by SID
While in Baltimore for a three-game series, David Price met first lady Michelle Obama at a youth clinic at Camden Yards today. The meeting was due to an initiative by MLB and the White House to combat child obesity.
Here is a video of David, shot by the Rays, showing her how to pitch:
And his thoughts on the clinic:
Showing posts with label SID. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SID. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Six Commodores taken in baseball draft
by SID
Six Vanderbilt players were selected in the 2010 Major League Amateur Baseball Draft held over three days earlier this week.
Click here for full release.
Practice day complete in Tallahassee
by SID
The first day in Tallahassee is done at Dick Howser Stadium. Commodore head coach Tim Corbin arrived for a pre-tournament coaches press conference at 11 a.m. CT, followed by interviews with ESPN production personnel.
Also interviewed briefly by ESPN were Jason Esposito, Andrew Giobbi, Brian Harris, Connor Harrell and Aaron Westlake. Look for those in some form or another on the broadcasts this weekend.
One interesting side note- during the production meeting the players were asked to briefly describe what Vanderbilt Baseball is all about. Andrew Giobbi simply said "pitching and defense", then noted the irony that the players interviewed were all position players. The catcher went on to describe the great performances the pitchers have had all season as well as last weekend in Louisville when they held the Cardinals potent offensive attack to two runs in the final 19 innings.
You ever go somewhere where as soon as you walk outside you start to sweat? Not just cause it is hot, but because of the humidity? Well that's Tallahassee. It was 95 degrees with 50 percent humidity during the Commodores practice session at 1:45 p.m. CT. The guys will definitely need to stay hydrated during the 11 a.m. CT game tomorrow.
After the practice the team went back to the hotel with a team meal scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.
Travis "TYPO" Young shot some flip videos after practice with Stooche Jones. Check them out when he gets them up on the blog at TYPO standard time.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Tonight's starting pitchers are...
by SID
Sophomore southpaw Grayson Garvin will get the ball at the start of tonight's game against Louisville.
Garvin pitched 4.1 innings of relief against Illinois State in the opening game of the NCAA 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.
Garvin missed the first month of the season due to injury and has come along nicely in his sophomore campaign. He has made 11 appearances, including one start against Austin Peay on April 27. He held the Govs scoreless on four hits in five innings of work with four strikeouts and a walk.
On the season he is 1-1 with a 1.33 ERA with 32 strikeouts and eight walks in 27.0 innings.
Because of his long relief outing on Friday, it's likely Garvin will be on some sort of pitch count. Every other active pitcher besides Jack Armstrong and Richie Goodenow is likely an option out of the bullpen as the season is on the line tonight for both team's.
Louisville will go 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. He has not had a decision in his last four starts.
Ideally the Cardinals would have used him earlier, but an unknown ailment has kept him out thus far in the regional.
Sophomore southpaw Grayson Garvin will get the ball at the start of tonight's game against Louisville.Garvin pitched 4.1 innings of relief against Illinois State in the opening game of the NCAA 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.
Garvin missed the first month of the season due to injury and has come along nicely in his sophomore campaign. He has made 11 appearances, including one start against Austin Peay on April 27. He held the Govs scoreless on four hits in five innings of work with four strikeouts and a walk.
On the season he is 1-1 with a 1.33 ERA with 32 strikeouts and eight walks in 27.0 innings.
Because of his long relief outing on Friday, it's likely Garvin will be on some sort of pitch count. Every other active pitcher besides Jack Armstrong and Richie Goodenow is likely an option out of the bullpen as the season is on the line tonight for both team's.
Louisville will go 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. He has not had a decision in his last four starts.
Ideally the Cardinals would have used him earlier, but an unknown ailment has kept him out thus far in the regional.
Major League Draft and the Commodores
by SID
For the first time since 2006, don't expect Vanderbilt to have a player drafted in the first round of Major League's Amateur Baseball Draft that starts tonight.
