Sunday baseball starting lineup vs. FSU

By Travis Young

Live from Dick Howser Stadium

Weather Report: It's another blistering hot day at Dick Howser Stadium. It's already 95 degrees at the ballpark with the field temp over 100 degrees for the third straight day. Winds are blowing from the North at 7-9 mph.

Here is Vanderbilt's lineup for the championship game of the NCAA Super Regional vs. Florida State. The winner of today's game advances to the College World Series in Omaha, starting on June 19th.

1. Brian Harris SS
2. Anthony Gomez 2B
3. Aaron Westlake 1B
4. Jason Esposito 3B
5. Curt Casali DH
6. Joe Loftus RF
7. Mike Yastrzemski LF
8. Andrew Giobbi C
9. Connor Harrell CF
-- Jack Armstrong SP

VU goes with the same guys in the lineup as yesterday while moving Loftus and Yaz up in the batting order.

The Commodores will send righthander Jack Armstrong to the bump today to face the Seminoles. Armstrong (7-3, 4.32 ERA) has 49 strikeouts and 38 walks in 77.0 innings this year while opponents are hitting .285 off him. As Eric "the Stooche" Jones reported yesterday, Jack has had some tough luck thus far in the post-season, but you might choose to look at the last time he pitched in his native Sunshine State. It was back on April 4, when Armstrong threw six shutout innings to get his fourth win of the year against Florida in Gainesville.

After starting a pair of left-handers in the first two games of the Super Regional, FSU will counter with right-hander Geoff Parker (4-1, 4.94 ERA) on Sunday. Parker threw in Friday night's Super Regional game against the Commodores, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits with 3 strikeouts in 2.1 innings of relief. Parker is making his 30th appearance of the year on Sunday. He has 67 strikeouts and 38 walks in 74.2 innings this season.

Baseball starting lineup vs. Florida State

By Travis Young

Live from Dick Howser Stadium

Weather Report: It's currently 92 degrees with partly cloudy skies at Dick Howser Stadium. Saturday's game time (Noon CT) temperature is scheduled to be 94 degrees with the heat index over 100 degrees. Winds are calm, blowing from Northeast at 4 mph.

Here is Vanderbilt's lineup for the second game of the NCAA Super Regional vs. Florida State

1. Brian Harris SS
2. Anthony Gomez 2B
3. Aaron Westlake 1B
4. Jason Esposito 3B
5. Curt Casali DH
6. Andrew Giobbi C
7. Joe Loftus RF
8. Mike Yastrzemski LF
9. Connor Harrell CF
-- Sonny Gray SP

VU goes with the same lineup as yesterday after pounding out 16 hits against FSU.

The Commodores will send staff-ace Sonny Gray (9-3, 3.51 ERA) to the bump today. Gray a second-team All-SEC selection ranks second-among all SEC pitchers in strikeouts with 110. Gray's 110 punchouts ranks 7th in VU's single season record books. Gray ranks first on the team in innings pitched (102.2), opponents batting average (.243) and walks (45).

FSU will counter with left-hander Brian Busch (5-1, 4.24 ERA). The 6-foot-2 237 pound southpaw has 68 strikeouts and 31 walks in 70.0 innings while opponents are batting .232 off him. The sophomore has allowed 23 extra-base hits this year (16 doubles, 6 home runs, 1 triple).

Baseball starting lineup vs. Florida State

By Travis Young

Live from Dick Howser Stadium

Weather Report: It's currently 89 degrees at Mike Martin Field. The game time (11 a.m. CT) temperature is 93 degrees. The high today in Tallahassee is 97 degrees with high humidity so it might be the warmest game the Commodores have played in this year.

Here is Vanderbilt's lineup for the first game of the NCAA Super Regional vs. Florida State

1. Brian Harris SS
2. Anthony Gomez 2B
3. Aaron Westlake 1B
4. Jason Esposito 3B
5. Curt Casali DH
6. Andrew Giobbi C
7. Joe Loftus RF
8. Mike Yastrzemski LF
9. Connor Harrell CF
-- Taylor Hill SP

Taylor Hill (6-5, 4.15 ERA) will make his team-leading 17th start against the Seminoles tomorrow. With the lowest walks per nine innings among Commodore starters (2.21), Taylor may be just what is needed to combat a team that likes to take a lot of pitches and has walked 378 times through 62 games (6.09 walks per game).

