Baseball summer league update

By Travis Young

Twenty-one members of the Vanderbilt baseball team are currently busy playing in summer leagues across the country. 13 of the 21 are playing in the northeast right now as nine of them are in the Cape Cod League while four of them are playing in the New England Collegiate League.

See the list below to track the Commodores progress throughout the summer.

USA Baseball
Sonny Gray* - USA Baseball National Team - * reports on July 5

Cape Cod League | Stats
Joe Loftus – Orleans Firebirds
Riley Reynolds – Chatham Anglers
Curt Casali – Cotuit Kettleers
Mike Yastrzemski – Cotuit Kettleers
Jack Armstrong – Wareham Gatemen
Will Clinard – Orleans Firebirds
Jason Esposito – Orleans Firebirds
Grayson Garvin – Bourne Braves
Aaron Westlake – Chatham Anglers

Prospect League | Stats
Navery Moore – Nashville Outlaws
Bryan Johns – Nashville Outlaws
Drew Fann – Nashville Outlaws

New England Collegiate League | Stats
Regan Flaherty – Sanford Mainers
Connor Harrell – Newport Gulls
Anthony Gomez – Sanford Mainers
Keenan Kolinsky – New Bedford Bay Sox

Northwoods League | Stats
Sam Selman – Mankato Moondogs

Valley League | Stats
Mark Lamm – Waynesboro Generals

Florida Collegiate League | Stats
Nate Gonzalez – Sanford River Rats

Atlantic Collegiate League | Stats
Andrew Harris – North Fork Ospreys

June issue of Commodore Nation

By Ryan Schulz

The June issue of Commodore Nation is now available online by clicking below.

Included in this issues is a collection of the 2009-10 images of the year. There are also stories on shortstop Brian Harris, running backs Warren Norman and Zac Stacy, the charitable work of former Commodore Darius Coulibaly, women's tennis player Hannah Blatt and much more.

To view more archived issues, click here.

Open publication - Free publishing - More vanderbilt

2010 football posters

by Barca Blog

Just a follow-up to David Rutz's story on Vanderbilt's marketing campaign for the 2010 football season.

Here's a look at the four schedule posters, which match the players featured in the commercial campaign -- Warren Norman, Jamie Graham, Brandon Barden, and Zac Stacy.

Pick up your favorite design at the McGugin Center Ticket Office during regular business hours, or at summer promotional events in Nashville.

Click here for season ticket information.

Ogilvy, Beal secure NBA Summer League roster spots

By A. Boggs

Former Commodores will get very familiar with each other this summer in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. A.J. Ogilvy, who went undrafted, will play with former VU great Derrick Byars for the Chicago Bulls this summer, while Jermaine Beal, who was also undrafted, will play with Shan Foster for the Dallas Mavericks in Las Vegas. Beal was invited as a mini-camp invitee.

Play begins in Vegas for Beal and Foster on July 9, while Byars and Ogilvy begin summer play on July 13.

Click here for more info on the NBA Summer Leagues.

Video: Heavyweights or Bash Brothers?

By Travis Young

I caught up with Adam Smotherman and TJ Greenstone during a summer photo shoot in the weightroom to see what they were up to. The two interior defensive linemen were having some fun with the event as they tested the waters of singing Darius Rucker's "Alright" karaoke style. See video below (and check out David Rutz's feature on the duo).



The second video clip is with Vanderbilt professional staff photographer, John Russell. JR gets a quick lift in before the next photo shoot.

Make your gift to the NCC before June 30

Show your support of the Commodores by making a gift to the National Commodore Club before June 30. Your gift will support scholarships for our outstanding student-athletes and you will receive all the benefits of membership for the 2010-2011 seasons.

Video: Football summer conditioning

By Travis Young

The Vanderbilt football team is in their third week of summer workouts. I ventured outside to the John Rich Practice Complex behind McGugin to watch the Commodores go through some of the workouts. See the video below to see the Commodores going through the drills.

Vanderbilt’s NBA Draft history

By Ryan Schulz

With the 2010 NBA Draft taking place at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN tonight, let’s take a look back at Vanderbilt’s NBA Draft history.

