Video: Tim Corbin, Sonny Gray Interviews

By Travis Young

Vanderbilt head baseball coach Tim Corbin and staff-ace Sonny Gray talked with the media on Monday before practice. In the interviews, Corbin and Gray answer questions about starting postseason play, including its upcoming game with Arkansas in the first round of the 2010 SEC Tournament on Wednesday. Click the videos below to hear what they had to say.

Gray, Team USA Blast Canada, 20-3

By Travis Young - Team USA jumped out to an early 8-2 lead and never looked back as it defeated Team Canada, 20-3 Sunday night at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Eleven different players recorded a hit Sunday as Team USA improved to 4-0 this summer.

Vanderbilt's Sonny Gray allowed one run, zero earned, and one hit while striking out two in one-inning of relief.

In two appearances with Team USA this summer, Gray is 0-0, 0.00 ERA with five strikeouts and no walks in 2.2 innings of work.

Team USA and Team Canada will finish its five game series Monday, June 29 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. The game will start at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Gray makes USA Baseball National Team

by SID - Right-hander Sonny Gray was one of 22 players named to the 2009 National Team by USA Baseball Wednesday evening. Gray's selection to the squad marks the sixth straight year Vanderbilt will have a representative on the top collegiate summer team in the country. The Smyrna, Tenn., product pitched in two intrasquad games and gave up three runs, one earned, on four hits in five innings with six strikeouts and a walk.

Familiar names on the roster to Commodore fans include first baseman Andy Wilkins (Arkansas; Broken Arrow, Ark.), outfielder Bryce Brentz (Middle Tennessee State; Crossville, Tenn.), pitchers Tony Zych (Louisville; Hazelcrest, Ill.) and Drew Pomeranz (Mississippi; Memphis, Tenn.) and catcher Blake Forsythe (Tennessee; Memphis, Tenn.).

The National Team begins its summer season Thursday, opening a five-game series against the Canadian National Team in Cary, N.C. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM ET at the National Training Complex, and Pomeranz will take the mound for the U.S.

Click here for a complete release and the roster for the 2009 USA Baseball National Team.

Gray finds out USA fate tonight

by Barca Blog - Vanderbilt pitcher Sonny Gray will find out if he makes the USA Baseball National team when the final 22-man roster is released this evening.

In two appearances during trials play, Gray has allowed three runs (one earned) and four hits with six strikeouts and one walk in five innings of work.

After the roster is announced, the squad will begin its month-long tour in the United States, Japan and Canada. For more info on USA Baseball, click here.

Gray throws two-innings of relief Monday

By Travis Young -- Vanderbilt's Sonny Gray made his second appearance on the mound for USA Baseball Monday as the Blue team (5-1) defeated the Red team (1-5) for the fifth consecutive time, winning 8-5 Monday. Gray allowed two runs, one earned, while scattering three hits for the Red team in two innings of middle relief. He earned his first loss of the summer circuit despite striking out three and walking one.

The U.S. National Team Trials will continue Tuesday, June 23 at 8:00 PM (ET) with a Blue vs. Red intrasquad game at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Batting practice and pregame workouts will begin at 6:00 PM.

Sonny starts in USA Trials opener

View Box Score

by SID - Sonny Gray got the start for the Blue team in the first intrasquad contest of USA National Team Trials. He allowed one unearned run in three innings of work with three strikeouts and no walks. Gray did not factor in the decision as his squad fell 2-1 in eight innings.

Some familiar names on his team include Tennessee catcher Blake Forsythe who went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and Louisville pitcher/utility man Tony Zych who went 0-for-3 as the designated hitter/left fielder. Familiar names on the Red team include Middle Tennessee outfielder/pitcher Bryce Brentz who went 0-for-4, Florida first baseman Preston Tucker who was 0-for-2 and Alabama second baseman Ross Wilson who was 1-for-3.

The trials continues Thursday, June 18 as the second intrasquad, Blue vs. Red game will begin at 5:30 p.m. CT at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.

Players will participate in daily practices and drills at the trials, as well as in modified intrasquad Blue vs. Red games. The final 22-man roster will be announced on June 24.

