by Barca Blog (Photo by Jimmy Jones)Vanderbilt closed out a three-game sweep of Mississippi State with a 14-4 romp over the Bulldogs on Sunday in Starkville.
The Commodores continued their offensive surge with 15 hits including nine for extra bases. VU broke the game open with a seven-run fourth behind three-run homers by Bryan Johns and Andrew Giobbi. It was Johns' first career round-tripper as a Commodore.
Overall, Vanderbilt scored 40 runs on the weekend, which tied a school record for the most runs against an SEC opponent in a three-game series.
Johns spoke with Joe Fisher on the WNSR postgame show following the sweep:
On hitting his first home run as a Commodore:
"It felt good. I was just happy to get in the runs from third and first. I was trying to hit a ball in the air and drive it to the gaps to avoid the double play. It just happened to go out."
On how hitting can be contagious:
"It helps to have guys in scoring position because it helps the hitter get better pitches. It also puts pressure on the pitcher. It's definitely contagious."
On how he's handled not being in the lineup every day:
"I'll do whatever is the best for the team. I'm ready to play every day. If I'm not in the lineup, I'm rooting for the guy that's in the game. We have a lot of good players, so we have a chance to win every day no matter who is out there for us."
On Coach Corbin's message to the team after the game:
"He congratulated us on our performance. He told us that we had to move on and start getting ready for Arkansas. We learned a lot from this series but we've got to move ahead and keep getting better every game."
On winning six straight games:
"It's been a good week. We're starting to play the baseball that we're capable of. We're still getting better."