Since 1950, Vanderbilt has had 33 players selected in the NBA Draft. Billy Joe Adcock was the first Commodore selected in 1950 by Fort Wayne and Shan Foster was the most recent player to hear his name called when he was selected in the second round of the 2008 draft by Dallas.

Will another Commodore hear his name called tonight? Jermaine Beal and A.J. Ogilvy certainly hope so. Either way, the two Commodores have professional careers ahead of them no matter what happens tonight.

The NBA Draft is comprised of two rounds and there are a total of 60 players selected. Three teams, Charlotte, Cleveland and Denver, are without draft picks.

Year Player - Team Round

2008 Shan Foster - Dallas 2nd

2007 Derrick Byars - Portland (Traded to Philadelphia) 2nd

2004 Matt Freije - Miami 2nd

2000 Dan Langhi - Dallas (Traded to Houston) 2nd

1989 Frank Kornet - Milwaukee 2nd

1988 Will Perdue - Chicago 1st (11th pick)

1987 Glen Clem - New York 5th

1984 Jeff Turner - New Jersey 1st (7th pick)

1981 Charles Davis - Washington 2nd

Mike Rhodes - San Antonio 5th

1980 Tommy Springer - Denver 7th

1976 Butch Feher - Phoenix 2nd

Jeff Fosnes - Golden State 4th

1974 Jan van Breda Kolff - Portland 2nd

Terry Compton - Kansas City-Omaha 4th

Bill Ligon - Detroit 10th

1973 Steve Turner - Boston 10th

Rod Freeman - Philadelphia 11th

1971 Thorpe Weber - Boston 6th

1970 Perry Wallace - Philadelphia 5th

1969 Tom Hagan - San Francisco 3rd

Bob Bundy - Atlanta 7th

1968 Bob Warren - Atlanta 4th

Bo Wyenandt - Cincinnati 10th

1967 Jerry Southwood - Baltimore 18th

1966 Clyde Lee - San Francisco 1st (3rd pick)

Keith Thomas - Los Angeles 6th

1961 Bill Depp - Boston 3rd

1959 Jim Henry - Minneapolis 6th

1957 Al Rochelle - St. Louis 5th

1954 Dan Finch - Minneapolis N/A

1951 George Kelley - Indianapolis N/A

1950 Billy Joe Adcock - Fort Wayne N/A

Video: John Cole summer interview

By Leathers

VUcommodores.com caught up with Vanderbilt sophomore wide receiver John Cole before summer conditioning at the John Rich Practice Complex on Monday. See video below.

Curran, Snedeker at four-over par after round one of U.S. Open

By A. Boggs

Vanderbilt alums Jon Curran and Brandt Snedeker both shot a four-over par, 75, in their first trip around Pebble Beach on Thursday at the U.S. Open. Both are in contention to make the cut, which is projected to be around seven or eight over par.

Snedeker will tee off at 8:39 am Pacific time, while Curran will have to wait until 2:42 for his second round.

You can follow the scores in a multitude of places around the web, but here's a link to the official site, USGA.com.

Alex finishes second at Women's Eastern Amateur

By A. Boggs

Vanderbilt rising junior Marina Alex finished the Women's Eastern Amateur in second place with a final round total of 216 (71-75-70), finishing four strokes behind Brittany Altomare, who went wire-to-wire for the victory.

Alex fired a 70 in her final round on Thursday at the Shackamaxon Golf & Country Club in Scotch Plains, N.J., which tied for the low round of the day with Altomare, who also fired a third-round 70.

Here's a blog from NorthJersey.com's Andy Vasquez describing Marina's push for the championship:

Wayne’s Marina Alex put plenty of pressure on Brittany Altomare. But Altomare’s putter never faltered.

Altomare used a final round, 2-under 70 to finish at 4-under par for the tournament and hold off Alex, who finished four shots back at even par 216 for the 54-hole tournament.

Alex, a rising junior at Vanderbilt, didn’t make it easy on Altomare, who will be a sophomore at Virginia next season. With Altomare leading by three shots on the 16th hole, Alex chipped in from about 25 feet for birdie. But Altomare calmly answered with a 10 foot birdie putt of her own. Altomare then saved par from 10 feet on the 16th hole and made a 12-footer for birdie on 17, to seal the tournament.

