Drew Fann Grand Slam

By SID - A week or so ago I wrote a blog about the catching situation and how Aaron Westlake would be backed up by Drew Fann until Andrew Giobbi returned from injury. The most notable thing about Fann playing wise til today was his homer off of freshman Sonny Gray in the Black and Gold intrasquad series in the Fall.

Well in the eighth inning against Lipscomb, Fann delivered a grand-slam homer on the first pitch in his first collegiate at-bat. Pretty neat deal for a hard-working kid like Fann and certainly a memory he won't ever forget.

Baseball starting lineup vs. Lipscomb

By SID - Other than the starting pitcher, the lineup looks very familiar.

1. Brian Harris SS
2. Steven Liddle RF
3. Curt Casali 1B
4. Aaron Westlake C
5. Jason Esposito 3B
6. Riley Reynolds 2B
7. Joe Loftus DH
8. Jonathan White LF
9. Alex Hilliard CF
SP: Grayson Garvin (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Weather is cloudy with a lot of sun and 78 degrees. The wind is blowing from the S-SW at 15 mph gusting to 26 mph. The ball carried here during batting practice, more so than in previous years. There is a parking garage that has gone up down the first base/right field line that may have changed the wind pattern here according to Lipscomb sources. The garage will have tennis courts installed on top that the Bison men and women's teams will use.

Smooth operator

By Barca Blog - Coach Johnson commented on redshirt freshman Larry Smith during his interview with the 104.5 Wake Up Zone earlier today.

"With Chris (Nickson) and Mackenzi (Adams) last year, we weren't counting on Larry to come in there and do great things but we knew he was going to be a player in there somewhere or sometime for us because he's just too smooth of an operator to keep on the bench. It's good to have those guys available."

Smith will compete with Adams during spring drills for the starting quarterback spot. The Prattville, Ala., native made his first career start in the Commodores' 16-14 win over Boston College in the Music City Bowl, going 10-for-17 with 121 passing yards.

SEC Tournament Viewing Options

By A. Boggs - If you’re in the Southeast (or Binghamton, N.Y.), here is a list of television outlets that will be carrying the SEC Tournament game with Alabama on Thursday night. If you’re not in these areas, you can catch the first round game on ESPN Full Court or on ESPN360.com.

Click here for Vanderbilt/Alabama TV listings; Go here for other SEC game listings.

Spring priorities

By Barca Blog - With 19 starters returning to the Commodore football squad, head coach Bobby Johnson was asked by the 104.5 Wake Up Zone about his priorities for spring practice, which gets underway this afternoon on campus.

"We're going to have to redo our secondary and this gives us a great chance to do it. Myron Lewis had shoulder surgery last week so he's going to be out for spring, and that's going to put Jamie Graham back in the spotlight, Casey Hayward at corner, and Alan Strong at corner. Those guys are going to have to step up. Rich Tompkins is going to have a chance to get in there and show us what he can do. The cornerbacks are a lot more important right now to get worked up because we've got some safeties coming back who have played a good bit.

"Another area is the quarterback situation. We found out last year that you need at least two or three guys that you've got to have ready and are capable. We feel like we've got those guys and they're looking forward to a spring where they can compete.

"Also, the running game. With Jared Hawkins out during spring practice, it gives chances for Gaston Miller, Kennard Reeves, Jermaine Doster and so on, to get in there and prove something."

To listen to the entire interview, click here.

Tourney Champs: First Look!

By Weinman - A big 'THANK YOU' to a Commodore mom, Lisa DelGreco. Lisa is an avid photographer, and was nice enough to provide us with some great images from this past weekend's Seminole Intercollegiate in Tallahassee, Fla. Above you'll see members of the VU men's golf team (L-R: Jon Curran, Trey DelGreco, medalist Ryan Haselden, Tyler Matthews, Hudson Johnson and Coach Tom Shaw) posing with trophies. We'll get more of Lisa's great photos up and available shortly.