Once the official roster has been announced, the National Team will stay in Durham and Cary, N.C. as it competes in two international friendship series against Canada and Guatemala from June 25-29 and July 1-4, respectively.

Team USA will then travel to Japan to participate in the 37th annual USA vs. Japan Collegiate Championships before traveling to Prince George, British Columbia, Canada for the 2009 Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline World Baseball Challenge.

The 2009 team will be coached by Tulane University head coach Rick Jones, who previously served as an assistant coach for Team USA on the 1989 Presidential Cup Team and 1990 Collegiate National Team. Jones is joined by pitching coach Mike Kennedy (head coach, Elon University) and assistant coaches Dan McDonnell (head coach, Louisville University) and Rob Cooper (head coach, Wright State University; 2007 National Team assistant coach).

Anxiously awaiting

by Barca Blog - You can understand if Sonny Gray was anxious prior to Vanderbilt’s contest with Indiana Saturday. The weight of the Commodores’ season was riding on the freshman hurler’s right arm.

“(Sonny’s) running around before the game with a bat in his hand,” Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin noticed. “I had to get him out of the sun. He had some nervous energy working.”

Gray took that energy and unleashed his most dominant performance of his young career, not allowing an extra base hit in a career-high eight innings of shutout work to lead the Commodores to a 10-0 rout of Indiana.

Gray left IU’s potent offense playing the guessing game as he mowed down 10 Hoosier hitters with a good mixture of fastballs, breaking balls and offspeed pitches to keep their hitting attack off balance. He was in total control, too, only walking one of 30 batters faced.

“He was pretty dominant today,” Indiana head coach Tracy Smith said. “When you face that type of pitching performance, your margin of error is very small. When he starts throwing the breaking ball consistently with his velocity it makes it very, very tough.”

Gray’s only challenge came in the fifth with Vanderbilt holding a 3-0 lead. After IU loaded the bases with no outs, the Smyrna, Tenn., native buckled down to freeze Tyler Rogers and Jake Dunning on back-to-back strikeouts. He then forced Brian Lambert into a groundout to shortstop to end the inning and thwart any momentum IU had built up.

“We’ve gotten out of situations like that before,” Gray said, “and I told myself that I was going to cut-it loose and just see what happens.”

What happened was anything but your typical freshman performance, especially when you consider it took place on the biggest stage. But as Corbin pointed out about Gray, “there’s no freshman in him.”

(Photo by Jimmy Jones)

Starting lineup vs. South Carolina

by SID - If it isn't broke, don't fix it. That seems to be the approach by Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin who is using the exact same lineup he used in yesterday's 4-1 win over No. 1 seed LSU. It is unusually cool in Hoover, with temps in the high 60's with wind blowing from the east-northeast at 8 mph.

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- Riley Reynolds - 2B
8- Jason Esposito - 3B
9- Alex McClure - LF
SP - Sonny Gray (4-1, 5.14 ERA)

Gray will be making his third start of the season. He was outstanding in his first start against Georgia two weeks ago in Athens. He limited the Bulldogs to just one run on three hits in six innings of work. He did not fare as well in his last start against Tennessee a week ago today. He gave up four runs on eight hits in four innings of work in the no decision. With South Carolina throwing its hard throwing ace in Sam Dyson, this has the potential to be a nice pitching matchup.

Always ready to pitch

by Barca Blog - During last night's call-in show, Joe Fisher asked baseball head coach Tim Corbin about the Commodores' pitching situation for this coming weekend at No. 1 Arkansas. The focus of the discussion was on how freshman Sonny Gray will be utilized -- as a starter or reliever?

Corbin answered the question by elaborating on how he used Gray out of the bullpen against Florida last weekend and the scenarios that factored into that decision. He also offered some high praise for the Smyrna, Tenn., native.

Definitely take a few minutes to listen to this clip.
Audio: Corbin talks about Gray

Gray named SEC Freshman of the Week

by Barca Blog - Pitcher Sonny Gray was just named SEC Freshman of the Week. Gray picked up a save and a win in relief to help Vanderbilt take the weekend series over No. 19 Florida. For more on his performance, see this week's baseball notebook in the blog below.