Alex struck the ball well all day, but seemingly couldn’t get a putt to drop until it was too late. She made a 30 footer to save par on the 18th hole, and stay at par for the tournament.

For the complete scoreboard from the tournament, click here.

Alex stays in second after two rounds of Women's Eastern

By A. Boggs

Marina Alex remains in second place after two rounds of the Women's Eastern Amateur after posting a three-over par, 75, on Wednesday at the Shackamaxon Golf & Country Club in Scotch Plains, N.J. Alex trails Brittany Altomare, a University of Virginia golfer, by four strokes heading into the final round Thursday.

Alex sits at two-over par for the tournament (71-75=146), and is attempting to become the first New Jersey golfer to win the Women's Eastern since 1979.

To read more about Alex's second round, check out Stephen Hennessey's recap at NorthJersey.com here.

Alex in second at Eastern Women's Golf Association Amateur

By A. Boggs

Vanderbilt rising junior Marina Alex is currently in second place after the first round of the 99th Women’s Eastern Golf Association Amateur in Scotch Plains, N.J., after firing a one-under par, 71, on Tuesday at the Shackamaxon Golf & Country Club.

Alex is one stroke back of the leader, Brittany Altomare of the University of Virginia, who shot a 70.

Fifty-seven golfers are in the three-day, 54-hole tournament that is being held in New Jersey for the first time since 1979.

To read more about Alex and the tournament, click here to read Greg Mattura's first day recap at NorthJersey.com.

Baseball is No. 1 in APR

by Rocket

Last week we reported the news of Vanderbilt's impressive Academic Progress Report success. Fourteen of our 16 varsity sports scored perfect 1,000 statistical marks.

USA Today just ran a story that showed that our tremendous baseball team had the nation's best APR score (1,000) of any Top 25 rated program. Georgia Tech was second, Texas came in third.

Our women's basketball team posted the seventh best APR score in that sport's Top 25 with a solid 990 total. Georgia's women's team achieved a 1,000 mark in a tabulation that factors progress toward a degree (eligibility) with retention of each student-athlete of the roster for each semester of the school year.

Coping with a cooker on the courts

By Ryan Schulz

With temperatures hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk and no immediate break in the heat in sight, Nashvillians have been forced to find ways to stay cool during these hot summer days.

Some have been fortunate to avoid the scorching temperatures by staying indoors, but others are forced to deal with the heat on a daily basis. Among the activities that have been affected by the extreme heat include Vanderbilt’s many camps that are taking place right now.

On Monday, Amanda Hara of News Channel 5 stopped by Vanderbilt’s tennis camp to visit with men’s tennis coach Ian Duvenhage and some campers to see how they are handling the heat.

Click here to view the video.

Final: Florida State 7, Vanderbilt 6

Vanderbilt's season came to an end after the Commodores suffered a 7-6 loss to Florida State Sunday afternoon in Tallahassee. Check VUcommodores.com for a complete recap later tonight.

Weather Delay

By Eric Jones

The game has been stopped for a minimum of 30 minutes as lightning was detected in the immediate area. The tarp is being put on the field as this is being posted. The start of the waiting period is 4:07 pm (eastern). So you are looking at the earliest possible time would be 4:37 pm.

No truth whatsoever to the rumor that Corbs told the umpiring crew that Vanderbilt would play through it.

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.

Groundhog Day in Tallahassee

By Eric Jones

I will acknowledge that it may be an obscure reference to some (the title), but stay with me. In the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murray plays a TV weatherman who is sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to cover Groundhog Day and finds himself caught in a maddening loop where everyday he wakes up and relives that fateful day. The Commodores are hoping to live the same way today in the deciding game of the Super Regional Championship as they did yesterday...but in a good way.

Superstition has seemingly always been part of the game of baseball. Teammates have been known to assault the olfactory senses of teammates by wearing the same sweaty undershirts, socks and other unmentionables when on a hot streak. Undoubtedly some of these same things are going on within the Vanderbilt clubhouse, but you can't blame them.