SEC MBB postseason honors

By Barca Blog - The SEC revealed its men's basketball coaches postseason awards Tuesday. Two Commodores were recognized:

A.J. Ogilvy - Second Team All-SEC
Jeffery Taylor - SEC All-Freshman Team

Personally, I think Brad Tinsley (10.7 ppg, 2.9 apg, 40% 3pt) should have been on the freshman team as well. To see the entire list of awards, click here. And make sure you check VUcommodores.com for a complete story later today.

Tuesday's football articles

By Barca Blog - Here are some links to reading material on today's opening of spring drills:
ESPN.com: Lewis to miss spring practice
Tennessean: Graham returns to cornerback
The City Paper: Five questions heading into spring

Football springs forward Tuesday

By Barca Blog - Vanderbilt's football team will get back on the gridiron Tuesday and VUcommodores.com has all the info you need to get ready for spring practice. Check out the following links:
*Read Official Preview
*2009 Spring Prospectus

Stallings on Tuesday's Wake-Up Zone

By Andy Boggs - Coach Stallings' normal 7:30 a.m. appearance with Kevin Ingram, Mark Howard, and Frank Wycheck on Tuesday mornings has been moved to 6:10 a.m. Set your clocks a little earlier for Coach's interview on The Wake Up Zone Tuesday.

If you can't catch it live, come back to vucommodores.com later in the day to listen to it in its entirety.

Johnson on the Radio

By Larry Leathers - With temperatures reaching 70 degrees, football must be in the air – right? Well, it is at Vanderbilt, as Coach Bobby Johnson opens his eighth Spring Practice on campus Tuesday afternoon.

We’ll be providing practice reports and interviews with your favorite Commodore players and coaches, but until we get started, you can hear Coach Johnson discuss spring drills in a series of interviews with the following Nashville radio stations:

Tuesday, March 10

• 104.5 The Zone, 7:10 a.m.
Coach talks with morning show co-hosts Kevin Ingram, Mark Howard and Frank Wycheck.

Wednesday, March 11

• WNSR AM-560, 7:25 a.m.
Your coach talks with morning show Greg Pogue and David Coleman.

• 104.5 The Zone, 5:45 p.m.
The Commodore mentor talks with SportsZone co-hosts George Plaster, Willy Daunic and Darren McFarland.

Week 3 Baseball Notebook

Overall: 9-4; Record for the Week: 4-1

Last Week:
3/3 Vanderbilt 10, Lipscomb 3
3/5 UIC 3, Vanderbilt 2
3/6 Vanderbilt 6, UIC 1
3/7 Vanderbilt 5, UIC 4
3/8 Vanderbilt 12, UIC 7

This Week (Buy Tickets):
3/10 at Lipscomb - 4 p.m. CT at Dugan Field
3/13 vs. Ole Miss - 6 p.m. CT at Hawkins Field
3/14 vs. Ole Miss - 3 p.m. CT at Hawkins Field
3/15 vs. Ole Miss - 1 p.m. CT at Hawkins Field

Notes:
The pitching staff sported a 2.80 ERA with 46 strikeouts and 13 walks in 45.0 innings … Caleb Cotham improved to a team best 3-0 Saturday after limiting UIC to an unearned run in six innings with just four hits allowed while striking out eight and walking three … Taylor Hill picked up a midweek win over Lipscomb and then pitched 3.1 innings of relief on Sunday against UIC to pick up a save. He gave up three runs on four hits in six innings against the Bison with six strikeouts. Hill then allowed four hits and an unearned run in his stint against the Flames … Preseason All-American recorded his second no-decision of the year against UIC last Thursday. He scattered eight hits over seven innings and allowed just one run while striking out seven and walking two. When he left after the seventh, the game was tied at 1-1 … Drew Hayes had a solid week of relief work, allowing just one hit in four innings with four strikeouts and a walk … Chase Reid also had a strong showing with three innings of three-hit scoreless relief against UIC on Saturday. He struck out four and did not walk a batter.

