hasn’t won more than one national championship with all the talent he’s accumulated in Lexington. Guy can recruit through the roof, but his on floor coaching leaves a lot to be desired.

As much as I love this Sac Town team, I’m going to take Jayson Tatum, a former Duke player, Jaylen Brown, a former Cal player, and the great veteran, Al Hereford, who played at Florida for Billy Donovan, and has been an awesome NBA player in his 16 years in the league. The 36 year old Horford brings it every time out. I’ll take the Celtics.

Celtics over Kings in 5

Most Valuable Player of the Finals

Jayson Tatum

Stanley Cup Playoffs, Best 4 out of 7

This is a very interesting historical fact. Of the previous 36 winners of the President’s Trophy, awarded to the team with the leagues’ best record, only 11 have advanced to the Stanley Cup Final and only 8 of those have hoisted the Cup. Only 3 teams in the salary cap era, since 2005-06, have won the President’s Trophy and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. It’s been only tougher in recent years. Since the NHL changed to a wild card format in 2013-14, there hasn’t been a single President’s Trophy winner that has advanced to the Stanley Cup. The 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning team, whose point record the Boston Bruins topped this year for the all time points achieved in the regular season, were swept in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets after defeating the Blue Jackets all three times they played in the regular season. Then Blue Jackets goalie, Sergie Bobrovsky, now plays for the Florida Panthers, the Bruins first round opponent.

Otherwise, seven Presidents’ Trophy winners in the wild card era have lost in the second round. Talk about unpredictable playoffs. The Stanley Cup’s are it.

But, I’m a predictor, so I’ll take a shot.

Eastern Conference Finals

Bruins over Carolina Hurricanes in 7

Western Conference Finals

LA Kings over Colorado Avalanche (defending Stanley Cup Champion) in 7

Stanley Cup Finals

I believe in the Bruins. Maybe the odds are stacked against them, but this team has been terrific all season. I like them to break the wild card era trend and get the job done in the postseason as well. Give me the Boston teams to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy and the Stanley Cup Trophy, respectively.

Bruins in 6 over the Kings

Conn Smythe winner, Most Valuable Player in Stanley Cup Playoffs

David Pastrnak

The great scorer for the Bruins leads them to a title.

Some of the NHL intel is courtesy of ESPN.

Pitchers this weekend for South Carolina @
VU Baseball

Today at 6 PM CT at the Hawk, SEC Network+. SC pitchers listed first.

RHP Will Sanders (2-1, 4.72 ERA, 12 walks, 41 K’s, opponent’s average, 242. 7 homers given up in 34.1 innings)
VU
RHP Bryce Cunningham (1-0, 3.20 ERA, 25.1 innings, 11 walks, 27 K’s, opponents’ average, .170, 3 homers given up).

Carter Holton getting another “load management” break. Hoping Bryce can hold his own against this potent, long ball hitting lineup. Carter should be back next Friday @Tennessee.

Saturday, 2 PM CT SEC Network+.

RHP Jack Mahoney, 3-0, 3.12 ERA, 40.1 innings, 11 walks, 45 K’s. Opponents’ average, .250, 3 homers given up.

VU, TBA, lefty Hunter Owen getting a “load management” break as well. I’m going to guesstimate RHP Sam Hliboki (3-3, 4.09 ERA, 22 IP’s, 4 walks, 30 K’s, opponents’ average, .215, 4 homers). I could see lefty Ryan Ginther coming in some, too. Right hander David Horn is an option during the game. And Nick Maldonado coming in for closing if we have the lead or the game is tied or close.

Sunday, 1 PM CT, SEC Network+.

SC, TBA.

VU, lefty Devin Futrell, 6-1, 2.21, 40.2 IP, 9 walks, 33 K’s, 5 homers, opponents’ batting average, .174). Devin is a total stud. 

Let’s get the job done on the mound, in the field and at the plate.

Have a great weekend. Will hit you back on Monday. 

Our Vanderbilt Baseball team led by Parker Noland’s 4 for 4 night, Enrique Bradfield’s two for 4 night with 2 more stolen bases, his 24th and 25th and 118th of his career, a 4 RBI night from Davis Diaz and a 3 Ribeye night from RJ Shreck, were victorious in dominating fashion over North Alabama, 14-2, at the Hawk. The game was called after seven innings due to the run rule in college baseball. If a team leads another team by 10 runs through 7, the game is called. So, impressive job by the guys.