Superstition was very evident at the team hotel this morning. Roommates took morning showers in the same order, they filed into the elevator to the lobby in the same order on their way to breakfast and several even called the same people on their cell phones. I was personally asked to hum and sing the same song I did yesterday morning on the way down the hallway to the elevator (Love of a Lifetime by the '80's hairband Firehouse and no, I have no explanation as to why I did it yesterday). When you are one game away from the College World Series you don't ask why, you just do it. Most of you would too.

So everyone does their part. I opened the player/pass gate at 11:03 local time (just like yesterday). The Commodores are the home team and in the first base dugout just like yesterday. Our fans' tickets are in the same places as yesterday, all in the hopes of helping the team in some small way to win this Super Regional.

A quick perusal of the pass list, finds interesting names like the Mark Lamm and Richie Goodenow creations of Charlie Clutchman and Alligator Suitcase. I don't know if they are fictional, but by being here in spirit they may have been part of the baseball karma. Attempts were made to find Bill Murray, a big baseball fan, but then we reconsidered as he is a huge Cubs fan. That's too much bad luck!

How to follow VU-FSU game - 12 p.m. CT

by Barca Blog (Photo by Jimmy Jones)

It all comes down to this....

After splitting the first two games of the series, Vanderbilt and Florida State will play for the right to go to the College World Series today at Noon CT inside Dick Howser Stadium.

The Commodores will send sophomore right-hander Jack Armstrong (7-3, 4.32 ERA) to the mound, while the Seminoles' starter is expected to be junior right-hander Geoff Parker (4-1, 4.94).

The game will be televised on ESPN and can also be seen online via ESPN3.com. You can also tune into Joe Fisher's radio call on 560 AM and VUCommodores.com.

For score updates,  follow @VandyBaseball on Twitter, or track live stats at VUcommodores.com.

Tallahassee Super Regional (Best 2 of 3)
Friday: Florida State 9, Vanderbilt 8
Saturday: Vanderbilt 6, Florida State 2
Sunday: Noon CT (ESPN)

Sunday morning Super Regional news

by Barca Blog (Photo by Ross Obley)

Let's take a trip Around the Web to get the latest news on the NCAA Tallahassee Super Regional.

*Official Game 2 Recaps: Vanderbilt | Florida State

*Vanderbilt baseball team improves to 4-0 in elimination games (Jeff Lockridge, The Tennessean)

*Vanderbilt needs this run of good fortune as the home team to continue one more day (Jeff Lockridge, The Tennessean)

*Sonny Gray and Grayson Garvin combine to shut down Florida State (Jimmy Jones, College Baseball Insider)

*Joe Loftus' impressive sixth-inning throw might be the biggest play of VU's season (Ira Schoffel, Tallahassee Democrat)

*Omaha is on the line for Vanderbilt and FSU (Ira Schoffel, Tallahassee Democrat)

*Florida State starter Brian Busch had his longest outing of the year (Corey Clark, Tallahassee Democrat)

*Vanderbilt battles back to even series (Garry Smits, The Florida Times-Union)

*Inside look at the Super Regional results from around the country (Kendall Rogers, Rivals.com)

NCAA Super Regional Results (Best 2 of 3) - view scores
Vanderbilt and Florida State tied at 1-1
[2] Texas and TCU tied at 1-1
[5] Virginia leads Oklahoma, 1-0
Alabama leads Clemson, 1-0
[3] Florida defeated Miami, 2-0 (Gators advance to Omaha)
[6] UCLA and Fullerton tied at 1-1
South Carolina leads [4] Coastal Carolina, 1-0
[1] Arizona State leads Arkansas, 1-0

More Photos from Saturday's win

Click Here to view Jimmy Jones' photo gallery from Saturday's 6-2 win over Florida State.

Video: Baseball Postgame Press Conference

By Travis Young

Here is Saturday's postgame press conference from Vanderbilt's 6-2 win over Florida State at the NCAA Super Regional in Tallahassee, Fla. Head Coach Tim Corbin, Sonny Gray, Grayson Garvin, Joe Loftus and Jason Esposito answered questions from the media.

(Part 1)


(Part 2)

Saturday Photos: Vanderbilt 6, Florida State 2

Click Here to view Ross Obley's Photo Gallery

Armstrong tabbed to pitch Super Regional Championship

By Eric Jones

Tim Corbin announced that Jack Armstrong will be the starting pitcher for the Commodores tomorrow. Although Jack has had some tough luck thus far in the post-season, 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 while preventing the Dores from suffering a sweep by the Gators. Plus his hometown of Jupiter is just hours away, so Jack may have to get some extra tickets from his teammates.