The Commodores hit .307 on the week with eight doubles, a triple, five homers and 35 runs scored (7 per game) ... Steven Liddle recorded a hit in every game of the homestand, and carries a nine game streak into the Lipscomb game on Tuesday ... First baseman Curt Casali went 9-for-16 (.563) with two homers, five RBI and nine runs scored on the week. He walked three times, was hit twice and did not strikeout for a .636 on-base percentage. He has a seven-game hit streak entering Tuesday’s play … Catcher Aaron Westlake went 9-for-21 (.429) with two doubles, a homer, eight RBI and four runs scored … Third baseman Jason Esposito went 8-for-21 (.381) with two doubles, a triple, a homer, eight RBI (.714 slugging percentage) and six runs scored while also stealing three bases. He also played a flawless third with no errors in 13 opportunities … Freshman Riley Reynolds has a five-game hitting streak … The Commodores made just four errors in the five games for a .979 fielding percentage.

Tuesday's starting pitcher at Lipscomb

By SID - Freshman left-hander Grayson Garvin will get the start on the mound against Lipscomb on Tuesday. Garvin made his collegiate debut in relief against Vermont on Feb. 28. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit while striking out two.

More about Garvin can be found here.

Coach Corbin on radio this week

By SID - With Southeastern Conference play starting up in baseball this weekend, Coach Corbin will be hitting the airwaves to talk about the Ole Miss series at Hawkins Field (March 13-15). The following is the list as of Monday morning where you can listen to Coach.

Monday, March 9
4:06 p.m. on 560 AM with Bill King and Joe Biddle

Wednesday, March 11
12:20 p.m. 560 AM with Thom Abraham

Thursday, March 12
8:30 a.m. 104.5 FM (Kevin Ingram, Mark Howard, Frank Wycheck)

Friday. March 13
8:05 a.m. 560 AM (Greg Pogue, David Coleman)

I'm Bringin' SEC Back

By Weinman - After winning their sixth SEC Tournament championship, the Commodores hopped on a charter flight from Little Rock back to Nashville. Junior Ashlee Bridge was kind enough to share her seat with Vanderbilt's newest piece of hardware.

It's a first-class way to travel whether you're a college athlete (who has to be back in class on Monday morning) or a trophy. Back in Nashville, the Dores' team bus even had a VUPD escort from the airport to campus.

Keep an eye out on WSMV Nashville Channel 4 for a couple of interviews with Christina Wirth and Jennifer Risper, as Sports Director Rudy Kalis was at Memorial Gym when the team got back.

Balcomb comments on title

By Barca Blog - Coach Melanie Balcomb talked with the press about Vanderbilt's 61-54 victory over Auburn in the SEC Tournament Championship Sunday night at Alltel Arena.

"I'm just really proud of the way our kids fought through the whole tournament, but I'm really proud of the execution of a game plan. That's not easy to do, and having kids believe in what our game plan was and execute it as well as they did today. It was awesome to watch as a coach.

"I can't wait to play again. We've got a while before NCAAs, but I think we're ready to do some great things and I'm excited at how we reacted all game today, with our body language, our confidence and making big plays when we needed them."

Balcomb has led the Commodores to three SEC Tournament titles in her seven seasons at Vanderbilt, with two of those coming in the last three years.

The Commodores will have to wait a week to find out their NCAA Tournament destination. The brackets won't be revealed until Monday, March 16 on ESPN.

For a complete transcript of Balcomb's press conference plus quotes from seniors Christina Wirth and Jennifer Risper, click here. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

Congratulate the SEC Champs

Congratulate the SEC Tournament champions by submitting your message at VUcommodores.com.

Fans can also track Vanderbilt's flight home from Little Rock to Nashville on our VandyWBB Twitter page. The Commodores are expected to land at 11:30 p.m. CT.

For coverage of the game including a complete recap, photos, quotes and more, click here.

SEC Tournament Champs!

By Weinman - Vanderbilt claimed its sixth SEC Tournament championship Sunday with a win over Auburn. Here are two (somewhat blurry) pics that I took and wanted to share ASAP. The team is about the fly back to Nashville in a bit.