Now, it’s onto the South Carolina Gamecocks. We are 27-6 overall and 11-1 in the SEC. SC is 29-4 and 9-2. Their game last Sunday vs LSU was rained out so they’ve played one less SEC game than us. We are No.4 in the country, as ranked by the preeminent service, D-1 Baseball.com. They are No.6. So, it comes down to cases, as the Braves historically great late broadcaster Ernie Johnson Sr. used to say.

The question for us is will Carter Holton get the ball Friday? I’ve read one source say that Corbs and Scott Brown are going to hold him out another week, while another says he’ll pitch, but it’ll be a game time decision. I like Holton to pitch. I’m a cup half full guy, what can I say. And Carter is a bulldog and he got rest last weekend, so I like him to be on the hill at 6 PM CT Friday vs the Gamecocks at the Hawk. Saturday’s game, in which lefty Hunter Owen will start, will start at 2 PM. And our great lefty Devin Futrell will take the hill Sunday with first pitch at 1 PM CT. All 3 games will be broadcast on SEC Network+. Not sure about South Carolina’s starters. Will send out a quick blast tomorrow when I find that out and find out if Holton is starting if that will be announced before the game.

Tremendously important series for the team. We haven’t played top level competition in the SEC just yet, but we have certainly been taking care of business in impressive fashion. We have a string team without a doubt. But this will be a major gauge on where our team is. Will have a report on the weekend series on Monday and more on SC tomorrow, their starting rotation for this weekend.

They are hitting .293 as a team. Designated hitter Ethan Perry is batting .449 with 26 homers and 52 RBIs. Shortstop Braylen Wilmer is hitting .313 with 9 and 30. Catcher Cole Messina is hitting .307 with 10 homers and 39 Ribbies. And former Vanderbilt player first baseman, Gavin Casas, is hitting .284 with 15 homers and 37 RBIs.

They have hit 78 homers through 33 games. We have hit 45 long ones through 33 games. Our pitching staff will have its work cut out for it. Their team pitching ERA is 3.10 and ours’ is 3.18. They field at .973 percent and we field at .981percent. Our team batting average is .290.

So our pitchers need to keep the ball in the ballpark this weekend. We’ve got to really lock down this weekend because this is one serious opponent. Looking forward to it. Will keep you apprised and send out a blast on the pitchers tomorrow.

Men’s Golf scorches the Mason Rudolph

Our Vanderbilt Men’s Golf team snapped back from two performances that were below theirs’ and Coach Limbaugh’s standards with a resounding victory at the Mason Rudolph Championship at the Vanderbilt Legends Club, South Course, that finished this past Tuesday.

The great Gordon Sargent, coming off his Masters appearance in which he was disappointed by finishing 9 over and missing the cut but gained valuable experience, led the team shooting 66, 64,66 for a 17 under score on the Par 71 to win the individual title and lead us to a score of 34 under, 23 strokes clear of second place, No.14 Tennessee, which finished at -11. No.20 Ole Miss was third at -9. We are still the No.1 team in the country by Golfstat.com and Golfweek rankings.

Willam Moll finished tied for third posting 8 under. Reid Davenport finished tied 5th with teammate Matthew Riedel at -7. Jackson Van Paris finished -3 and tied for 11th. Cole Sherwood finished +2 for the tournament and freshman Wells Williams didn’t have his best finishing +7.

But an awesome effort by Gordon, William, Reid and Matthew and the rest of the fellas.

Now, we’re on to very serious business, the postseason, with the SEC Championships starting next Wednesday, April 19th at Sea Island golf Club the Seaside Course in St. Simons Island, Georgia. We’ll be battling it out with serious talent. Auburn is No.9 in the Rankings, Florida is No.10, Tennessee, which defeated us in an SEC Match Play event final back in October of 2022, is No.14. Alabama is No.17. Miss State is No.18. Ole Miss is No.20. Arkansas, and Georgia are both capable of going the distance. The SEC’s start next Wednesday, April 19th, and go through Sunday, April 23rd. The first three days, Wednesday-Friday, are stroke play, and teams will be seeded 1-8 depending on the results of stroke play for the Match Play. We are the two time defending champion.

Looks like we’ve righted the ship. In the Calusa Cup, we were without Gordon, who was getting ready to play in the Masters. So that hurt.

Always bullish on Scott Limbaugh teams and this one is as good as any we’ve had. Another major challenge ahead for us. Excited to see our guys compete. I know Coach Limbaugh, Coach Gator Todd and the guys are amped up as well.