Commodores even series

TALLAHASSE, Fla. – Vanderbilt jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and added three more runs in the eighth to defeat Florida State, 6-2, in Game 2 of the NCAA Super Regional Saturday at Dick Howser Stadium.

The Commodores and Seminoles will play Sunday (Noon CT) for the right to go to the College World Series.

Check back soon for a full recap and official postgame coverage.

Garvin Great in Post-Season

by Eric Jones

Maybe it was a good thing that Grayson Garvin didn't throw a pitch in anger before March 30. The seemingly innocuous scoreless inning that day against the Terriers with three strikeouts proved the lefty was ready to go. It was bigger still just four days later when Corey Williams took a ball off the kneecap versus Florida that required season-ending surgery while leaving the Commodores with just Richie Goodenow and freshman Sam Selman as the only other left-handed options for match-ups.

Rehabbing to be completely healthy proved to be a good thing, especially now in the post-season. In three post-season appearances including action today, G-Squared has been impressive allowing just three runs on 14 hits over 15.2 innings. The 1.72 ERA over that span, combined with 13 strikeouts have been huge.

The three-inning save today, Garvin's first as a Commodore, shows his versatility and is a glimpse that there may be even better things to come.

TV Coverage Map for Super Regional

(Click on the above photo to enlarge)

The above photo is the television coverage map for today's Super Regional game against Florida State. There are two Super Regional games on ESPN at the 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT slot (TCU vs. Texas is also on ESPN). If you live in Tennessee or Florida you will see the VU vs. FSU game, if you live in Texas you will see the UT vs. TCU game.

All of the other states will receive whip-around coverage between the games in progress.

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).

Florida State's Saturday starting pitcher

By Travis Young

Florida State will send another left-hander to the mound on Saturday as Brian Busch will get the ball on the bump for the Seminoles. Busch, a native from Boca Raton, Fla., is 5-1 with a 4.24 ERA this season.

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).

Busch will be making his 20th appearance and ninth start of the year today at Dick Howser Stadium. In eight starts this season, Busch is 1-1 with a 6.13 ERA. His longest outing of the year came against NC State when he earned a no-decision in 6.1 innings of work.

In his most recent start, Busch allowed three runs, one earned on five hits in 6.2-innings to pick up the win vs. Central Connecticut State at the Norwich Regional on June 4.

How to follow VU-FSU game - 12 p.m. CT

by Barca Blog (Photo by Ross Obley)

First pitch for Game 2 of Vanderbilt's best of three-game series with Florida State in the Tallahassee Super Regional is scheduled for Noon CT Saturday inside Dick Howser Stadium.

The game will be televised on ESPN and can also be seen online via ESPN3.com. You can also tune into Joe Fisher's radio call on 560 AM and VUCommodores.com.

For score updates,  follow @VandyBaseball on Twitter, or track live stats at VUcommodores.com.

The Seminoles took the series opener, 9-8, Friday behind Mike McGee's two-out solo homer in the bottom of the ninth. With a win today, FSU would advance to the College World Series for the 20th time in school history. The Commodores need to take the final two games to get to Omaha.

Tallahassee Super Regional (Best 2 of 3)
Friday: Florida State 9, Vanderbilt 8
Saturday: Noon CT (ESPN)
Sunday (if necessary): Noon CT (ESPN)

Saturday morning Super Regional news

by Barca Blog (Photo by Ross Obley)

Let's take a trip Around the Web to get the latest news on the NCAA Tallahassee Super Regional.