Special thanks to the band and cheer folks who made the trip and helped the Commodores onto victory.

Keep on rollin'

By Barca Blog - After losing five of its first six SEC games, Vanderbilt (19-11, 8-8 SEC) capped off their inspiring regular season turnaround with a 75-58 win over Arkansas Sunday afternoon at Memorial Gym.

“To start out 1-5 and to be able to claw your way back to 8-8 is an accomplishment,” said Kevin Stallings, who has coached Vanderbilt to a .500 or better SEC record in five of his last six seasons. “Obviously, we would like to be a few games better, but I’m proud of our team’s effort and performance and character in the second half of the conference season.”

No one truly knew what to expect out of such a young team, especially since the roster featured no seniors and only two juniors that log regular playing time. There were times the 'Dores could have made excuses and looked ahead to next year. The squad overcame the lows and fought back to win seven of their last 10 including three straight.

"I think it says a lot about our team's character for us to come back like that,” said freshman Jeffery Taylor. “We were never down, we trusted what the coaches were telling us, and we believed in ourselves."

Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey knows how tough it is to rebound from an early slump. Like the Commodores, his young Razorback squad also started 1-5 in the SEC, but ended up 2-14 at the end of the regular season.

"For Coach Stallings and his team to stay together and get where they are today, they are to be commended,” stated Pelphrey. “That is a very, very difficult hole to come out of and they should be applauded for that."

The Commodores are playing their best ball of the year at the right time. They will look to ride their momentum into the SEC Tournament starting Thursday against Alabama in Tampa, Fla.

Junior guard Jermaine Beal summed it up best.

“Let’s just keep this thing rolling.”

What time is it? Game Time!

By Weinman - Hopefully everyone remembered to spring forward one hour for daylight saving's time. The Commodore fans in Little Rock certainly did. The team was cheered on at their hotel while loading the bus for the arena, and many of the Commodore faithful were already in their seats an hour before the game.

I'm sure you'll see Gage Mabry -- Merideth Marsh's nephew -- during tonight's telecast. The family has front row seats and plenty of face paint to go around.

It's almost game time!!!

MBB SEC Tournament Bracket

By Barca Blog - The 2009 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament bracket is set. Vanderbilt, the No. 5 seed in the East, will face Alabama, the No. 4 seed in the West, on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT after the Crimson Tide upset Tennessee, 70-67, earlier today. The winner will take on the Vols, the No. 1 seed in the East, on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Alabama ended the regular season strong, winning four of their last five conference games. The Commodores defeated the Tide in their only meeting, 79-74, on February 5 at Memorial Gym.

The SEC Tournament will be held at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., which is the same location as the Commodores' NCAA First Round loss to Siena last March.

Here's the complete SEC Tournament bracket (Times CT):

First Round - Thursday, March 12 (Raycom)
G1: Kentucky (E4) vs. Ole Miss (W5) - 12:00 p.m.
G2: Miss. State (W3) vs. Georgia (E6) - 2:15 p.m.
G3: Alabama (W4) vs. Vanderbilt (E5) - 6:30 p.m.
G4: Florida (E3) vs. Arkansas (W6) - 8:45 p.m.

Second Round - Friday, March 13 (Raycom)
G5: G1 Winner vs. LSU (W1) - 12:00 p.m.
G6: G2 Winner vs. South Carolina (E2) - 2:15 p.m.
G7: G3 Winner vs. Tennessee (E1) - 6:30 p.m.
G8: G4 Winner vs. Auburn (W2) - 8:45 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, March 14 (Raycom)
G9: G5 Winner vs. G6 Winner - 12:00 p.m.
G10: G7 Winner vs. G8 Winner - 2:15 p.m.

Finals - Sunday, March 15 (CBS)
G11: G9 Winner vs. G10 Winner - 12:00 p.m.

Dores and Razorbacks Tipping Off

By Andy Boggs - Sitting courtside at Memorial Gym for the regular season finale for the Commodores against Arkansas. We just finished honoring our lone senior, Alex Bard, a senior manager, in a ceremony before the game. We'll miss him next season.