According to Baseball America's draft preview, VU players to watch over the next three days (First round and supplemental round today) are as follows:
Rank of Players In Tennessee
7. Taylor Hill, rhp, Vanderbilt
11. Russell Brewer, rhp, Vanderbilt
12. Drew Hayes, rhp, Vanderbilt
16. Chase Reid, rhp, Vanderbilt
18. Aaron Westlake, 1b/of, Vanderbilt
21. Curt Casali, c/1b, Vanderbilt
Fifth-year seniors Brian Harris and Andrew Giobbi should also get an opportunity to play at the next level.
Although it could be a down year for the draft for current Commodores, it could be good news for the 2011 Vanderbilt team with guys potentially coming back to improve on their draft status.
The first-round no-show will be short-lived though, as next year the Commodores will have at least three guys projected to go early in 2011 in right-handed pitchers Sonny Gray and Jack Armstrong and third baseman Jason Esposito.
According to Baseball America's draft preview, VU players to watch over the next three days (First round and supplemental round today) are as follows:
Rank of Players In Tennessee
7. Taylor Hill, rhp, Vanderbilt
11. Russell Brewer, rhp, Vanderbilt
12. Drew Hayes, rhp, Vanderbilt
16. Chase Reid, rhp, Vanderbilt
18. Aaron Westlake, 1b/of, Vanderbilt
21. Curt Casali, c/1b, Vanderbilt
Fifth-year seniors Brian Harris and Andrew Giobbi should also get an opportunity to play at the next level.
Although it could be a down year for the draft for current Commodores, it could be good news for the 2011 Vanderbilt team with guys potentially coming back to improve on their draft status.
The first-round no-show will be short-lived though, as next year the Commodores will have at least three guys projected to go early in 2011 in right-handed pitchers Sonny Gray and Jack Armstrong and third baseman Jason Esposito.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
A little info on Louisville...
by SID
Louisville handled No. 4 seed Saint Louis with ease, winning 11-2 on Friday night to set up Saturday afternoon's showdown.
The Cardinals will be without head coach Dan McDonnell who will sit out the second game of a three game suspension for his altercation with an umpire in the BIG EAST tournament last weekend in Florida.
Due to sickness, ace junior right-hander Thomas Royce (9-1, 2.91 ERA) will not start against the Commodores. Royse, named this week as a third-team Collegiate Baseball All-American, did not start against Saint Louis and Cardinal assistant coach Chris Lemonis said this when asked about him at their post-game press conference last night:
"Thomas could be available (later this weekend)," Lemonis said. "He's been a little under the weather the last day or two."
Louisville will instead turn to freshman right-hander 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.
He made his last start against St. John's on May 27 in the Big East tournament and allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits in 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts and a walk. Koch did not factor into the decision as the Cards eventually lost that game 6-5.
Louisville earned the nation's No. 7 overall seed and is hosting an NCAA Regional for the second straight year. The Cardinals (49-12) won their last six games of the regular season before going 2-2 at last week's Big East Championships.
Louisville clinched its second straight Big East Conference regular season title after sweeping Notre Dame in the final regular season series in South Bend.
Louisville's 49 wins this year broke last year's season total of 47 wins, marking a new school record. For Louisville, they are making their fourth straight NCAA Regional appearance.
As a team Louisville is hitting .319 as a team with 87 home runs and 440 RBI.
Louisville has five players with at least 12 home runs, led by Collegiate Baseball All-American Phil Wunderlich's 20 home runs. Andrew Clark leads the team in hitting, sporting a .385 average while Ryan Wright and Wunderlich are hitting .366 and .357, respectively.
Junior right-hander Neil Holland (8-0, 2.10 ERA) is the relief ace and currently leads the nation with 16 saves.
Louisville handled No. 4 seed Saint Louis with ease, winning 11-2 on Friday night to set up Saturday afternoon's showdown. The Cardinals will be without head coach Dan McDonnell who will sit out the second game of a three game suspension for his altercation with an umpire in the BIG EAST tournament last weekend in Florida.
