Everything Vanderbilt Baseball Coach Tim Corbin Said After Exhibition Games Against Murray State

NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt baseball took the field Friday night for two exhibition games against Murray State. The Commodores (won both/split) against the Racers on a night where plenty of guys both in the lineup and on the pitching staff saw playing time.

It was a good night of baseball that offered some lessons that were learned, but not to overreact to. Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin spoke to the media at the end of the night and gave his thoughts on how his team looked. Here is everything Corbin said.

Your thoughts on the night, what were you the most pleased with on the whole?

“Playing a good team, number one. I think number two was getting on first base, at least in the second game. The first two innings, putting the ball in play, running the base as well. The first game was a little bit different, just because we thought the difference there was, we got to three, two counts and won, most of them, and that was important. And get the big hit behind it. Certainly, Rooster’s were the one that ignited us, but had a lot of hard hit balls in that particular game. Not a lot of hits, but hard hit balls, and changed the scoreboard. And then, I think, as a whole, just pitching well enough defense and pockets of the game. Certainly the first inning, with Logan making the catch and Brodie’s play, and then Brodie’s play down the line later in the game. The triple play that Brightwell made. So there were some big defensive moments, but also some times where we didn't handle the ball as well as we need to going forward. But all in all, it's good. It's good to play with everyone. It's good to pitch everyone, for the most part. So good learning experience.”

What did you see from Nye and Fennell out there specifically?

“Nye, just strikes. I think Nye's attack. A lot of confidence in him. Very serious kid, good competitor. Fennel too. Fennell’s a good competitor, obviously. But I liked Fennell’s attack. I thought it was the best one he's had this fall.”

What did you learn or take away most from your team tonight?

“I probably already know, once we start to get some bodies back, what the combination of the infield potentially is going to look like. I think we've had a lot of different rotations. We've had three different people at shortstop, and three different people at third base. First base is going to be about three or four different people. So that's going to be competitive, but probably nothing I already know. I think we've got some good left handed bats, like the left handed strength on our team. I think our lineup, I think we can stretch our lineup out enough to where it's going to be pretty competitive.”

What did you see out of the freshman pitchers tonight?

“Growing, just growing. They've got good arms, they've got good stuff. I like the way Baird throws the ball. Hamilton at the end, getting out of what could have been a mess. Pretty good arms. Nadeau first game. He's got a good arm, obviously, but I think he's pretty athletic too. I like his competitiveness. So yeah it's just good to get them out there against outside competition. It's not going to be the same in the spring, but yet, we got to start somewhere, and those are good steps for those kids.”

Five home runs tonight to the opposite field. Is some of Jason Esposito work starting to show up with you guys?

“I think it's a combination of some guys staying back here in the summer from a strength standpoint and being able to grow their bodies. So I think that's number one. Number two, Jason's done a nice job with the guys and he's very firm and he teaches and communicates really, really well. I think if you asked him, he would tell you that three through seven tonight, those in back innings in the second game, probably will bother him a little bit. He'll probably refer to that. But outside of that, I think he's done a nice job giving these guys confidence and giving them a pretty good plan to hit.”

Barczi did not play tonight. Is he injured?

Not really. Just his sore back, I think it was inflamed last weekend at Utah. Bounced back Tuesday, and then it just tightened up. So we just said we're at this point right now where we don't want to do any damage. The same thing happened in Oklahoma last year. So he'll be fine, though. We've got some scrimmages we need to play this week, so hopefully he can play in those.

Teague leaves after two pitches. Was that due to injury?

“No, it was more about just getting Hamilton an opportunity because we doubled up with Nye and Fennell. Then the innings were reduced. So we knew we were going to have one of those innings where we were going to pitch two guys.”

Ryker had the homer there in game one. He hit the ball pretty hard all night. How much have you seen him grow offensively? Through his summer at the Cape, and then now.

“I think the cape was a big deal for him. He didn't get a lot of opportunities because he was playing behind Vastine. But I'll tell you what he did is he got better defensively. Felt like getting to the cape was a good move for him, because he’d play on a championship team with Holcomb. He and Holcomb have a very good relationship because of it. So, yeah, I'm happy for Ryker. Can play a lot of positions for us. Certainly can play short, play center field. So I think he's one of those kids going to find his way on the field. Switch hitter. Puts the ball in play. He's aggressive, he's alert. I like how he handles the ball.”

Feels like the at-bats in general were pretty disciplined and pretty patient for the most part. Do you attribute that to Esposito or experience or a mixture?

“I think three through seven, not so much. I don't think those at bats were as clean as what we wanted to be. We got on base, I think third, fourth and fifth, lead off hitter on and we didn't really move them. But you got some young hitters there too, and that's to be expected. That kind of happens. But I think, generally speaking, yes, pretty good discipline at the plate. yeah, everything, just everything, guys, guys getting older, guys older that are here. I mean, Logan Johnstone obviously can handle that. Carter can. Whitcomb, for the most part, does so, yeah. But a little bit of age and certainly some teaching.”

When's the last triple play you were a part of?

“I was thinking about that. I don't know. It's been a long time since I've seen something like that. It reminded me of the play that happened the other night, over in the Milwaukee game a little bit just because of that point right there when an outfielder catches the ball, you really have to move your head to the umpire. Because the umpire is the only guy on the field that can give you an indication he's safe or out. So good play by Brightwell. Got it in quickly. I think the players don't know how to operate when that happens, because you surprised them too. Pulled it off. It was good. That guy tagged out and everyone else, I just, I don't think they knew what to do.”

What have you seen from Brightwell?

“He’s pretty calm in competition. He doesn't swing and miss that much. He's got a good wave. Can certainly play center field well so he can cover ground. I think with Holcomb being out and us just having less the outfield, he stabilizes the outfield. Sears gets after the ball too, really well from a speed standpoint, He's a good runner, obviously. So I just like how he handles himself.”

What was the story there? Because, I mean, he had some offers. How late did you guys get involved with Brightwell?

“He had committed to Oklahoma initially, and then was at the point of what he was going to do. He was probably going to go to a junior college, but it was a kid that had Vanderbilt-type grades. I mean, he's a good student we're talking about here. So we just contacted him and got to him really quick. We lost two center fielders in Gamble and DeBrun. So it kind of was the perfect guy at the right time. And I think he's gonna be a really, really good college player. Sometimes if you're fortunate enough, yeah, you get some luck with certain kids.”