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.