Due to sickness, ace junior right-hander Thomas Royce (9-1, 2.91 ERA) will not start against the Commodores. Royse, named this week as a third-team Collegiate Baseball All-American, did not start against Saint Louis and Cardinal assistant coach Chris Lemonis said this when asked about him at their post-game press conference last night:
"Thomas could be available (later this weekend)," Lemonis said. "He's been a little under the weather the last day or two."
Louisville will instead turn to freshman right-hander 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.
He made his last start against St. John's on May 27 in the Big East tournament and allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits in 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts and a walk. Koch did not factor into the decision as the Cards eventually lost that game 6-5.
Louisville earned the nation's No. 7 overall seed and is hosting an NCAA Regional for the second straight year. The Cardinals (49-12) won their last six games of the regular season before going 2-2 at last week's Big East Championships.
Louisville clinched its second straight Big East Conference regular season title after sweeping Notre Dame in the final regular season series in South Bend.
Louisville's 49 wins this year broke last year's season total of 47 wins, marking a new school record. For Louisville, they are making their fourth straight NCAA Regional appearance.
As a team Louisville is hitting .319 as a team with 87 home runs and 440 RBI.
Louisville has five players with at least 12 home runs, led by Collegiate Baseball All-American Phil Wunderlich's 20 home runs. Andrew Clark leads the team in hitting, sporting a .385 average while Ryan Wright and Wunderlich are hitting .366 and .357, respectively.
Junior right-hander Neil Holland (8-0, 2.10 ERA) is the relief ace and currently leads the nation with 16 saves.
Friday, June 4, 2010
A little about Illinois State
by SID
Illinois State is making its third NCAA Regional appearance and first since 1994. The Redbirds (31-22) captured its first-ever share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship after going 15-6 in conference play. Illinois State was also crowned the 2010 MVC Tournament Champions after going 4-0 last week in Wichita, Kan., including a 17-8 win over top-seeded Wichita State in the championship game for its first conference tournament title since 1994.
Following the regular season, first-year head coach Mark Kingston was tabbed the Valley's Coach of the Year after leading ISU's to its highest win total since 2001.
Individually, Illinois State is led by Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, Kevin Tokarski. Tokarski joined five other Redbirds on the Valley's All-Conference team, including first-team relievers, Kenny Long and Ryan Copeland. ISU third baseman Ryan Court and designated hitter Anthony Ruffolo earned second-team All-Valley honors while catcher Matt Mirabal was named honorable mention.
Tokarski, a redshirt a sophomore, ranks among the nation's leaders in batting average (.429), doubles (25) and on-base percentage (.551) while reaching base safely in 48 of 50 games this season.
Long is among the nation's leaders in ERA, producing a MVC best 1.37 ERA and nine saves in 30 appearances.
As a team, Illinois State is batting .295 collectively while the pitching staff has a team ERA of 5.35 and an opponent batting average of .271.
Today's starter right-hander Corey Maines is 6-3 overall with a 4.45 ERA with 65 strikeouts and 37 walks in 83.0 innings. In Missouri Valley play he was 2-1 with a 6.11 ERA in seven starts with 26 strikeouts and 18 walks in 35.1 innings.
Maines made two starts at the MVC tourney last week, throwing seven innings of five-hit shutout baseball against Bradley in the opener and then started in the championship game against Wichita State on Sunday. He allowed six runs on nine hits in four innings with four strikeouts and a walk.
Illinois State is making its third NCAA Regional appearance and first since 1994. The Redbirds (31-22) captured its first-ever share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship after going 15-6 in conference play. Illinois State was also crowned the 2010 MVC Tournament Champions after going 4-0 last week in Wichita, Kan., including a 17-8 win over top-seeded Wichita State in the championship game for its first conference tournament title since 1994.
Following the regular season, first-year head coach Mark Kingston was tabbed the Valley's Coach of the Year after leading ISU's to its highest win total since 2001.
Individually, Illinois State is led by Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, Kevin Tokarski. Tokarski joined five other Redbirds on the Valley's All-Conference team, including first-team relievers, Kenny Long and Ryan Copeland. ISU third baseman Ryan Court and designated hitter Anthony Ruffolo earned second-team All-Valley honors while catcher Matt Mirabal was named honorable mention.