One note

I’ll be out of town next weekend, so will do what I can to keep up with baseball and golf. I’ll have previews on Wednesday before we play next weekend. Baseball plays at Tennessee next weekend in another huge tilt Friday, April 21-Sunday, April 23rd. Friday’s game is at 5 PM CT on the SEC Network, Saturday’s game is at 11 AM CT on ESPN2, and Sunday’s game is at 12 PM CT on ESPN2. So, tremendous weekend in the East next week. We’ll play Indiana State in a midweek game at home on Tueday, April 18th at 6 PM CT at the Hawk. SEC Net+ will broadcast.

May have to give a full report the on Baseball and Men’s Golf on Monday, April 24th. Hope this works.

Let’s have a great weekend versus SC.

Football

I’ll try to get out a full Vanderbilt Football 2023 report on Tuesday. Will do everything I can to do that. It might take till Wednesday, but I’ll lock in and get it done before the end of day Wednesday.

MLB guys

Dans Swanson was four for four Tuesday Night versus Seattle in a Cubs’ 14-9 victory. The man is scorching the baseball at a .400 average, with 0 homers and 5 Ribeyes. Dans’ homers will pick up. Playing stellar short as always. He left the game late Tuesday Night due to soreness and concern for his wife, Mallory, who suffered a devastating knee injury in a soccer game that has ended her appearance at this year’s Women’s World Cup in July in Australia and New Zealand. Mallory and Dans are a power couple in sports, and Dans was pretty shaken up when it happened to his wife, who had become a superstar on the U.S. Women’s National team scoring 7 goals in 5 games recently. Dans was by Mallory’s side all last week and weekend and trying to play baseball. Just think he was sore and distraught for Mallory. Very sorry for Mallory, an awesome young woman, devoted wife and tremendous soccer player. Mallory is 24, so she’ll get another shot in the 2027 World Cup, but it’s disappointing for her I’m sure. Thoughts and prayers go out to Mallory and Dans. Dans is playing superb baseball. The Cubs are 6-5 and a game and a half behind NL Central leading Milwaukee, which is at 8-4.

Yaz is hitting .244 with 2 homers and 5 Ribeyes for the SF Giants. Kyle Wright pitched for the Braves for the first time Tuesday Night, and is working his way back into the rotation. Expect big things from both guys and Tony Kemp is getting a lot of playing time in Oakland. Getting his bat figured out right now, but his defense, as always, is superb.

Sony Gray is doing awesomely well for the Minnesota Twins. The Man pitched a gem last night going 5, giving up 3 hits, 0 runs with 2 walks and 5 K’s. Sonny’s numbers are through the roof terrific this season so far. He’s 2-0 with an 0.53 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning, anything under 1.10 is excellent). He’s walked seven and struck out 19. The Twins are at 8-4 and lead the AL Central. Sonny is doin’ some serious work.

Will be back in touch tomorrow. My Tampa Bay Rays are cookin at 12-0. With a victory today, they would tie the ‘82 Braves and the ‘87 Brewers most consecutive victories to start a Major League season of all time. They play the Red Sox with first pitch right now.

Started loving the Rays when David Price was pitching for them and led them to a World Series in 2007, and was prolific for them before he moved on to other places. I love the responsible budget, high value, playoff mentality of this organization. The Rays, from owner Stu Sternberg all the way down to the players, are top notch. The Rays have the 28th lowest payroll in baseball out of 30 teams and just keep getting the job done. This may be their best team yet.

Our Vanderbilt Baseball team took 2 of 3 in Columbia to take the series versus Missouri and move to 26-6 overall and 11-1 in the SEC. We lead South Carolina and Kentucky by two games, as the Gamecocks and Wildcats are at 9-3. We play South Carolina in a weekend set at home starting Friday and continuing through Sunday. Major series forthcoming.

We won Friday, 7-6. The big news was that Carter Holton did not pitch as he is resting his arm for load management purposes. He may start this Friday vs. SC, but that will be determined later in the week. Will keep you posted.

Bryce Cunningham, Ryan Ginther, Thomas Schultz and Nick Maldonado combined for the victory. Not superb pitching, though Maldonado earned his fourth save of the season and did well.

Saturday was a heartbreaking loss, 5-4, as the Tigers scored two in the bottom of the ninth. On Sunday, sophomore lefty Devin Futrell was masterful going 7.1, giving up 5 hits, 0 runs, with 0 walks and 6 K’s. It was a terrific performance by our southpaw. Needed that from Devin. Ryan Ginther, Patrick Reilly and Nick Maldonado finished it off.

