Vanderbilt Baseball is Stellar after a flawless SEC start

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.