Our Vanderbilt Baseball team were in their element at the Corvallis Regional over the weekend. After falling to the University of San Diego Friday, 3-2 Friday, we came back and defeated No.4 seed New Mexico State, 14-1, then defeated San Diego Sunday in our second elimination game, 14-4, and last night, in a late one, we defeated No.4 seed overall in the tournament Oregon State , 8-1, to advance to the championship game, 7th game, today versus the Beavers at 3 PM CT on SEC Network.
Our hitting is through the roof good right now. Our pitching has been stellar, and our defense, overall, has been very good. We’ve committed a few errors since game 1, but much more solid over the weekend and made some very nice plays in the field.
It’s been about our hitting and pitching though. Defense has to be there as well today, we’ve got to be good in all 3 phases if we expect to get over the top and advance to the Super Regional at most likely Auburn. They are up 9-0 in the bottom of the 6th versus UCLA and their game was suspended last night due to rain and will begin again today at 1 PM CT.
But we’ve got our work cut out for us. This team is the overall No.4 seed for a reason, so we’ll have to lock down on the mound, defensively, and have timely hitting. Against New Mexico State, our 21-1 victory, we hammered out 18 hits. Spencer Jones was 4 for 6 with 7 Ribeyes. Spencer homered and drilled a pair of doubles. Parker Noland had a big game as well. Love to see our junior, who has hung tough through some difficult times sitting on bench this season, and come out even stronger. Parker was 3 for 6 with 2 doubles and 3 Ribeyes. Senior Tate Kolwyck was 3 for 3 with his 9th homer of the season and drove in 2. Tate is playing spectacular defense as well. I love what our 3 seniors are doing. Tate, Dom Keegan, who’s been terrific all season, and the great Javy Vaz, who will do anything to help this team earn victories, are tremendous players and leaders. Proud of what those 3 guys are doing. Know Corbs is too. Dom Keegan hit his 14th home run and drove in 4. The great Enrique Bradfield Jr. just keeps on cookin. Enrique was 3 for 4 with 4 runs scored. Enrique has also stolen a pair of bases and is 44 for 44 on the season. They say some players in college basketball are un-guardable they’re so good. Bradfield Jr is un-guardable on the base paths. What an asset to our team Bradfield Jr. is. Jack Bulger hit his 5th long one of the season. Jack’s been superb for us on offense and defense in this regional. Javy stole his 9th bag, Spencer his 13th and Dom stole his second.
After Carter Holton gave us another terrific outing Friday, but fell 3-2, Chris McElvain, our junior, pitched phenomenally Saturday going 7, giving up 6 hits, with 1 earned run, 1 walk and 11 K’s, wow. What a performance by McElvain. Brett Hansen finished it off with 2 innings of 1 hit, 0 run ball in the rain. It seems like it’s always raining in Oregon.
On Sunday afternoon, we pounded out 17 more hits in our 14-4 victory over San Diego. Dom Keegan had a super game, going 4 for 6 with 4 Ribeyes, including his 17th double of the season. What a player. Enrique was 3 for 5 with 4 RBIs including his 8th homer of the season a 3-run shot in the top of the 9th. Parker Noland again had another 3 hit game, going 3 for 5 with 3 more Ribbies. The great Kolwyck went 2 for 4 with a triple and an RBI.
Our awesome junior Nick Maldonado went 7.2 and gave us a superior effort. Nick allowed 7 hits, 4 runs, with 4 walks and 5 K’s. Loved to see that from Nick. He’s had a tough time this season with an oblique injury, but he’s a major talent, and can really help us down the stretch if we can advance today. Nelson Berkwich pitched the final 1.1 innings and gave up no hits with a pair of walks and 2 strikeouts. Our defense was strong both games.