Tokarski, a redshirt a sophomore, ranks among the nation's leaders in batting average (.429), doubles (25) and on-base percentage (.551) while reaching base safely in 48 of 50 games this season.
Long is among the nation's leaders in ERA, producing a MVC best 1.37 ERA and nine saves in 30 appearances.
As a team, Illinois State is batting .295 collectively while the pitching staff has a team ERA of 5.35 and an opponent batting average of .271.
Today's starter right-hander Corey Maines is 6-3 overall with a 4.45 ERA with 65 strikeouts and 37 walks in 83.0 innings. In Missouri Valley play he was 2-1 with a 6.11 ERA in seven starts with 26 strikeouts and 18 walks in 35.1 innings.
Maines made two starts at the MVC tourney last week, throwing seven innings of five-hit shutout baseball against Bradley in the opener and then started in the championship game against Wichita State on Sunday. He allowed six runs on nine hits in four innings with four strikeouts and a walk.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
And Friday's starting pitcher is .....
by SIDJunior right-hander Taylor Hill will get the start for the Commodores in tomorrow's opening round game against Illinois State at the NCAA Louisville Regional.
Hill (5-5, 3.96) already 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.
Barca Blog mentioned earlier (read more) the decision Corbin wrestled with in whether to start sophomore right-hander Sonny Gray or Hill. The coaches decided on Hill for game one and Gray will get the nod in game two.
Illinois State will start their ace junior right-hander Corey Maines (6-3, 4.45) against the Commodores. More info on the Redbirds will be posted on the blog tomorrow morning.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
NCAA Louisville Regional preview
by SIDVanderbilt is making its fifth straight NCAA tournament appearance and its second straight trip to the Louisville Regional starting on Friday afternoon. The second-seeded Commodores will take on the third-seeded Illinois State Redbirds in the opening game of the tourney on Friday at 1 p.m. CT/ 2 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium. Click here for game notes and more.
McDonnell suspended three games
by SID
Louisville's head baseball coach Dan McDonnell has been suspended for three games because of his actions at the Big East tournament last weekend in Florida.
Click here for more details.
Click here for more details.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Westlake named to SEC All-Tourney team
by SID
Redshirt sophomore Aaron Westlake was named to the Southeastern Conference's all-tournament team at the designated hitter spot.
Despite playing first base the entire tournament, Westlake made the DH spot because of his offensive numbers. He went 5-for-9 (.556) with a homer, double, two RBI and three runs scored. The cleanup hitter slugged 1.000 and also walked four times without striking out to sport a .692 on base percentage.
For the complete team click here.
Redshirt sophomore Aaron Westlake was named to the Southeastern Conference's all-tournament team at the designated hitter spot.Despite playing first base the entire tournament, Westlake made the DH spot because of his offensive numbers. He went 5-for-9 (.556) with a homer, double, two RBI and three runs scored. The cleanup hitter slugged 1.000 and also walked four times without striking out to sport a .692 on base percentage.
For the complete team click here.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
NCAA Baseball postseason timeline
by SID
With the NCAA tournament fast approaching (next weekend), here is a timeline of events that will be of interest. All times listed below are Central Time.
• Regional site selections will be announced at www.ncaa.com/CWS at approximately 2:30 p.m., Sunday, May 30. The Regional site selections will also be shown on the BottomLine of the ESPN Networks throughout the evening.
• The 2010 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship 64-team field, with first-round regional pairings and site assignments, will be revealed in a live, half-hour telecast on ESPN at 11:30 a.m., Monday, May 31. The 30-minute program will originate from ESPN studios in Bristol, Connecticut.
• The team will have a Selection Show Viewing Party at Commodore Grill in the Holiday Inn on West End. Doors open at 11 a.m., with the general public welcome to attend.
And for those who wonder how many Regional host sites the Southeastern Conference can or will get, the most has been five (2003 and 2006). So if you haven't ordered your tickets for a potential Nashville Regional, click here.