FSU will counter with crafty lefty, Sean Gilmartin (8-7, 4.74 ERA). Gilmartin has a 3:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (102 SO to 30 BB) in 100.2 innings this year. In addition, the crafty lefty has allowed a team-high 35 extra-base hits, including 14 home runs while opponents are hitting .283 off him.

Baseball starting lineup vs. Louisville

By Travis Young (Photo by Jimmy Jones)

Weather: partly cloudy, 81 degrees. Winds blowing from the Northwest at 8 mph, gusting up to 15 mph. Tonight's weather is the best of the weekend in terms of temperature

Here is Vanderbilt's lineup for tonight's NCAA Regional final vs. Louisville

1. Brian Harris SS
2. Anthony Gomez 2B
3. Aaron Westlake 1B
4. Jason Esposito 3B
5. Joe Loftus RF
6. Andrew Giobbi C
7. Curt Casali DH
8. Mike Yastrzemski LF
9. Connor Harrell CF
Grayson Garvin SP

As SID indicated earlier this afternoon, the Commodores will send southpaw Grayson Garvin to the bump for tonight's regional final. Garvin pitched 4.1 innings of relief against Illinois State in the opening game of the regional on June 4. He allowed one run on four hits with six strikeouts and a walk and threw 73 pitches in the Commodores 8-7 win in 13 innings. On the season he is 1-1 with a 1.33 ERA with 32 strikeouts and eight walks in 27.0 innings.

Louisville will counter with ace right-hander Thomas Royce, a third-team Collegiate Baseball All-American. He is 9-1 with a 2.91 ERA with 94 strikeouts and 25 walks in 99.0 innings.

Royse will be making his 16th start of the year and the first since facing West Virginia on May 26. He gave up four runs on seven hits in six innings with six strikeouts and no walks in an 11-4 win.

Baseball starting lineup vs. Illinois State

By Travis Young

Weather: partly cloudy, 80 degrees. Winds blowing from North to Northwest at 15 mph.

Here is Vanderbilt's lineup for Sunday's elimination game against Illinois State (11 a.m. CT).

1. Brian Harris SS
2. Anthony Gomez 2B
3. Aaron Westlake 1B
4. Jason Esposito 3B
5. Joe Loftus RF
6. Andrew Giobbi LF
7. Curt Casali DH
8. Mike Yastrzemski CF
9. Drew Fann C
Jack Armstrong SP

Jack Armstrong (7-3, 4.19 ERA) gets the ball for the Commodores today. In Armstrong's last outing he allowed five runs, four earned on four hits in 4.1 innings against Florida at the SEC Tournament last weekend in Hoover, Ala.

Illinois State (32-23) will counter with righthander Ryan Camp. Camp (4-5, 7.99 ERA) is making his 16th appearance and 12th start. Camp has walked 35 batters and struck out 31 in 50.2 innings this year. Opponents are batting .291 off him.

Click here to follow the game

Saturday baseball lineup vs. Louisville

By Travis Young

Weather: mostly cloudy, 89 degrees. The wind is blowing out to center-field at 15 mph. Field temperature at Jim Patterson Stadium is right around 100 degrees.

1. Brian Harris SS
2. Anthony Gomez 2B
3. Aaron Westlake 1B
4. Jason Esposito 3B
5. Joe Loftus RF
6. Andrew Giobbi C
7. Bryan Johns DH
8. Mike Yastrzemski LF
9. Connor Harrell CF
Sonny Gray SP

Vanderbilt staff-ace Sonny Gray (9-4, 3.18 ERA) gets the ball for the Commodores today. Gray has 100 strikeouts on the year in a team-high 93.1 innings.

Louisville will counter with freshman righthander Matt Koch (2-0, 3.55 ERA). He has made 10 appearances on the year and has made five starts down the stretch. Koch has 28 strikeouts and eight walks in 38.0 innings of action.

