No. 14 Vanderbilt Baseball Taps Familiar Trio For Southern Cal College Baseball Classic
The No. 14 Vanderbilt baseball (8-1) team gets the weekend underway on Friday at Jackie Robinson Stadium as they square up with UCLA (7-2) in the opening game of the Southern California College Baseball Classic.
The Commodores travel west for the second time this season after they opened the year going 2-1 in the 2025 MLB Invitational in Arizona. This road trip features single games against the Bruins, the USC Trojans (7-1) and the UConn Huskies (1-5).
Vanderbilt gives the ball to junior left handed pitcher JD Thompson for the third straight Friday start. Thompson's been effective in his first two starts, completing four innings in both and striking out 11 batters. He gave up three runs in the second inning to St. Mary's in his second start for his only blemish thus far.
Game Day on the coast 🌴
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) February 28, 2025
⌚️ 7:00 PM CT
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The Commodores have scored double-digits in each of their last four games placing them 33rd in the nation in runs scored and 31st in the nation in hits. Outfielder RJ Austin enters the weekend tied for most hits in the SEC and is 20th in D1 with 15 and is tied for most triples this season with three.
Vanderbilt turns to Ethan McElvain and Cody Bowker in its second two games of the weekend in California.
Friday night's game starts at 7 p.m. CT and can be seen on Big 10 Network Plus. Weather shouldn't be a factor in the opener as forecasts call for 58 degrees, partly cloudly with a slight breeze.
Presumed Starting Pitchers
Game 1 vs. UCLA
Vanderbilt - JD Thompson - two starts, 3.12 ERA, 8.2 innings pitched, 11 strikeouts, three walks allowed
UCLA - Cody Delvecchio - two starts, 4.66 ERA, 9.2 innings pitched, 11 strikeouts, four walks
Game 2 vs. USC
Vanderbilt - Ethan McElvain - two starts, 12.71 ERA, 5.2 innings pitched, 10 strikeouts, six walks allowed
USC - Caden Aoki - two starts, 4.66 ERA, 9.2 innings pitched, 10 strikeouts, no walks allowed
Game 3 vs. UConn
Vanderbilt - Cody Bowker - two starts, 0.00 ERA, 9.0 innings pitched, 12 strikeouts, four walks allowed
UConn - Gabe Van Emon - three appearances, 9.00 ERA, four strikeouts, five walks allwo
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Joe Gaither oversees videos and podcasts for Alabama Crimson Tide On SI/BamaCentral. He began his sports media career in radio in 2019, working for three years in Tuscaloosa covering the University of Alabama and other local high school sports. In 2023 he joined BamaCentral to cover a variety of Crimson Tide sports and recruiting, in addition to hosting the “Joe Gaither Show” podcast. His work has also appeared on the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt web sites.
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