We play North Alabama today at 6 PM CT at the Hawk with coverage on SEC Network+.

Chris Maldonado is leading us in hitting at .368 with 4 homers and 19 Ribeyes. RJ Schreck is keeping up his great work at the plate with a .347 average with 8 homers and 36 Ribbies. RJ Austin is hitting .302 with 4 and 29. Matthew Polk is hitting .294 with 4 and 20. And Enrique Bradfield is hitting .291 with 4 and 20. Bradfield has also swiped 23 bags in 27 attempts. We are hitting .285 as a team.

Futrell is now 6-1 with a 2.21 ERA. He has walked 9 and struck out 33. Maldonado is 1-0 with 4 saves, an 0.00 ERA with 5 walks and 18 K’s. Nick has been superb as has his little brother.

I don’t see Carter’s arm tiredness as serious. Just think he needed some rest. Hoping he’s back for a this weekend. Will let you know later in the week.

Our pitching staff ERA is 3.19 and we’re fielding at a .981 clip.

North Alabama is 6-24 and 0-12 in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

We are still No.4 in the country as comprised by D-1 Baseball.com. LSU is still No.1, Wake is No.2, Florida is No.3, we’re at No.4, Arkansas is No.5, South Carolina is No.6, Kentucky is No.12 and Tennessee is No.16.

We are 11-1 in the SEC and 26-6 overall. South Carolina and Kentucky are next at 9-3. South Carolina is 28-4 overall and KY is 27-5. Florida is 9-3, also, I stand corrected, they are also at 9-3, and 27-6 overall. UT is 5-7, 22-10. Mizzou is 4-8 and 20-11. And Georgia is 3-9 and 18-14.

Arkansas leads the West at 8-4 and 25-6. LSU is 7-4, they’ve had a rainout, and 26-5 overall. A&M is 5-7, 20-12, Alabama and Auburn are 4-8 and 23-10 and 19-12-1 respectively. Miss State is 3-9 and 19-14 and Ole Miss is 2-10 and 18-13.

So, a lot of work ahead of us. Greyson Carter will probably get the call tonight. Our sophomore righty is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA with 17 walks and 16 K’s. Needs to get hit control down, because when he does, he’s dynamic with his 95+ MPH fastball.

Will have more on this game and the weekend series with SC on Friday.

Men’s Golf

Our golf team is playing in the Mason Rudolph Championship at the Vanderbilt Legends Club South Course in Nashville and presently leading at 10 under par. We are still the No.1 team in the country, and after a tougher couple of tournaments in which we finished third and fourth respectively, we seem to have some momentum back so far in the Mason Rudolph. There are two rounds left today and tomorrow. We have just started the second round.

Gordon Sargent, after getting a shot to play in the Masters, shot a 5 under 66 yesterday. Gordon would be the first to say he struggled at Augusta National as he shot 9 over, but he got valuable experience, and, at 19 years old, he should have many more opportunities. Cole Sherwood shot 4 under, 68. Reid Davenport shot 3 under 68. And Matthew Riedel shot 2 under 69. So, awesome start for the team in a home game for us. We lead No. 16 Mississippi State and No. 14 Tennessee by 6 shots. Those teams are both 4 under.

So, another opportunity for our team to play well today as we try to emerge victorious in this event and get ready for the SEC Championships, which start next Wednesday, April 19th, at the Sea Island Golf Club, the Seaside Course, in St. Simons Island, GA. Should be an epic with 5 days of intense competition in the best conference in the country. The first three days are stroke play with the last two days being match play. We are the two time defending champions. We are No.1 in the Golfstat rankings. Auburn is No..6, Florida is No.10, Tennessee is No.14, A&M is No.15, Miss. State is No.16, Alabama is No.18 and Ole Miss is No.20.

Just need to take care of business today and tomorrow and keep matriculating forward. Will keep you apprised of our progress in the next two days.

Tomorrow or Thursday

Our football team completed its spring training with the Black and Gold Spring Game this past Saturday at the Vanderbilt Soccer/Lacrosse Complex as FirstBank Stadium is being renovated. Will have a report on Vanderbilt Football 2023 tomorrow or Thursday. I’m personally excited about what Clark can do with his football team this upcoming season. Will give you my observations in the next two days. Thanks a lot for reading.