• Regional site selections will be announced at www.ncaa.com/CWS at approximately 2:30 p.m., Sunday, May 30. The Regional site selections will also be shown on the BottomLine of the ESPN Networks throughout the evening.
• The 2010 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship 64-team field, with first-round regional pairings and site assignments, will be revealed in a live, half-hour telecast on ESPN at 11:30 a.m., Monday, May 31. The 30-minute program will originate from ESPN studios in Bristol, Connecticut.
• The team will have a Selection Show Viewing Party at Commodore Grill in the Holiday Inn on West End. Doors open at 11 a.m., with the general public welcome to attend.
And for those who wonder how many Regional host sites the Southeastern Conference can or will get, the most has been five (2003 and 2006). So if you haven't ordered your tickets for a potential Nashville Regional, click here.
Recap: Florida 5, Vanderbilt 2
HOOVER, Ala.--- Preston Tucker notched two hits, including a two-run homer to lead No. 4 Florida to a 5-2 win over Vanderbilt Friday night at Regions Park.With the loss the Commodores were eliminated from the Southeastern Conference tournament and dropped to 41-17 on the year.
Click Here for Recap
Friday, May 28, 2010
Rain delays game 1 today
by SID (Photos by Jimmy Jones)Scattered storms in the Hoover area (and I do mean scattered as three miles from Regions Park at team hotel no rain yet) has caused the first game of the day to be in an indefinite delay.
Auburn and Ole Miss were scheduled to start at 3 p.m. CT and that game will be delayed a minimum of 45 minutes until the tarp is pulled.
If you're planning to attend the Commodores' game tonight, you may call 205-380-3905 for status updates and game times as information becomes available.
(Update 4:20 p.m.: The grounds crew is pulling the tarp off the field. The new start time for the Auburn-Ole Miss game will be at 4:55 p.m. Vanderbilt-Florida will start 30 minutes after the conclusion of that game.)
A little info on Florida
by SID
The Gators lost to the eighth seeded LSU Tigers on Wednesday, marking the fifth straight year the lowest seed in tourney has beaten the top seed.
Florida rebounded yesterday with a 5-4 win over Arkansas in an elimination game and will send freshman right-hander Hudson Randall to the mound.
UF (41-14) won the SEC regular season overall title with a 22-8 league mark and enter Friday night's game winners of 15 of its last 18 contests.
Randall is 6-3 with a team starter best 2.99 ERA. He has 52 strikeouts and 16 walks in 75.1 innings in 16 appearances, including 13 starts.
Against the Commodores on April 4, he allowed three runs, two earned, on seven hits in 5.2 innings with six strikeouts and a walk in the losing effort.
Since that game he has gone 4-0 with three no-decisions in seven starts. Randall allowed two runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings with three strikeouts in his last start against South Carolina on May 21. He did not factor in the decision as the Gators won the game 5-2 to clinch the regular season crown.
The Gators lost to the eighth seeded LSU Tigers on Wednesday, marking the fifth straight year the lowest seed in tourney has beaten the top seed.Florida rebounded yesterday with a 5-4 win over Arkansas in an elimination game and will send freshman right-hander Hudson Randall to the mound.
UF (41-14) won the SEC regular season overall title with a 22-8 league mark and enter Friday night's game winners of 15 of its last 18 contests.
Randall is 6-3 with a team starter best 2.99 ERA. He has 52 strikeouts and 16 walks in 75.1 innings in 16 appearances, including 13 starts.
Against the Commodores on April 4, he allowed three runs, two earned, on seven hits in 5.2 innings with six strikeouts and a walk in the losing effort.
Since that game he has gone 4-0 with three no-decisions in seven starts. Randall allowed two runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings with three strikeouts in his last start against South Carolina on May 21. He did not factor in the decision as the Gators won the game 5-2 to clinch the regular season crown.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Starting lineup vs LSU
by SIDAnother nice night in Hoover, temps in the high 70's, with very little wind.
The Commodores will use the same lineup, with one small order shift. Andrew Giobbi moves up to fifth, while Curt Casali drops a spot to sixth.