*Official Game 1 Recaps: Vanderbilt | Florida State

*Vanderbilt overcomes six-run deficit but suffer cruel ending (Jeff Lockridge, The Tennessean)

*Commodores make some dazzling defensive plays in Game 1 (Jeff Lockridge, The Tennessean)

*Mike Yastrzemski Jr., was almost the hero Friday (Garry Smits, The Florida Times-Union)

*Mike McGee's walk-off home run gives Florida State edge in super regional (Garry Smits, The Florida Times-Union)

*McGee's clutch for the Seminoles once again (Casey Moore, Tallahassee Democrat)

*No amount of heat could keep FSU fans away (Casey Moore, Tallahassee Democrat)

*Florida State refuses to savior walk-off homer (Ira Schoffel, Tallahassee Democrat)

*Several FSU heroes are playing first Super Regional (Ira Schoffel, Tallahassee Democrat)

*Former walk-on Brian Harris shines for Vandy (Jimmy Jones, College Baseball Insider)

Friday Photos: Florida State 9, Vanderbilt 8

Click Here to view Ross Obley's Photo Gallery

Video: Postgame Press Conference

By Travis Young

Here is today's postgame press conference from Vanderbilt's 9-8 setback to Florida State at the NCAA Super Regional in Tallahassee, Fla.

Coin toss now looms large

By Eric Jones

In the initial meeting with both Vanderbilt and FSU team officials and administrators yesterday, there was a coin-toss initiated by a member of the NCAA Tournament committee. The coin-toss was done to determine which team would be the home team should the best-of-three series go through Sunday. FSU head coach Mike Martin was given the privilege as host to call heads or tails. He chose tails and the coin came up heads, so Tim Corbin won the right for Vanderbilt to be home team in the final game. Now that may prove to be an advantage with the Dores losing today 9-8 on a walk-off homerun.

Vanderbilt benefited at the NCAA Regional in Louisville in a similar manner as it was determined that Louisville had been the home team more than the visiting team during the tournament. The result, Vanderbilt was named as the home team for the championship game and had that last opportunity when Connor Harrell capitalized with the game-winning bunt. Now the Commodores will fight for that chance to take this series to Sunday.

Florida State takes Game 1

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Mike McGee hit a walk-off solo homer in the bottom of the ninth to give Florida State a 9-8 victory over Vanderbilt in Game 1 of the Tallahassee Super Regional Friday afternoon at Dick Howser Stadium.

With the victory, the Seminoles are one win away from advancing to the College World Series on Omaha. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at Noon CT on ESPN. If a third game is required it will be played on Sunday at Noon CT on ESPN.

Check VUcommodores.com for a complete recap later today.

(Photo by Ross Obley)

Geesh It's Hot

By Eric Jones (Photo by Ross Obley)

The funniest thing that I saw today as I made my way up from the Vanderbilt player/pass gate in the ticket office to the pressbox, was the guy dressed up like a devil, complete with red tights, horns and even a tail (the pitchfork didn't make it past security). He was at the front of a long line of fans at the Coke stand and asked loudly, "You're really going to charge me $2.00 for a cup of ice?!"

Yes, it is that hot here at Dick Howser Stadium. At 95 with a heat index of over 100 degrees, it makes you feel like you have stepped into a hot, wet blanket each time you go outside. Then again, this is Florida, imagine those poor souls at the Magic Kingdom. Still you have to wonder about the heat effect on this game.

One thing is for sure, the ball flies out of this ballpark. The Commodores have left the ballpark four times (Casali, Esposito, Loftus and Yastrzemski) and the Seminoles trail this homerun derby with three (Boyd, Johnson and just now McGee). The last time the Commodores hit four homeruns in the same game was back on April 26, 2009 against Mississippi State.

Goodenow continues to be great

By Eric Jones (Photo by Ross Obley)

Richie Goodenow was brought in to face FSU's Jayce Boyd with a runner on base. In typical Richie fashion, he gets a groundball doubleplay, gives up a hit to Devon Travis, then gets Rafael Lopez to strikeout swinging.

Although it is no complete game nine-inning shutout, still a nice follow-up to the Louisville Regional start which earned him Regional Tournament MVP honors. Low-keyed and unassuming, Richie is now the pitcher of record after Esposito's solo homerun in the top of the seventh to give Vandy the lead 7-6. The six-run deficit is eerily reminiscent of the Dore's come-from-behind win over UK earlier this year when they trailed 7-0 only to rally for a 9-8 win.

Video: Pre-game batting practice

By Travis Young

I grabbed some video of the baseball team taking batting practice before its first game against Florida State at Dick Howser Stadium on Friday morning. First pitch is slated for 11:05 a.m. CT. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

See video below.