Click here to follow the game

Baseball starting lineup vs. Illinois State

By Travis Young

Weather Report: partly cloudy, 87 degrees. Winds blowing out to right field at 9 mph. The playing surface at Jim Patterson Stadium is all fieldturf so the playing surface is right around 97 degrees.

Here is Vanderbilt's starting lineup vs. the Redbirds

1. Brian Harris SS
2. Anthony Gomez 2B
3. Aaron Westlake 1B
4. Jason Esposito 3B
5. Joe Loftus RF
6. Andrew Giobbi C
7. Curt Casali DH
8. Bryan Johns LF
9. Connor Harrell CF
Taylor Hill SP

Taylor Hill (5-5, 3.96 ERA) gets the nod for Vanderbilt today on the mound after long discussions who would start. SID broke the news last night on vucommodores.com. Hill faced the Redbirds on March 6 at Hawkins Field and limited the Redbirds to two runs on seven hits in seven and a third innings of work. He struck out six and did not walk a batter. The Tennessee native faced the minimum through four innings and did not allow a run until the seventh.

Illinois State will start their ace junior right-hander Corey Maines (6-3, 4.45) against the Commodores.

Click here to find out how you can follow the action online.

Starting lineup vs. Florida

By Travis Young

Here is Vanderbilt's starting lineup for tonight's elimination game against Florida. The Commodores have made a few changes in the lineup to try to spark the offense.

1. Brian Harris - SS
2. Bryan Johns - LF
3. Jason Esposito - 3B
4. Aaron Westlake - 1B
5. Joe Loftus - RF
6. Andrew Giobbi - C
7. Curt Casali - DH
8. Anthony Gomez - 2B
9.Mike Yastrzemski - CF
SP Jack Armstrong (7-2, 3.93 ERA)

Armstrong (7-2, 3.92 ERA) gets the ball tonight for the Commodores in the elimination game against Florida (41-14). In Armstrong's last outing, he allowed five runs, four earned on five hits in 2.1 innings of work in loss to Arkansas. Armstrong has faced the Gators once in his career, scattering four hits over six shutout frames to improve to 4-0 on the season back in Gainesville on April 4.

Florida will counter with freshman righthander Hudson Randall (6-3, 2.99 ERA). To learn more about Florida and Randall check out SID's blog where he previews the game.

And the starting pitchers are?

By Travis Young

Just received official word that Chase Reid (4-1, 3.47 ERA) and Derek Self (7-0, 4.03 ERA) will be the starting pitchers tonight in the Red Cross Benefit game between No. 23 Vanderbilt and No. 9 Louisville at Hawkins Field.

Both Reid and Self will make their seventh start of the season tonight.

To learn more about tonight's special event see the video below

Sunday baseball lineup vs. LSU

By Travis Young

Live from Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge

Weather: Cloudy skies, 74 degrees. The flag pole in center field indicates the wind is blowing across the field from the right field pole to the left field pole at 9-13 mph.

Here is Vanderbilt's starting lineup...

Brian Harris SS
Anthony Gomez 2B
Jason Esposito 3B
Aaron Westlake 1B
Curt Casali DH
Andrew Giobbi LF
Joe Loftus RF
Connor Harrell CF
Mike Yastrzemski LF
Jack Armstrong SP (5-1, 3.83 ERA)

Armstrong (5-1, 3.83 ERA) will get the call today on the mound for the Commodores. In Armstrong's last outing, he allowed two unearned runs, with three walks and one strikeout in 4.2-inning no-decision against Tennessee. Armstrong hasn't thrown since April 25, due to no midweek games and the cancellation of the final two games against Georgia last weekend in Nashville.

LSU will counter with righthander Austin Ross. Ross (3-4, 5.63 ERA) will make his 17th appearance and ninth start of the year. Ross has 64 strikeouts and 15 walks in 54.1 innings this year, while opponents are hitting .285 off him.

Click here for official in-game coverage of Sunday's rubber game between Vanderbilt and LSU, including live video and audio.

Fans can also follow the game live on Vanderbilt's baseball twitter page.

Saturday baseball lineup vs. LSU

By Travis Young

Live from Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge

Weather: Sunny skies, 81 degrees. Winds blowing in from left field 10-14 mph. During batting practice, the ball was dying and it wasn't traveling like it did in last night's slugfest.