The 87th playing of the Masters features an interesting dynamic between the LIV players and the PGA players. The weather could cause issues. But it’s Augusta National, a gem of a course, it’s the Masters, it doesn’t get any better than this. So throw all of that out the window and let’s enjoy major championship golf.

The defending champion is Scottie Scheffler, who looks to be in prime form as he aims to defend his title. Tiger Woods will try to recapture his magic from 5 previous victories in 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005 and a remarkable victory in 2019. His ankle is pretty sore, but he’s giving it a go. Can the great champion overcome the physical obstacles he faces at 47 years old and contend? Fred Couples said Tiger is bombing the ball. Not like Rory, but pretty darn well.

The two other members of the Big Three, Jon Rahm and Rory McIlory, look to put on their first green jackets on, on Sunday. Rory is trying to complete the career grand slam with his last major coming in 2014 at the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville. Rahm, the 2021 U.S. Open champion at Torry Pines, has been a dominant player this season. Those two guys will be tough outs for everyone else in the field.

The key holes are the backside of Augusta National on Sunday. Number 10 is a 495 yard par 4. Always a tough hole in which a par is a good score and birdie is outstanding. The 11th, to me, is the toughest hole on the course. It’s the start of Amen Corner. A 505 yard par 4, with a tough tee shot through a shoot, a challenging 2nd shot with water on the left and mounds on the right, which is a good miss. The green is undulating and difficult. No.12, the second hole in Amen Corner, is a 155 yard, par 3, and with windy conditions which are expected this week, can make or break your Green Jacket hopes on Sunday. No.13 has been lengthened to 545 yards from 510 and is a par 5. It’s the final hole of Amen Corner. This will make the second shot more of a 5 iron than an 7, 8 or 9 and really challenge the metal of the players on Sunday. No.14 is a 440 yard, par 4. Not as descriptive or famous as some of the other holes on the back, but with the pressure on, it would be a good place to snag a birdie. No.15 is a 530 yard par 5 with a significant opportunity to gain a shot or two on the field. Can be a problem, too, if you’re short and in Rae’s Creek, or long and you have an extremley challenging chip shot coming back. No.16 is an epic 170 yard par 3, that is a tournament changing hole. Tiger had the spectacular chip in back in 2005. Jack birdied it in 1986 in his historic victory at age 46. No.17 is a 440 yard par 4, the “Yessir!” hole in which Verne Lundquist exclaimed that when Jack birdied it in ‘86. And No.18 is terrific, a 465 yard par 4 that has created stunning history in the game of golf. Scheffler four putted it last year, but still won by 3 shots over Rory, who had a terrific hole out from the bunker for birdie. Collin Morikawa followed Rory with a hole out of his own from the trap.

Here are the odds.

Scottie S. 5/1

Rory, 15/2

Rahm, 9/1

Jordan Spieth, 15/1

Cameron Smith, 20/1

Collin Morikawa, 20/1

Max Homa, 20/1

Patrick Cantlay, 20/1

Xander Schauffele 22/1

Justin Thomas, 22/1

Tony Finau, 25/1

Jason Day, 25/1

Dustin Johnson, 28/1

Cameron Young, 28/1

Sam Burns, 28/1

Viktor Hovland, 28/1

Will Zalatoris, 30/1

Sungjae Im, 33/1

Brooks Koepka, 35/1

Hideki Matsuyama, 35/1

Corey Conners, 40/1

Tom Kim, 40/1

Matt Fitzpatrick, 45/1

Tommy Fleetwood, 50/1

Tyrrell Hatton, 55/1

Joaquin Niemann, 60/1

Shane Lowry, 65/1

Tiger, 65/1

Justin Rose, 75/1

Patrick Reed, 75/1

Min Woo Lee, 80/1

Louis Louis, 80/1

Bryson D. 85/1

Adam Scott, 100/1

Bubba Watson, 125/1

Sergio Garcia, 125/1

Keegan Bradley, 175/1

Gary Woodland, 200/1

Phil Mickelson, 200/1

So, what a field. Good to have all the players together, competing again. Hoping the PGA and LIV Tours can work something out where PGA and LIV players can compete together more often. At least they’ll do so in the Majors this year.

Weather, Not great, but could change.

Thursday, 85, Partly Cloudy, 19% chance of rain. Wind S 7 MPH.

Friday, 77, 70% chance of rain, Wind ESE 13.

Saturday, 52, 98% chance of rain. Wind NE 12 MPH.

