Vanderbilt Baseball Notebook: Offense Cruises to Win, Hamilton’s Outing, Another Big Series Ahead

NASHVILLE – In a situation where the margin for error is limited, Vanderbilt made sure to not waste any of it against Middle Tennessee State. The Commodores took down the Blue Raiders 9-1 in the penultimate midweek game of the regular season.

Vanderbilt’s offense was unsurprisingly the story of the game early on as it drove the way to victory. It got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 3-1 lead before pulling away from three-run shots from Colin Barczi and Brodie Johnston.

One of the things that did stand out was Ryker Waite leading off to start the game. It is not something that happens often, but it happened Tuesday. Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin talked about his decision to let Waite lead off and the impact it had.

“I think anytime we do something it’s not for a fact. It’s about the line that helps us move forward. He’s one of those guys that’s got a good OBP and gets hit by pitches, he walks, he’s pretty good in the zone, good barrel contact,” Corbin said. “I look at a leadoff hitter not necessarily being your best hitter, but the best hitter for that spot to set a table. Mancini’s kind of sitting in that same spot, but Ryker being a switch kind of negates any type of left or right handedness.”

However, the offense did slow down mightily after Vanderbilt made it 9-1. Vanderbilt found itself ground out into a couple of double plays and left runners on base. Overall though, Corbin was satisfied with the way in which his offense came out.

“We had a couple chances where we had hit into a double play and when we hit into the double play, that kind of broke down that inning. But those were the only two innings that we crashed them and didn’t take advantage,” Corbin said. “But the first four innings, I thought we did a nice job of capitalizing there.”

The way in which Vanderbilt won is what was perhaps the most satisfactory thing coming out of the game. The Commodores did not waste any time, nor did they play with their food in a game that would have stained their resume had they lost this game. Instead, Vanderbilt cruised to victory ahead of a series against Alabama.

Connor Hamilton’s Outing

Vanderbilt starting pitcher Connor Hamilton had another solid day on the mound overall. Hamilton threw 6.0 innings, allowing just one run on six hits as he struck out seven batters in 62 pitches.

Outside of surrendering a solo home run, Hamilton looked like a very capable starter that could be given a chance to be the third starter if the mixing and matching of “TBA” starters continues.

“Hamilton going deep into the ball game, that was important. But it was clean. Every pitcher. We didn’t have a walk, we didn’t even hit a high pitch count, so that part was clean," Corbin said. "I think it’s good [Hamilton’s confidence]. But to have a four-man rotation, we’ve always tried to have a four-man rotation just because of what you potentially could do after the season."

Another Big Series Ahead

Wednesday will be a travel day for Vanderbilt as it hits the road to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama for a critical Thursday to Saturday series. Entering this weekend’s series, both the Commodores and the Crimson Tide have a record of 10-11 in SEC play.

But this weekend’s series is significantly more important for Vanderbilt. Depending on what NCAA Tournament projection you look at, Vanderbilt is right on the border of the 64-team field one way or the other. Its biggest red flag against it right now is its RPI ranking. Vanderbilt entered the week 69th in the RPI, which is usually not good enough to get into the tournament.

But what Vanderbilt does have a chance to do is get a resume-building series win against a team that is still fighting for a chance to host a regional.

Getting one out of three against Alabama would not be the worst thing in the world and it would be some additional pressure on Vanderbilt to take the final two series of the season – albeit manageable pressure. However, if Vanderbilt is able to get two or three wins this weekend, it would position itself well in terms of sneaking into the tournament picture.

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