Here is Vanderbilt's starting lineup...

Brian Harris SS
Anthony Gomez 2B
Jason Esposito 3B
Aaron Westlake 1B
Curt Casali DH
Andrew Giobbi LF
Joe Loftus RF
Connor Harrell CF
Drew Fann C
Taylor Hill SP (4-3, 3.38 ERA)

Hill will make his first career appearance against LSU tonight as he gets the call on the mound. The Commodores need a solid start out of junior righthander tonight after using five pitchers in last night's 16-15 loss. In Hill's last outing he allowed five runs, four earned on eight hits with four strikeouts in 17-5 win over Georgia last Friday.

LSU will counter with lefthander Jordan Rittiner. Rittiner (4-2, 4.11 ERA) will make his 22nd appearance and fourth start of the year, Saturday. The southpaw has 27 strikeouts and 11 walks in 46 innings this year, while opponents are hitting a comfortable .310 off him.

Click here for official in-game coverage of tonight's game, including live video and audio.

First pitch is slated for 6:06 p.m. The game will also be televised live on CSS.

Friday baseball lineup vs. LSU

By Travis Young

Live from Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge

Weather: Sunny skies, 90 degrees. Winds blowing 9-14 mph out to center-field

Here is Vanderbilt's starting lineup...

Brian Harris SS
Anthony Gomez 2B
Jason Esposito 3B
Aaron Westlake 1B
Curt Casali DH
Andrew Giobbi C
Connor Harrell CF
Joe Loftus RF
Mike Yastrzemski LF
Sonny Gray SP (6-4, 2.22 ERA)

Gray will make his first career appearance against LSU tonight in front of crowd that is projected to be 10,000 strong. In Gray's last "official" outing he allowed just one run on three hits with 10 strikeouts and no walks in win over Tennessee. A native of Smyrna, Tenn., Gray ranks in the top-four in the SEC in strikeouts (72), opponent batting average (.205) and ERA (2.22).

LSU will counter with ace righthander Anthony Ranaudo. Ranaudo (2-2, 7.01 ERA) has battled some injuries this year and hasn't returned to last season form. Last year the 6-foot-7 righthander went 12-3 with a 3.04 ERA. He was a second-team All-SEC selection in 2009.

Click here for official in-game coverage of tonight's game, including live video and audio.

Click here for a preview of this weekend's series with LSU.

Baseball starting lineup at Austin Peay

By Travis Young

Clarksville gametime weather report: Partly cloudy, 55 degrees. Winds blowing from Northwest at 11 mph.

Here is tonight's lineup against Austin Peay

Brian Harris, SS
Anthony Gomez, 2B
Curt Casali, DH
Jason Esposito, 3B
Aaron Westlake, 1B
Andrew Giobbi, C
Connor Harrell, CF
Joe Loftus, RF
Bryan Johns, LF
Grayson Garvin, SP

Garvin (1-1, 0.00 ERA) gets the call tonight for the Commodores on the mound. The lefthander will be making his first start of the season and second start of his career. Garvin has 9 strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work this year. The southpaw started the 2010 season by striking out the side in his first two one-inning relief appearances. Garvin faced two batters in Sunday's game two of the doubleheader against Tennessee allowing one hit and a walk.

Sunday baseball lineup (Game 1)

By Travis Young

Weather: Fair skies, 72 degrees. The wind will be a major factor today, blowing from southwest at 28 mph and gusting up to 34 mph.

Here is the lineup for the first game of the double-header.

1. Anthony Gomez 2B

2. Brian Harris SS

3. Jason Esposito 3B

4. Curt Casali DH

5. Aaron Westlake 1B

6. Andrew Giobbi C

7. Connor Harrell CF

8. Joe Loftus RF

9. Mike Yastrzemski LF

SP: Jack Armstrong (5-1, 4.21 ERA)

Tennessee will send righthander Stephen McCray to the mound in game one. McCray (4-3, 2.59 ERA) is making his 10th start of the season. The senior has 39 strikeouts and 17 walks in 55.2 innings this year. Opponents are hitting just .220 off him.