Sunday, AM rain, clears up at noon. 70% in AM. Wind NE 13 MPH.

TV

Thursday-Friday, 2-6:30 PM CT, ESPN.

Saturday, 2-6 PM CT, CBS

Sunday, 1-6 PM CT, CBS

Winner

I’ve been trying to look at all the angles, but I can’t Not pick the 26 year old from Ridgewood, New Jersey by way of the University of Texas. He’s hotter than Texas Mexican Food in July as he’s won the Waste Management Open, going back to back in Phoenix, and also won the Players Championship as well three weeks ago. He made it to the WGC Match Play Semifinals in Austin, but surprisingly missed a four foot birdie putt that would have won the match for him over Sam Burns. Burns went on to win that match and win the Match Play. But I like this gunslinger from Texas. Give me,

Scottie Scheffler

Another interesting note

Nineteen year old Gordon Sargent from Mountain Brook is in the field. A lot of people are familiar with Gordon as he was a stellar Mountain Brook High School Player and is the No.1 ranked amateur golfer in the world right now by all the rankings. The sophomore from Vanderbilt won the NCAA Individual National championship in 2022 as a freshman at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale Arizona. He can crush it with Rory. What a future. He’s not my sleeper pick, but Gordon is stellar and can make the cut and maybe do better than that.

Sleeper

I’ll take the 24 year old from Perth Australia. His older sister, 26 year old Minjee, is a two time major winner on the LPGA Tour. And this young guy looks like he has all the tools to compete this week.

Min Woo Lee

Nine games, nine victories. That’s what our Vandy Boys have done so far in SEC play after sweeping the Georgia Bulldogs over the weekend at the Hawk.

We lead the SEC East at 9-0. South Carolina and Kentucky are next at 8-1, Florida is at 7-3. Tennessee is surprisingly at 4-5. Missouri, which we play this Thursday through Saturday, is at 3-6. And Georgia is at 1-8.

In the West, LSU and Arkansas are leading at 6-3. Alabama, Auburn and A&M are 3-6. And Ole Miss and Mississippi State are at 1-8.

So we are the overall leader in the SEC and still No.4 nationally by D-1 Baseball.com. LSU is No.1, Wake is No.2, Florida is No.3, we’ll get our shot with them later in the season, we are No. 4, Arkansas is No.5, South Carolina is No.6, Kentucky is No.10, and UT is No.11. We are now 23-5 overall.

We were blessed with some excellent pitching on Friday and Sunday, and the bats were solid throughout the weekend. Maybe not as prolific on Sunday, but sometimes you have to win different ways. On Sunday, it was about pitching and defense.

On Friday, our great sophomore, Carter Holton, was dynamite. Carter went 7, gave up 3 hits, 2 earned, with 2 walks and 10 K’s. in a 9-2 Commodores’ victory. Love what the man gives us on Friday Nights. He’s phenomenal. Sam Hliboki came in and finished it off with 3 innings of shutout work, giving up 3 hits with 0 walks and 3 K’s. Sam is becoming lockdown out of our bullpen.

Our bats were terrific on Friday. Freshman second baseman RJ Austin hit a two run shot, his fourth of the season. Senior first baseman Parker Noland cranked a solo shot, his sixth of the year. Our great senior right fielder, RJ Schreck, the RJ name has been good to us this year, added two hits and three Ribeyes, including his 7th double of the season. third baseman Davis Diaz kept up his good work at the plate with 2 hits and 2 Ribbies. Left fielder Matthew Polk posted two hits on the night,. And junior stud centerfielder Enrique Bradfield didn’t get a hit, but walked twice, and stole two bases, his 19th and 20th stolen bases of the season And Bradfield made an amazing catch in the ninth inning off a ball that he raced back on with his back to home plate that looked like a sure double or triple. Bradfield leapt against the wall, crashed into it, hit the warning track on his front side, and amazingly held on to the ball. Enrique looked like he might be injured. He was on the ground holding up the ball in the glove to make sure the umpire knew he had it. Typical Bradfield. He was very sore, but he was making sure his team got the out. What a player for us. What a leader.

Holton, who earned the victory, is now 4-0 with a 2.58 ERA with 12 walks and 45 K’s. He was hitting 95-96 consistently throughout the night. It was totally stellar. Hliboki is now 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA with 4 walks and 26 K’s. They’re both on fire.