1. Brian Harris SS
2. Anthony Gomez 2B
3. Jason Esposito 3B
4. Aaron Westlake 1B
5. Andrew Giobbi C
6. Curt Casali DH
7. Joe Loftus RF
8. Connor Harrell CF
9. Mike Yastrzemski LF
SP: Taylor Hill (5-4, 3.68 ERA)
Hill had a masterful performance against the Tigers on May 8 in Baton Rouge, carrying a shutout into the bottom of the ninth, before giving up a two-run single with two outs in a 6-2 Vanderbilt win. He tossed his first career complete game, allowing the two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and a walk.
What was most impressive was that he stymied a LSU squad that pounded out 19 hits and scored 16 runs the previous night in a wild 16-15 win in 10 innings.
Another strong outing by Hill and the Commodores will have tomorrow off while waiting to face the winner of tomorrow's Auburn-Ole Miss elimination game. If VU were to lose tonight, they would face Florida tomorrow night in an elimination game.
First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT at Regions Park.
A little info on LSU
By SID
LSU leads all-time 50-33 in a series that dates back to 1954. This will be the fourth time over the last three years the teams have met in the tournament, with the Tigers winning two of the previous three.
Vanderbilt took the series in Baton Rouge (May 7-9), marking the third straight season series win over the Tigers (2006, 2007, 2010).
Today’s game is the sixth meeting all-time in the tournament with LSU holding a 5-1 record over the Commodores.
Last season the Commodores used a complete-game performance by Mike Minor (in my opinion his best ever outing at Vanderbilt) to defeat the Tigers 4-1 in the opening game of the tournament.
The Tigers "roared" back from the loser's bracket winning five straight games, including a 6-2 win over Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament Championship game, to capture their second straight tourney crown. Of course LSU went on to win the whole thing, marking the sixth National Championship in the program's history.
With several of the starters back, LSU jumped out to a great start this year and on April 21st were 32-6 overall and 11-4 in league play. Since that time the Tigers have faltered, going 5-14 overall and 3-11 in SEC action.
The Tigers opened the second season with a convincing 10-6 win over No. 1 seed Florida last night and many media types are saying that they appeared to have their swagger back.
LSU will throw junior right-hander Austin Ross (4-4, 5.13 ERA) tonight. He allowed two runs on five hits in 5.1 innings with four strikeouts and no walks and did not factor in the decision in his start against Vanderbilt on May 9.
In his last outing against Mississippi State on May 21, Ross allowed three runs on four hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts and no walks in the 17-3 win. On the year he has posted 86 strikeouts and 17 walks in 73.2 innings pitched.
Download Game Notes
LSU leads all-time 50-33 in a series that dates back to 1954. This will be the fourth time over the last three years the teams have met in the tournament, with the Tigers winning two of the previous three. Vanderbilt took the series in Baton Rouge (May 7-9), marking the third straight season series win over the Tigers (2006, 2007, 2010).
Today’s game is the sixth meeting all-time in the tournament with LSU holding a 5-1 record over the Commodores.
Last season the Commodores used a complete-game performance by Mike Minor (in my opinion his best ever outing at Vanderbilt) to defeat the Tigers 4-1 in the opening game of the tournament.
The Tigers "roared" back from the loser's bracket winning five straight games, including a 6-2 win over Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament Championship game, to capture their second straight tourney crown. Of course LSU went on to win the whole thing, marking the sixth National Championship in the program's history.
With several of the starters back, LSU jumped out to a great start this year and on April 21st were 32-6 overall and 11-4 in league play. Since that time the Tigers have faltered, going 5-14 overall and 3-11 in SEC action.
The Tigers opened the second season with a convincing 10-6 win over No. 1 seed Florida last night and many media types are saying that they appeared to have their swagger back.
LSU will throw junior right-hander Austin Ross (4-4, 5.13 ERA) tonight. He allowed two runs on five hits in 5.1 innings with four strikeouts and no walks and did not factor in the decision in his start against Vanderbilt on May 9.