Today's game with Arkansas is a very interesting matchup - the Razorbacks have lost 12 consecutive road games, but the Commodores have dropped five in a row to Arkansas dating back to the 2006 season, and head coach Kevin Stallings is 0-9 in regular season finales since arriving at Vanderbilt before the 1999-00 season. Something's got to give today at Memorial.

Follow us at Twitter.com under vandymbb. You can do that here.

Sunday Baseball Starting Lineup

By SID - Here is the starting lineup for Sunday's game against UIC.

Mostly Cloudy and Overcast. 64 degrees. Winds from the South-Southwest at 16 mph gusting to 26 mph.

1. Brian Harris SS
2. Steven Liddle RF
3. Curt Casali 1B
4. Aaron Westlake C
5. Jason Esposito 3B
6. Riley Reynolds 2B
7. Joe Loftus DH
8. Jonathan White LF
9. Alex Hilliard CF
SP: Sean Bierman (0-1, 1.50 ERA)

UIC's starter Peter Ifft is considered by Baseball America as the top pitcher on the team. He has been injured and is making just his second appearance of the season. He gave up a hit and a walk in his only other outing. Ifft's bio can be found here.

Sean Bierman is making his first appearance in neary two weeks. His last outing was a start against Cal on Feb. 23.

For score updates on your mobile phone, sign up for Twitter and follow VandyBaseball.

MBB SEC picture clears up

By Barca Blog - Regardless of Vanderbilt's outcome against Arkansas on Sunday, the Commodores (18-11, 7-8 SEC) will be locked in as the No. 5 seed in the SEC East for next week's SEC Tournament in Tampa, Fla.

Vanderbilt will face the No. 4 seed from the West in the first round on Thursday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m CT. Although the opponent is still in question, it cleared up a little bit after Mississippi State edged Ole Miss, 82-80, earlier today. The 'Dores will face Alabama (16-13, 6-9) if the Crimson Tide wins at Tennessee Sunday (11 a.m. CT). If Alabama loses, VU will matchup with the Rebels (16-14, 7-9).

A limited amount of walkup tickets are still available for the Commodores' regular season finale with the Razorbacks. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CT inside Memorial Gym. If you can't make it to the game, you can get score updates on your mobile phone by signing up for Twitter and following VandyMBB.

More SEC Saturday Results: Florida (22-9, 9-7) earned the No. 3 seed in the East by defeating Kentucky 60-53. The Wildcats' (19-12, 8-8) NCAA hopes are fading having lost four straight and eight of their last 11 games. Red-hot Auburn upset No. 11 LSU to finish 10-6 in the conference after winning 8 of their last 9 games. South Carolina (21-8, 10-6) handled Georgia, 68-51, and will get a first round bye as the No. 2 seed in the East. For Saturday's complete SEC results, click here.

All Set for Semis

By Weinman - At halftime of the first semifinal, Coach Balcomb spoke with Leah Secondo of FSN. Balcomb and her staff scouted the entire first half to get one more look at a possible opponent for tomorrow.

There's plenty of work to be done before that happens, of course. Vanderbilt has to get past LSU, winners of six straight. The Commodores beat the Tigers earlier this season in Nashville, but the Jan. 18 game feels like it was played lifetimes ago.

Tonight's game will tip-off in about an hour, so don't miss any of the action. You've got Charlie Mattos' radio call, the FSN TV broadcast, live stats and the awesome new Twitter feed.

McGugin's Biggest Loser Update

For McGugin's Biggest Loser, Spring Has Sprung
By Eric Jones

The contest is now officially in the final stretch, so everyone that has been saying that they are waiting for it to get warmer outside to workout, is out of excuses. I mean, come on, even head baseball coach Tim Corbin is wondering what must be going on to have a 75 degree day in early March. Usually it is snow and ice for that guy, but he always gets in nine innings.

The weather is getting nicer just in time for what is proving to be a tight race. Team Gold lost some of their momentum this past week, staying even at 97.5 lbs lost (2.524% of body weight lost). Team Black gained the momentum losing 7 lbs on the week while increasing their team total to 92 lbs lost (2.187% of body weight lost).