On Saturday, we got it done at the plate with 18 hits and 16 runs in a 16-8 victory. Enrique and Chris Maldonado, more on him in a minute, both had three hits. Enrique led off the game with his 4th homer of the season to right field. He also doubled. Maldonado doubled twice and drove in three runs. Enrique drove in 2. Schreck posted a 3 for 4 day with two doubles, his 8th and 9th of the season. Polk was 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs. Schreck and Austin each stole bases, Schreck’s fourth and Austin’s 2nd. Shortstop Jonathan Vastine, who has really settled in and become an excellent player for us this season, was 2 for 5 with 2 Ribbies. Hunter Owen went 5, gave up 6 hits, 5 earned, with 2 walks and 5 K’s. Bryce Cunningham came in and pitched 3.2 with 3 hits, 3 earned, 2 walks and 5 K’s. Bryce got roughed up at first, but settled down in the final two innings and pitched well. We’ll need a little better from those two going forward. They are certainly capable. They’ve already shown that they are prolific.

On Sunday, we finished off the sweep by virtue of a stellar pitching performance from sophomore lefty Devin Futrell. Devin went 8, gave up only 3 hits, 0 runs, with 0 walks and 7 K’s in a 4-0 Commodores’ victory, Nick Maldonado came in for the ninth and finished off the shutout. Devin was masterful. He doesn’t bring a ton of heat to the plate, maybe around 89 to 90, but he’s more like a Tom Glassine, who just knew how to get guys out and win games. And Glavine won 305 games and is a Hall of Fame. That’s what Devin does. He’s a smart pitcher and a warrior out there much like Glassine was. Love what Devin did on Sunday. Younger brother Maldonado had a huge day at the plate going three for four with his 4th homer of the season, a solo shot in the 7th, which gave us some insurance. So super weekend for our terrific freshmen. We lost 5 guys in the first round of the MLB Draft in this 2022 class, but Maldonado and Austin are stellar and we have some more who are waiting their turn. The older guys are playing so well and are such leaders that it’s tough lineup to crack.

Futrell was named pitcher of the week by the SEC, and C. Maldonado was named Co-Freshman of the Week. Very deserving awards for both of our guys.

Maldonado is leading us in hitting at .359, with 3 long ones and 16 Ribbies. Schreck is hitting .356 with 7 homers and 31 Ribeyes. What a great addition RJ has been. Corbs doesn’t use the portal much as that’s not the Vanderbilt Baseball way. We build through recruiting. But it’s nice to have a stud, who knows what it’s like to play at a challenging academic school having played at Duke for four years. RJ’s having fun playing baseball, and it’s terrific to have him on our team. Polk is hitting .329 with 3 and 19. Diaz is hitting .304 with 5 and 26. Austin is hitting .294 with 4 and 23. Bradfield is at .290 now. It was only a matter of time before our stud got his batting average up to where it’s used to being, and the ceiling is not even close to being reached at the plate. Enrique has 4 homers, 20 RBIs and is now 20 off 24 in stolen bases. Noland is hitting ,282 with 6 homers and 26 RBIs. Noland’s a major leader for us. Vastine is at .279 with 3 and 21, 8 doubles and two triples. Junior catcher Jack Bulger is hitting .257, but giving us super defense and excellent leadership behind the plate. Jack will keep hitting better as we progress this season. He’s got too good of a bat.

We are hitting .294 as a team and our opponents are hitting .200.

Futrell is now 4-1 with a 3.55 ERA. Maldonado still has an 0.00 ERA with 4 walks and 17 K’s. Futrell has walked nine and K’d 20. He was so good on Sunday.

Our team ERA is 3.41, and our opponents’ ERA is 7.96.

Our fielding percentage is at .983 and our opponents are at .970.

Now we haven’t played the toughest SEC teams yet, but we’re taking care of business spectacularly so far. This team could be very special come May. They already are.

We face Western Kentucky today at the Hawk at 6 PM CT. I would think that sophomore right hander Greyson Carter would get the ball. He’s 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA with 11 walks and 14 K’s. Greyson brings the kitchen sink at 95+, and if he can just fine tune his control, he can be a force for us as a fourth starter when we get to that point. Meanwhile, we just need him to pitch well in midweek games. Western Kentucky is 16-13 and 2-7 in Conference USA. But these teams are always dangerous for us because we are going to get their best shot. They’d like nothing better than to knock us off.