In his last outing against Mississippi State on May 21, Ross allowed three runs on four hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts and no walks in the 17-3 win. On the year he has posted 86 strikeouts and 17 walks in 73.2 innings pitched.
Download Game Notes
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Starting lineup vs. Arkansas
by SIDWell if the trend continues Vanderbilt should be in good shape here in the final game of the day. So far the lower seed has won the first two games, with eighth-seeded LSU on top of No. 1 seed Florida 9-4 in the eighth.
The weather isn't bad at all, with temps in the low 80's and certain to decrease at night.
The Commodores lineup is basically the same it has been the latter part of the year. Freshman Mike Yastrzemski is getting the start in left, taking advantage of his defensive prowess in a huge outfield.
1. Brian Harris SS
2. Anthony Gomez 2B
3. Jason Esposito 3B
4. Aaron Westlake 1B
5. Curt Casali DH
6. Andrew Giobbi C
7. Joe Loftus RF
8. Connor Harrell CF
9. Mike Yastrzemski LF
SP Sonny Gray (8-4, 3.44 ERA)
Gray had a solid outing against the Razorbacks last Thursday, allowing three runs on seven hits in eight innings with nine strikeouts in the Commodores 4-3 win in the series opener.
Baseball canned food drive
by SID
Academic counselor extraordinaire Katie Feyes sent over some pics and info from the baseball team's recent canned food drive for the Second Harvest Food Bank.
Last season the team did a similar food drive for the Florida series and collected 792 pounds of food.
This season the team used the Georgia series as the designated weekend to collect items, but that was the weekend of the flood, cutting down the donation time to just the Friday opener.
The need for items remained and the food drive was added to the Louisville game on May 11 that was used as a benefit for flood relief efforts.
Fans responded in a big way as the donation to Second Harvest came in at 1,575 pounds of food.
The Vanderbilt baseball team thanks all those that brought in food that was, and is, much needed at this time.
Arkansas starting pitcher: Jeremy Heatley
by SID
As Barca Blog pointed out earlier, Arkansas is a little banged up heading into the SEC tournament and will not use their normal ace Drew Smyly in the opener tonight. Instead they will start senior right-hander Jeremy Heatley.
Heatley (5-0, 4.76 ERA) will be making his first ever start in a Razorback uniform, including 21 relief appearances this year and seven appearances out of the pen a year ago.
He transferred in from Northlake Junior College in 2009 after starting his career at Texas A&M Kingsville.
Early scouting reports from Levitron 2000 says that he is a side-arming right hander in the 85-88 miles per hour range.
Heatley's numbers overall include 37 strikeouts and just eight walks in 34.0 innings with two saves and opponents are hitting just .233 against him.
His numbers in conference play, however, have not been as good with a team worst 12.54 ERA in nine outings with eight strikeouts and six walks in 9.1 innings. SEC teams hit .357 against him.
He made his last appearance against South Carolina on May 16, recording one out while walking one. In his last extended showing against Louisiana Tech on May 11, he pitched three innings of one hit ball with three strikeouts.
As Barca Blog pointed out earlier, Arkansas is a little banged up heading into the SEC tournament and will not use their normal ace Drew Smyly in the opener tonight. Instead they will start senior right-hander Jeremy Heatley.Heatley (5-0, 4.76 ERA) will be making his first ever start in a Razorback uniform, including 21 relief appearances this year and seven appearances out of the pen a year ago.
He transferred in from Northlake Junior College in 2009 after starting his career at Texas A&M Kingsville.
Early scouting reports from Levitron 2000 says that he is a side-arming right hander in the 85-88 miles per hour range.
Heatley's numbers overall include 37 strikeouts and just eight walks in 34.0 innings with two saves and opponents are hitting just .233 against him.
His numbers in conference play, however, have not been as good with a team worst 12.54 ERA in nine outings with eight strikeouts and six walks in 9.1 innings. SEC teams hit .357 against him.
He made his last appearance against South Carolina on May 16, recording one out while walking one. In his last extended showing against Louisiana Tech on May 11, he pitched three innings of one hit ball with three strikeouts.
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