The Commodores are coming. Yes, Vanderbilt is heading to Omaha for their first College World Series appearance. Southeastern Conference baseball is always tough and the Commordores have played at a high level including #1 ranking at one point in the season. They open the College World Series against North Carolina on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Vandy mowing down the competition (Alan Poizner/Tennesean)
Vanderbilt pretty much mowed down the competition, similar to their regular season, on the road to Omaha. In the regional outscoring their opponents, Troy and Belmont, 26-3 in sweeping that series and then hosted Oregon State and sweeping them 11-1 and 9-3. So there is strong pitching and definitely a strong offensive team. That explains the record number of players from Vanderbilt drafted this season as well.
A school known more for its basketball team and unique court should bring a new group of fans in their first CWS appearance. Vanderbilt has a lot of weapons. So we turn to Jeff Lockridge of The Tennesean to tell us all about the Commadores.
White & Blue Review: Vanderbilt is headed to the College World Series for the first time. Has there been any buzz around the school or the fan base? Do people there follow Vandy baseball?
Jeff Lockridge: There has been tremendous buzz given what is a modest but passionate fan base, and there likely would be a good deal of buzz around campus if nearly all the students hadn’t left for the summer. Generally speaking, this is a big sports story in Music City right now. Once the Nashville Predators were eliminated from the NHL playoffs, and with no daily Tennessee Titans news, a number of fans have turned their attention to Tim Corbin’s club already armed with the knowledge that this team was ranked No. 1 this season and earned a share of the SEC title. A good bit of the interest in Vandy baseball comes from the fact Corbin recruits heavily in the state. His leadoff batter, two weekend starting pitchers and top three right-handed relievers all attended high school in Middle Tennessee.
WBR: What was it that propelled the Commodores into the CWS this year compared to last season when they just came up short?
JL: Many things. For starters, it was the belief and expectation of getting there with a loaded, veteran roster. Vanderbilt probably overachieved to get to the Tallahassee Super Regional last year. This year, with every key bat in the lineup returning and weekend starting pitchers Sonny Gray, Grayson Garvin and Taylor Hill back, this roster was built for this run in this season. After all, Vandy had 12 players drafted (an SEC record) last week – six in the first three rounds. There are no weak links in the rotation with Hill pitching the way he is right now, and there are really no weak links in the batting order. Anything shy of the CWS in 2011 would have been a huge letdown for these players.
WBR: Do you think Vanderbilt was matched up with North Carolina in their opening games to create an extra storyline of basketball head coach Kevin Stallings and his son playing at North Carolina? Who is coach cheering for this weekend?
JL: I’m not sure what goes on during those NCAA committee meetings when they assign national seeds. A No. 6 seed seemed a bit low for Vandy and the players took it that way. For what it’s worth, the Commodores did finish the season ranked No. 2 in the USA Today coaches’ poll. I’m guessing the committee had decided to give the Vandy-Florida winner of the SEC Tournament final the 2 seed and the loser the 6, having slotted South Carolina at the 4. Perhaps they didn’t want to give the SEC the 2, 3 and 4 national seeds lumped together and appear biased toward one league, and I’m sure they try to avoid giving the same league the 4 and 5 seeds which could have made for an all-SEC first-round matchup in Omaha.
In terms of storylines, the Stallings family is a compelling one. It was the first thing I thought when I saw UNC get the 3 seed and Vanderbilt the 6 during the selection show, and UNC catcher Jacob Stallings said it was the first thing to flash in his mind as well. A Stallings family reaction piece was the first story I wrote after Vandy made the CWS a couple of hours after UNC. Kevin will be cheering for his son and UNC, as he should be. Family first. If the elder Stallings was standing in Corbin’s shoes as coach of Vandy’s baseball team and not the basketball team, that would be another matter.
WBR: Who will opponents need to look out for in the lineup?
JL: A lot of players in Vandy’s lineup can make an impact, but Aaron Westlake and Jason Esposito are the game-changers. Westlake showed what he can do in Game 2 of the Super Regional when Oregon State pitchers made mistakes over the plate and he launched three two-run homers – all off left-handers that he would have struggled to hit last year. Westlake’s 17 homers lead the team. Esposito, a second-round draft pick of the Orioles, leads the team in average (.357) and hit cleanup most of the season. He was dropped to the No. 6 spot in the order a month ago. That either relaxed or motivated him, because he has really taken off since then and is crushing the ball.
WBR: What is the Commodore pitching like? How deep is the starting and relief pitching?
JL: Vandy has three veteran starters that it feels great about – Gray, Garvin and Hill – and a potential fourth in freshman Kevin Ziomek that it would feel good about. The games are spaced out enough in the CWS to where you can probably get away with using just three starters until the second or third game of the championship series. Corbin will utilize a lot of arms in his bullpen in a lopsided game, but it a tight spot he will turn to right-handers Will Clinard and Mark Lamm, left-handers Ziomek and Corey Williams, and closer Navery Moore.
Gray, a first-round draft pick of the A’s, is an undersized right-hander who throws harder than it looks like he should be able to – regularly touching the mid 90s. His curveball can be nasty and serves as his out pitch. Garvin is a tall lefty who can come in on right-handed hitters and has a knack for working out of jams, as does Gray. Hill’s pitches have a lot of sink to them and he’s good at getting ground balls, but lately he is striking out a lot of batters – 21 over his last two starts.
WBR: What is the style of play? Are they an aggressive team that likes to steal bases or try for home runs?
JL: Vandy can play different styles, which makes it a bit unpredictable. Make no mistake, though – Corbin fits the mold of a traditional National League manager, asking players to bunt runners over, bunt for hits, play hit-and-run and hit behind runners. In a low-scoring game, you will see a good bit of that. But if he sees that the guys are swinging the bats well, he will let them hit. The Commodores play in a pitcher-friendly park and don’t hit a ton of homers (47), but they have enjoyed a nice edge in that category because their pitching has surrendered just 28.
WBR: Who do you think has the best shot to win the College World Series. How deep do you see Vanderbilt going?
JL: The Commodores have as good a chance as anyone there to make a run at the national title thanks to their starting pitching. The downside is they are on a side of the bracket where any one of four teams could move on, whereas Virginia and South Carolina seem to be looking at stronger odds of advancing on the opposite side of the bracket.
When Vandy sizes up UNC, Texas and Florida, I think it has to be most concerned about seeing the Gators again. Florida has won three of four this season because its exceptional bullpen has silenced Vandy’s bats, particularly with runners on base, and you have to wonder if that’s in the back of players’ minds. Lately, the team’s bugaboo has been random and inexcusable errors in the field, although they have been masked by lopsided NCAA Tournament scores. Those need to get cleaned up in Omaha.
I don’t think being at the CWS for the first time will affect Vandy in terms of stage fright or focus. This has to be one of the more emotionally grounded and confident teams in college baseball.