Click here for in-game coverage, (audio, video and live stats) of today's double-header

Baseball Starting lineup vs. MTSU

By Travis Young

Live from Reese Smith Jr. Field
Weather: partly cloudy skies, 72 degrees. Wind is slightly blowing in from centerfield, but shouldn't be much of a factor as the stadium is a hitter friendly park.

Here is Vanderbilt's Starting Lineup

Anthony Gomez 2B
Brian Harris SS
Jason Esposito 3B
Curt Casali DH
Aaron Westlake 1B
Andrew Giobbi LF
Connor Harrell CF
Joe Loftus RF
Drew Fann C
Chase Reid SP

Reid (4-1, 1.99 ERA) gets the call tonight for the Commodores. Tonight's appearance marks the 15th appearance and sixth start of the season for Reid. The Southlake, Texas native has had phenomenal season thus far, allowing only nine earned runs in 40.2 innings of work. Reid's 42 strikeouts is tied for second on the team with Taylor Hill. Reid leads the pitching staff in strikeout-to-walk ratio, nearly a 6:1 ratio (41 SO, 7 BB).

MTSU will counter with righthander Hunter Adkins. Adkins comes into the game (1-1, 6.83 ERA). Adkins will make his 11th appearance and fifth start of the season tonight. He has 24 strikeouts and 18 walks in 29.0 innings of work this year.

Baseball Starting lineup vs. Lipscomb

By Travis Young

Weather: Cloudy skies, 65 degrees

Anthony Gomez 2B
Brian Harris SS
Jason Esposito 3B
Curt Casali DH
Aaron Westlake 1B
Andrew Giobbi LF
Connor Harrell CF
Joe Loftus RF
Drew Fann C
Drew Hayes SP

Hayes (4-0, 4.59 ERA) gets the call tonight for the Commodores. Tonight's appearance marks the 14th of the season for Hayes, who has thrown 33.1 innings this year. The McKenzie, Tenn. native has a 2:1 strikeout (28) to walk (14) ratio. In his last start against Middle Tennessee, Hayes threw 6.2 innings of four-hit baseball, striking out four and walking two to pick up the win.

Lipsomb will counter with lefthander Chris Nunn. Nunn (0-1, 18.69 ERA) will make his 10th appearance of the season and sixth start. He has 20 strikeouts in 17.1 innings of work.

Monday lineup vs. Louisville

By Travis Young - Here is the lineup for Monday night's game against top-seeded Louisville. Tonight's game will get underway at 6 p.m. CT. The winner of tonight's Louisville Regional final will advance to play Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field next weekend (June 5-8) in Fullerton, Calif. The game will start at 6 p.m. CT.

1. Brian Harris SS
2. Jonathan White CF
3. Steven Liddle RF
4. Curt Casali 1B
5. Aaron Westlake DH
6. Andrew Giobbi C
7. Jason Esposito 3B
8. Riley Reynolds 2B
9. Joe Loftus LF
SP: Mike Minor (6-5, 3.79 ERA)

Weather: Party cloudy, 90 degrees.Winds blowing from the southwest at 12 mph. The flag poles behind the outfield wall indicate the wind is blowing out to center field so we might see some big flys.

Louisville will send freshman righthander Tony Zych to the mound tonight to face the Commodores. Vanderbilt has seen a brief stint of Zych (5-2, 3.29 ERA) this season as he allowed one run, one hit and three walks with one strikeout in one inning of work against the Commodores on April 22.

In Zych's last outing he allowed only one run, scattering six hits with two strikeouts in 11-3 win over Connecticut in the BIG EAST Tournament title game. Earlier this season, Zych was invited to participate in the 2009 USA National Team Trials, June 15-24 in Cary, N.C. Zych will join VU's Sonny Gray as one of only five college freshman to be among the players invited to the trials.

As SID broke the news earlier on the blog, Vanderbilt will counter with Minor. The coaches are looking to the junior left-hander to get the team off to a good start. He is coming off a 134 pitch eight inning complete game against Middle Tennessee on Friday.

Click here to follow Monday night's Louisville Regional final between Vanderbilt and Louisville.

Sunday Lineup vs. Louisville

by Travis Young - Here is the lineup for tonight's game against top-seeded Louisville. The game will start at 6 p.m. CT.