Then, finally, last night, we pounded out 11 hits in an 8-1 victory. Spencer was 2 for 4 with his 11th homer of the season. Bulger was 3 for 4 with an RBI. Tate once again had a good night at the plate going 2 for 3 with an RBI. Freshman lefty Devin Futrell went 6, gave up 5 hits, 0 runs, with 2 walks and 4 K’s. He was excellent. The broadcasters for ESPN2 interviewed Maldonado in the bottom of the 4th inning, we were the home team, we’ll be visitors today, and asked him about Futrell. Nick called Futrell an “elite strike thrower,” and that’s what he is. Stellar performance from Futrell. Thomas Schultz came in and pitched 3 innings of 3 hit, one run ball, unearned, with a walk and 2 K’s. Great to see Schultz pitching well again.
So, here we go, another pressure-packed game for our Vanderbilt Commodores at 3 PM CT today at Corvallis, OR. on the SEC Network.
So this is a guesstimate, but I’m liking Bryce Cunningham or Christian Little to start. Corbs and Pitching Coach Scott Brown have made such good decisions with pitching, that I trust whatever they decide. Christian was awesome Friday going 3 innings of 1 hit ball with 0 walks and 2 K’s. Christian is 1-2 with a 3.79 ERA with 14 walks and 42 K’s. Bryce is 2-1 with a 4.59 ERA with 14 walks and 27 K’s. Corbs may want Little out of the bullpen and will start Cunningham, then it’s all hands on deck. I trust Bryce. I like him to step up if called upon. Patrick Reilly is another option, though Patrick has been hit hard lately. Reilly is 2-3 with a 4.26 ERA with 34 walks and 68 K’s. He’s got an electric mid to high 90’s fastball like LIttle, and if he can control it, he can be tough. Cunningham throws it mid 90’s, too, and that velocity is always a plus.
For Oregon State, now this is really drawing straws, but I’ll say senior right hander Reid Sebby will get the call. He’s 1-2 with a 3.05 ERA. In 38.1 innings, he’s walked 13 and struck out 37. We’ll see on that. Both teams will have multiple arms ready out of the bullpen. The only guys I don’t see us using are McElvain, Futrell and maybe Holton, but Holton could pitch an inning. I like the Cunningham/Little alignment or Little, then whomever else. As Ernie Johnson Sr. used to say for the Braves, “it’s down to cases now.”
We’ve got the team to get the job done. One of my best friends and I have talked this season about this team being special. It is. We’ve got 3 special seniors, outstanding junior and sophomore classes, and an excellent freshman group. Just need to get one more today. Will have a full report tonight.
Men’s Golf, what a season, just came up short, future electric
Coach Scott Limbaugh just completed his 10th season and it was a tremendous one for him and his team. Tough blow losing in the Final Four to Texas, which went on to win the national championship, but the team accomplished so much winning 7 stroke play competitions this season including the SEC Stroke Play, the Cabo Collegiate, the Prestige, the Mason Rudoloph, the Mossy Oak Collegiate, the SEC Match Play, leading to the SEC Championship, the NCAA Regional at Palm Beach Gardens FL, and the NCAA Stroke Play. What a phenomenal team. We won all these tournaments against top flight competition. I’m sorry I hadn’t written about this elite group last week after the Match Play, but I know they were distraught after the NCAA’s because they were so close. Have to admit, I was a little distraught myself and just didn’t know what to say. But after Coach Limbaugh said it didn’t define our season, he was exactly right. We were exceptional. Gordon Sargent was beyond superb winning the NCAA Individual Championship as a freshman. Wow, Gordon, that is such an amazing accomplishment. Gordon was also awarded the Jack Nicklaus Award as the top golfer in the country. He was All SEC along with sophomore Cole Sherwood and senior Reid Davenport, and was SEC Freshman of the Year. What a season for our freshman from Mountain Brook, Alabama. The rest of our team, the great Harrison Ott, our fifth year senior, who won his match against Texas, the awesome Reid Davenport, a senior, who was terrific for us all season, junior William Moll, who is super talented and really came on for us towards the end of the season and won his match in the Texas Semi, our sophomore, Sherwood, who’s future, along with Gordon’s, is limitless, was terrific for us as well all season.