Top Five Losers for each team are:
Team Gold:
Brett Wulke (12.3%)
Beth Turner (4.76%)
Greg Allen (4.50%)
Brandon Barca (4.29%)
Candice Lee (4.12%)

Team Black:
Jason Silvers (7.85%)
Eric Jones (5.75%)
Tim House (5.05%)
George Midgett (4.62%)
Lindsay Rutledge (4.05%)

All 40 Biggest Loser participants also got the chance to sample Vitamin Water at a tasting event in McGugin Center. Triple X emerged as the favorite flavor among participants, but it rebuffed some myths about sports drinks for me personally. It's not the Kool Aid packets that your mom used to buy at the grocery store and likely more nutritious. I was disappointed however that it did not allow me to run faster on a treadmill and or be any closer to spelling pomegranate (an extract that is supposed to be good for you that is in Triple X) without spellcheck.

I hope it didn't make for any hard feelings between Glaceau and Coke, but apparently not as Coke was also nice enough to drop off some Coke Zero for participants along with two iPod nano's have been donated by Coca Cola as prizes for the top female and top male (largest percentage of body weight lost) on the winning team.

Next blog, what does spring weather mean for workout routines.

Saturday in Little Rock

By Weinman - An 8 p.m. game gave support staff with the women's basketball team time to see some of Little Rock on Saturday. A highlight was the Clinton Presidential Library, chronicling the work of Arkansas native William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States. The three floors of exhibits included a full-size replica of Clinton's oval office and many handwritten notes from well-wishers and friends.

The Commodores are preparing to head over to the Alltel Arena for a 30-minute shootaround. Then it'll be back to the hotel for a pre-game meal.

Coach Balcomb will be featured as a halftime guest during the first semifinal, which pits top seed Auburn and Tennessee. That games starts at 5:30, so Coach should be on with Leah Secondo around 6:30 p.m.

Saturday Baseball Starting Lineup

By SID - Here is the starting lineup for Saturday's game against UIC. The rotation in left continues today with Matt Marquis getting the start.

It is a beautiful sunny day at 74 degrees. Another great day to be at the yard if you can.

1. Brian Harris SS
2. Steven Liddle RF
3. Curt Casali 1B
4. Aaron Westlake C
5. Jason Esposito 3B
6. Riley Reynolds 2B
7. Joe Loftus DH
8. Matt Marquis LF
9. Alex Hilliard CF
SP: Nick Christiani (1-0, 3.00 ERA)

UIC's starter Mike Kool hasn't been very cool on the mound thus far in 2009. The right-hander is 0-2 with a 10.12 ERA in two starts. He has allowed 16 hits and nine runs in eight innings of work and opponents are hitting .444 against him. So I would think this could be a good offensive day for the Dores.

For score updates on your mobile phone, sign up for Twitter and follow VandyBaseball.

Friday Baseball Starting Lineup

By SID - Here is the starting lineup for Friday's game against UIC. Some shifting in the order and a change in left field with Joey Manning getting the start over Jonathan White.

It is a beautiful sunny day at 67 degrees. Slight winds which actually feels good today. A great day to be at the yard if you can.

1. Brian Harris SS
2. Steven Liddle RF
3. Curt Casali 1B
4. Aaron Westlake C
5. Jason Esposito 3B
6. Riley Reynolds 2B
7. Alex Hilliard CF
8. Joe Loftus DH
9. Joey Manning LF
SP: Caleb Cotham (2-0, 1.80 ERA)

Watch the game online or track live stats here. For score updates on your mobile phone, sign up for Twitter and follow VandyBaseball.

Thompson and Barrett honored

By Weinman - Misty Lamb Thompson and Joe Barrett were honored in a halftime ceremony during VU's SEC Quarterfinal game. Misty was Vanderbilt "SEC Great", while Barrett is the school's "Honored Guest." Associate SEC Commissioner Debbie Corum made the presentation.