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.

A little info on Florida State...

By Travis Young

Florida State punched its ticket to the NCAA Super Regionals last weekend by winning three straight games in the NCAA Norwich Regional. The Seminoles defeated Central Connecticut State (11-3), before beating Oregon twice (W, 6-4 and W, 5-3). Florida State (45-17) went 18-12 in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season before winning its fifth ACC Tournament in school history at the end of May.

Individually, FSU is led by juniors Tyler Holt and Mike McGee. Holt earned Collegiate Baseball Second-Team All-American honors for the second straight year while McGee was a third-team all-american honoree as a relief pitcher. Holt leads the team with a .349 average to go along with 24 doubles, 12 home runs and 29 stolen bases. McGee, a two-way player, is hitting .335 with a team-best 14 home runs and 67 RBI. The FSU lineup has five players with at least 8 home runs and four players with at least 48 RBI. As a team, Florida State is hitting .300 with a team on-base percentage of .414 and slugging .495. The Seminoles have also shown that they have some speed on the base paths while converting 94-of-110 attempts.

On the mound, the Seminoles have a team ERA of 4.31 with 501 strikeouts in 546.2 innings. McGee is the team’s top pitcher out of the bullpen, boasting a 4-0 record with an astonishing 0.38 ERA and 11 saves. The All-American reliever has allowed only one extra-base in 24.1 innings of relief while opponents are hitting just .103 off him. FSU has used a variety of arms in the weekend rotation as five players have made at least six starts. Lefthanders Sean Gilmartin and John Gast have started 28 games between the two of them and have ERA’s of above 4.70.

On Friday, the 'Noles will send sophomore lefthander Gilmartin (8-7, 4.74 ERA) to the mound. 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. According to Levitron 3000, Gilmartin's fastball sits at 85-90 mph.

FSU is making its third straight Super Regional and its 10th Super Regional appearance in school history. The Seminoles are 26-8 at Dick Howser Stadium this year.

How to follow VU/FSU game - 11 a.m. CT

by Barca Blog (Photo by John Russell)

First pitch for Game 1 of Vanderbilt's best of three-game series with Florida State in the Tallahassee Super Regional is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT Friday inside Dick Howser Stadium (preview).

The game will be televised on ESPN2 and can also be seen online via ESPN3.com. You can also tune into Joe Fisher's radio call on 560 AM and VUCommodores.com.

For score updates,  follow @VandyBaseball on Twitter, or track live stats at VUcommodores.com.

Friday morning Super Regional news

by Barca Blog (Photo by John Russell)

Let's take a trip Around the Web to get the latest news on the NCAA Tallahassee Super Regional. The Commodores and Seminoles will open their best of three-game series Friday at 11 a.m. CT (ESPN2) inside Dick Howser Stadium.

*Official Game Previews: Vanderbilt | Florida State

*Vanderbilt's lineup could face three left-handed starters this weekend (Jeff Lockridge, The Tennessean)

*Vanderbilt hopes its never-say-die attitude paves way to Omaha (Andy Gardiner, USA Today)

*Brian Harris has turned into perhaps the most valuable cog for the Commodores (Brian Bennett, ESPN.com)

*Vanderbilt's Yastrzemski has strong ties to FSU (Casey Moore, Tallahassee Democrat)

*The Vanderbilt baseball team knows a thing or two about playing in unfriendly confines (Casey Moore, Tallahassee Democrat)

*The Seminoles have lost the first game of a Super Regional seven straight times (Casey Moore, Tallahassee Democrat)

*FSU's Mike McGee shining in role on the mound (Casey Moore, Tallahassee Democrat)

*The Florida State baseball team has learned its most important lessons through losses (Bob Ferrante, The Lakeland Ledger)

* If FSU reaches the College World Series, the turning point might not have been anything the 'Noles did on the field (Garry Smits, The Florida Times-Union)

Giobbi and Gomez talk Super Regional

By Travis Young

Instead of Ron Burgundy and the Channel 4 News Team, Vanderbilt’s Andrew Giobbi and Anthony Gomez filled in as co-anchors for a vucommodores.com exclusive video after practice Thursday at Mike Martin Field in Tallahassee.