Tough way to end the season, but this team was all time good in Vanderbilt Golf. Congratulations to all the guys, and Coach Limbaugh and Assistant Coach Gator Todd for all the hard work they put in and success they achieved. We didn’t get to where we wanted to at the end, but that’s coming. It took Coach Corbin 12 years to win his first national championship in 2014 with all the terrific teams he had before that. So it’s tough, but certainly doable in Coach Limbaugh’s 11th season next year, the 2022-23 season. Gordon will be back, along with Cole, William, stellar rising sophomore Jackson Van Paris, who was the No.3 player in the country, in our No.1 recruiting class in 2021. Gordon was the second ranked player in the country. We also added the No. 1 ranked golfer in Mississippi, Wells Williams, from West Point, MS, and the No.1 ranked golfer in Massachusetts John Broderick. They are exceptionally talented, and will add to a loaded roster in 2022-23. But, this team was historically great for Vanderbilt University. Harrison and Reid will be missed and hopeful that they will have successful stints on the professional circuit or just as professionals in something other than golf. They got their degrees from Vanderbilt, so they have very good chances to have highly successful lives. Nothing like a Vanderbilt degree for your resume and your life. Gordon and the other guys will be competing this summer. The U.S. Amateur is August 15-21 at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey, so will keep you posted on Gordon, Cole and William in that competition along with our 2 incoming freshmen. There will be more tournaments to look forward to for our guys this summer. But it’s time right now to not reflect on the Final Four loss to Texas, but all the success these guys had throughout the season. Congratulations on a job well done, fellas. You’ve left a legacy for Vanderbilt Men’s Golf, and could have very well set the table for a National Championship team in 2023.
Football Commitment
We received our fifth commitment for the 2023 class as linebacker Kelvon McBride from Valdosta, Georgia committed to Clark and the staff on Sunday.
Kelvon is a 6’3”, 200 pound player out of Mobile, AL. He is an 86 three star by 247 sports and a 5,6,3 star by Rivals. Like what we’re getting here. Senior Anfernee Orji, who’s going to have a big season for us in 2022, talked to Kelvon and told him he will get bigger and stronger at VU, as that’s exactly what the great Orji has done. Kelvon joins high 3 stars inside linebacker Ethan Crisp, 6’3”, 205 from Mount Juliet, TN., 6’0”, 180 cornerback Kevis Thomas from Lowndes Country, GA., running back Sedrick Alexander from Austin, Texas, and 6’2”, 175 wide receiver Duran Parish from Biloxi, MS. Really like the tape on all the guys. Going to watch more on Kelvon and will give a report on him further.
Know I need to write about the 2022 team. Hopefully, we’ll be playing a lot more baseball in the coming weeks, so I promise I’ll get to our football team. Will definitely keep you posted on football and basketball recruiting. Clark and Stack have some super possibilities, and next year’s football and basketball teams look highly promising. Football opens with Hawai’i Saturday, August 27th at 9:30 PM CT on CBS Sports Network, so we’ll need to get quarterback locked down between Mike Wright, Ken Seals and stellar freshman A.J. Swann. Mike and Ken have potential to be phenomenal players for us. Both have shown flashes of superb play. A.J. is a big armed talent as well, so fall camp in August will be interesting. Will keep you posted. Need O line to get settled. Good talent there, just need to find 10 to 12 guys who can be solid players for us. Running back and wide receiver rooms look potentially excellent, and tight end may be the strongest position on our team with the great Ben Bresnahan and superb Gavin Schoenwald returning and stellar backups to them. Defense has a chance to be special. Just need to do a lot of developing over the summer with strength training and then lock down in fall camp. Orji, safety Max Worship, defensive tackle Daevion Davis, and corner Jaylen Mahoney will be some of our leaders on the defensive side of the ball.
Let’s get the job done today in Corvallis and advance.