1. Brian Harris SS
2. Jonathan White CF
3. Curt Casali 1B
4. Steven Liddle RF
5. Andrew Giobbi C
6. Aaron Westlake DH
7. Joe Loftus LF
8. Jason Esposito 3B
8. Riley Reynolds 2B
SP: Nick Christiani (5-6, 5.05 ERA)

Weather: Sunny, 80 degrees.Winds blowing from the northeast at 4 mph.

Louisville will send lefthander Bob Revesz (4-1, 4.08 ERA) to the hill tonight to face the Commodores. Revesz is not your prototypical power southpaw as he has 26 strikeouts in 57.1 innings of work this season. He is allowing an average of over one hit per inning while opponents are hitting .284 off him.

Vanderbilt has seen Revesz once already this season as he started against the Commodores on April 22. In the start against the Commodores, VU tagged Revesz for six hits and two runs in 4.2 innings of work. Revesz struck out three Commodores in the no decision start.

The Commodores rallied to defeat Louisville 4-3 in its only meeting between the two schools this season.

Vanderbilt will counter with Nick Christiani. The senior righthander allowed three runs, four hits and one walk against LSU in the SEC Tournament championship on May 24.

Fans can follow all of Sunday night's action at vucommodores.com by clicking here.

Sunday Lineup vs. Middle Tennessee

by Travis Young - Here is the lineup for today's elimination game against Middle Tennessee at the Louisville Regional. A couple changes in today’s lineup due to MTSU throwing righthander Chad Edwards. It marks the first time since the SEC Tournament that Vanderbilt will face a righthanded starter.

1. Brian Harris SS
2. Jonathan White CF
3. Steven Liddle RF
4. Curt Casali 1B
5. Aaron Westlake DH
6. Andrew Giobbi C
7. Jason Esposito 3B
8. Riley Reynolds 2B
9. Joe Loftus LF
SP: Caleb Cotham (6-5, 4.63 ERA)

Weather: Sunny, 78 degrees.Winds blowing from N to NW at 8 mph. Another beautiful day for America’s pastime .

As SID reported earlier on the blog, MTSU will send righthander Chad Edwards (8-1, 5.99 ERA) to the hill to face the Commodores. Edwards has the distinction of being the only pitcher to shutout the Commodores this year in a 8-0 decision on April 7. VU could only manage three hits with three walks, while Edwards struck out three in a 126 pitch complete game performance.

Cotham is coming off a strong, complete game seven-inning outing against Arkansas in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. Cotham, pitching with a torn meniscus, allowed Arkansas to only one run on five hits with seven strikeouts.

Vanderbilt will be the home team Sunday against the second-seeded Blue Raiders.

Fans can follow all of the day's action at vucommodores.com by clicking here.

Sunday Baseball Update- 1:05 CT Start

By Travis Young - Here is Vanderbilt's starting lineup for Sunday's afternoon game against Georgia at Foley Field.

Weather Report from Athens, Ga: Fair skies, 82 degrees, with wind blowing from north to northwest at less than 1 mph.

Jonathan White returns to the lineup today with hard throwing righthander Justin Grimm on the hill.

1. Brian Harris SS
2. Riley Reynolds 2B
3. Steven Liddle RF
4. Curt Casali 1B
5. Aaron Westlake DH
6. Andrew Giobbi C
7. Jason Esposito 3B
8. Jonathan White CF
9. Joe Loftus LF
SP: Drew Hayes (4-3, 6.17 ERA)

Georgia's starting pitcher Justin Grimm (2-3, 4.42 ERA) is coming off a six-inning outing where he allowed three runs, seven hits, one walk, with five strikeouts, earning the no decision against Florida. The sophomore righthander is 11-7 in his 18 career starts at UGA.

Grimm carries a 21.60 ERA against VU in his career although his role has been limited. Grimm has pitched in only game against the Commodores in his career, allowing four runs and four hits in 1.2 innings.

The 'Dores look to sweep Georgia for the first time since 2004. Vanderbilt hasn't swept Georgia in Athens since 1993.

Fans can follow today's action on vucommodores.com, including live stats and twitter updates. For Saturday's game recap (W, 9-2) click here. For Friday's game (W, 10-2) click here.