Their leading hitter is shortstop Drew Beckart, who is hitting .368 with 3 homers and 24 RBIs. They hit .306 as a team, so Greyson will have to be sharp. Their pitching staff ERA is 4.76, and their fielding percentage is .963. The game will be broadcast by SEC Network+.

Then we travel to Missouri this weekend for a Thursday through Saturday set. Thursday’s game is at 6 PM CT. Friday’s game is at 6 PM CT. And Saturday’s game is at 2 PM CT. SEC Network+_ will broadcast all three games.

Will have more on this game and the Missouri series coming up on Thursday. Have a great week. Will be in touch.

The Aztecs of San Diego State electrically claimed their spot in the National Championship Game tonight via a last second 10 foot jumper by guard Lamont Butler that clinched their spot for the as they prevailed electrically over a gritty Florida Atlantic squad, 72-71.

For the Huskies of UConn, it was just another day at the office in this NCAA Tournament as they rolled to a 72-59 victory over the Miami Hurricanes. Should have listened to Brownie and Walter and gone with the Huskies. Oh well. You live and learn.

This matchup features the Huskies dynamic offense, led by 6’9, 245 junior power forward Adama Sanogo, and a collection of scorers and inside dominators versus a team that is predicated on defense. UConn also plays lockdown defense as the Miami game would attest to.

So, the question is, can SDSU contain the high flying Huskies and score enough to secure its first national championship or will the Huskies claim their fifth national title since 1999. They’ve won previously in ‘99, 2004, 2011 and 2014 with prolific players and prolific teams. Here’s the breakdown.

No.8 San Diego State (South Regional, 32-6), vs. No.4 UConn (West, 30-8)

N-R-G Stadium, Houston, 72,220

8:20 PM CT

CBS

Hello Friends, coming soon, Grant, Raft, Trace

Greg, Chuck, Kenny, Jay, Special K, pregame, halfitime,

Chuck, Samuel L., Spike Lee Joint and Magic with entertainment

Gene Steratore, Rules. He’s excellent

UConn by 7

I just can’t see this Huskies team being stopped. I like the Aztecs to hang around for a while and keep it kind of ugly, which is their style. But the Huskies have been too much to handle in this tournament. Coach Danny Hurley and Sanogo lead their team to victory and claim the Huskies 5th national title since 1999. UConn cuts down the nets.

UConn 70, San Diego State 55

Record, SU, 6-8, ATS, 5-9

Wednesday, the 87th Masters, Preview/Prediction

It all comes down to four teams competing to cut down the nets at NRG Stadium in Houston on Monday Night as the Final Four of the NCAA Basketball Tournament cranks up at 5:09 PM CT today on CBS.

It’s a surprising, yet talented foursome as each team tries to take one more step towards the ultimate goal of all 358 teams that start play in early November; taking home the national championship and cementing a legacy that will live on for the rest of their lives.

Here’s a look at the four teams aiming to cut down the nets on Monday Night and which teams White’s World Sports Confidential likes to advance to Monday’s National Championship game.

Record from Sweet 16 till Today,

Straight up, 5-7

ATS, 5-7

Semifinal 1

Seeding from region listed first

No.9 Florida Atlantic (35-3, East) vs. No. 5 San Diego State (31-6, South )

NRG Stadium, Rocket City, 72,220

5:09 PM CT

CBS

Jim, Grant, Bill, Trace.

Chuck, Samuel L., Spike, Jenn and Jim for the humor.

SDSU by 2 1/2

The Owls are the most prolific shooting team I’ve seen in the tournament and they play pretty stellar defense. But I’m going to take the Aztecs and their defensive prowess, which is in the top 5 in the nation. Defense still wins championships and the Aztec players seem to make the big shots when it matters most.

San Diego State 60, FAU 57

Semifinal 2

No.5 Miami (29-7, Midwest) vs. No. 4 UConn (29-8, West)

NRG Stadium

7:49 PM CT

CBS

Same crew and same comedy team.

UConn by 5 1/2

Six foot 9 inch, 245 pound junior power forward Adama Sanogo, from Mali, West Africa, is an unstoppable force for the Huskies. He averages 17.1 points per game and 7.5 rebounds, but has been an even more dominant player for the Huskies in the tournament. The whole team looks unstoppable, but this tournament has been so unpredictable. The only thing about this tournament that is predictable is the unpredictable.

And I like that here.

Canes guard Isaiah Wong, who averages 16.2 ppg,, and his team pull off the nearly improbable upset of the UConn juggernaut.

Miami 80, UConn 78