The extreme heat, Dick Howser Stadium’s short right-field porch and team colors are all topics covered by Gio and Go-Go in the video below.

Gomez named Freshman All-American

by SID

Earlier this week second baseman Anthony Gomez was named to Collegiate Baseball's Freshman All-American team.

Gomez currently leads the Commodores with a .377 batting average with two homers and 28 RBI in 57 games (48 starts) on the year. He is one of the toughest players to strikeout in the nation with just eight strikeouts in 204 at bats on the year (ranked fifth in nation at one K every 25.5 at-bat)

The New Jersey product is also a fine fielding second baseman with just five errors on the season and sports a .971 on base percentage.

Gomez is the 18th Commodore to receive Freshmen honors and the seventh player to receive the plaudit under Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin.

Video: Super Regional Press Conference

By Travis Young

Vanderbilt head baseball coach Tim Corbin met with media this afternoon at Dick Howser Stadium in preparation for the NCAA Super Regional against Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla.

Corbin talked about winning the NCAA Louisville Regional last weekend and what his team has done to get where they're at.

See video below.

Video: Big Jack returns home...sort of

By Eric Jones

It's always good to have someone on every trip that acts as a navigator. You can't spell 'navigator' without 'gator' which is good considering we are in Florida. Yes, I know Vanderbilt is playing the Seminoles, but there is a gator reference right by campus here. The Burt Reynolds dorm is just a Aaron Westlake homerun from Dick Howser Stadium and Burt (or Turd Ferguson for all you SNL fans) did star in the movie "Gator."

Our navigator on this trip is Jupiter, Florida native Jack Armstrong and I had a chance to catch up with him after practice. Here is what Jack had to say.

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.

Hill on the Hill for Super Regional Opener

By Eric Jones

No more speculation regarding who will start on the hill for the Commodores in tomorrow's Super Regional opener against Florida State. 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).

Hill needed just seven pitches (six for strikes) to get credit for the win over Louisville in the Regional Championship game this past Monday. It was a nice comeback for the native of Old Hickory, Tennessee who received a no-decision in the Regional opener against Illinois State where he lasted just 3.1 innings in the Commodores extra-inning win.

In addition, there may be a little extra incentive for Taylor as well, who was selected in the 30th round of the MLB Amateur Draft by the Cleveland Indians two days ago. For a guy who gets a copious amount of groundballs to go with good control, it was a surprise that Hill lasted that long. So it would not be a surprise to see Taylor use that as extra incentive in what will be the Commodores biggest game of the year.

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.

Johnson on 104.5 The Zone Thursday PM

by Leathers

Bobby Johnson will spend 30 minutes this afternoon talking Vanderbilt football with hosts from 104.5 The Zone's "3 Hour Lunch" Show. The Johnson segment starts at 1:30 pm CT.

Johnson will appear on-location with co-hosts Brent Dougherty, Clay Travis and Blaine Bishop. Commodore fans wanting to greet the coach can attend the show at Ferguson's located across from Vanderbilt's 100 Oaks Mall at 3201 Powell Lane.

Super Regional schedule reminder

by Barca Blog

Vanderbilt (45-18) at Florida State (45-17)
NCAA Tallahassee Super Regional
Dick Howser Stadium (6,700)

Friday, June 11 - 11 a.m. CT  (ESPN2)
Saturday, June 12 - Noon CT (ESPN)
Sunday, June 13 - Noon CT (ESPN) (if necessary)

*The winner of the three-game series will advance to the College World Series on Omaha starting on June 19.

Thursday morning Super Regional news

by Barca Blog (Photo by John Russell)

*Vanderbilt's pitching rotation is not as clear as it was a few days ago (Jeff Lockridge, The Tennessean)

*Reliever Russell Brewer is eager to be called upon (David Boclair, The City Paper)

*Tim Corbin figures that Vanderbilt might be better prepared for the Super Regional this time around (Steven Pivovar, World-Herald)

*Daniel Bennett's confidence high after sensational regional showing (Corey Clark, Tallahassee Democrat)

*Competition gives FSU coach Mike Martin a reason to smile (Garry Smits, The Florida Times-Union)

*Are the Seminoles peaking at the right time? (Phil Jean, WCTV Tallahassee)