Vanderbilt Baseball Notebook: Falling in a Competitive Battle, 10th Inning Considerations, Injury Update

NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt’s series finale against Texas could not have been played more closely.

The Commodores dropped the rubber match against No. 4 Texas in a 4-3 loss in the 10th inning. It was a game that was destined to be won in the margins at the end of the afternoon. After Texas tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fourth inning, a pitching duel between the two squads raged on until Vanderbilt finally blinked in the top half of the 10th.

The loss was certainly one that stings given the difference a win would have made for Vanderbilt in terms of its record and its RPI ranking, but it is not a loss that brings a cloud of doom and gloom over the team. Despite the loss, Vanderbilt played competitively and played close with a team that it may not have played close with a couple of weeks ago.

“It felt like playoff baseball. The full time we were out there, just tight, no one’s giving an inch really,” Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin said. “But we’ve really competed. We really competed and we really battled. You can’t fault the effort at all.”

That is the thing that Vanderbilt can certainly hang its hat on. When it went down 3-2 in the eighth inning, it battled back. When the Commodores went down 4-3 in the 10th inning, it gave itself a chance to win the game with a swing of the bat.

Just a short time ago, that type of fight was something that Vanderbilt had not really shown all season against a top team in the conference. And that is why losing Sunday does not feel like the end of the world.

Vanderbilt seemed to use its series win against Kentucky last weekend to benefit it this weekend. It feels like the Commodores are gradually improving. The phrase “getting hot at the right time” may not apply in this situation, but it does feel that Vanderbilt is getting better, especially from a pitching perspective. That is something to continue to monitor as the SEC Tournament looms less than a month away.

10th Inning Decisions

In the bottom of the 10th, Vanderbilt got some momentum going. Rustan Rigdon and Ryker Waite had both reached base, but the Commodores were at the bottom of their lineup. Eventually, Vanderbilt had the runners on second and third with just one out. One swing of the bat would have ended the game.

Instead, though, Korbin Reynolds and Will Hampton both ended up striking out for the final two outs of the game. The decision to let Reynolds and Hampton hit instead of either bunt or be pinch hit for may have been a surprise, especially given that Reynolds and Hampton were a combined 1-for-9 in the game.

Corbin offered an explanation into his decision at the end.

“Bunt is always in the back of my mind. But I also look at the bunter and if it’s capable enough. So, there’s a lot of thoughts that go through my mind in terms of getting the bunt down,” Corbin said. “But I also thought he [Hampton] was aggressive in his at-bats previous to that. We just didn’t get it done. But anyway, yeah I was thinking about it.”

A Promising Injury Update

As the conference season hits the final stretch before a trip to Hoover, Alabama, Vanderbilt will get some pitching reinforcement back from injury sometime in the near future. Corbin gave an update to pitcher Matthew Shorey that is promising to the Commodores pitching room.

“I don’t know the time frame. He threw bullpen yesterday and it went well. So, that’s a positive. What that means as far as time, I’m not sure. He’s on a fast track, much like Miller Green. Because once Miller Green got on the mound, it was just go, there wasn’t any waiting around,” Corbin said. “It’s not going to be three weeks, but I don’t know if it’s going to be a week.”

Corbin’s comment seems to mean that Shorey will definitely be available for the SEC Tournament and the same likely goes for the South Carolina series, too. A Shorey return for the Alabama series next weekend is more than likely doubtful, but a return for the Missouri series seems promising as of now. If so, that would give Vanderbilt an extra lefty on the mound going into the most important part of the season.

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