Vanderbilt Commodores

Vanderbilt Captures Huge Series Win Against Rival Tennessee

The Commodores waited out a two-hour rain delay to beat the Volunteers on their home field and are now positioned to be at home for most of the postseason.

Taylor Hodges

The Vanderbilt dugout runs to the field after winning a NCAA baseball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Vanderbilt Commodores at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on May 11, 2025. Vanderbilt won 7-5 against Tennessee.
The Vanderbilt dugout runs to the field after winning a NCAA baseball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Vanderbilt Commodores at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on May 11, 2025. Vanderbilt won 7-5 against Tennessee. / Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Vanderbilt and Tennessee on the diamond is always a huge series with implications stretching beyond the borders of the Volunteer state.

No. 11 Vanderbilt won this year’s series against No. 15 Tennessee in an emotional 7-5 game Sunday. The Commodores hit four home runs, overcame a two-hour weather delay and used seven different pitchers to secure the important.

Why is this win so important? Glad you asked.

Here are some of the best things the Commodores’ series win against Tennessee means:

Vanderbilt Wins Bragging Rights

Tennessee’s coaches tried to play off the Vanderbilt rivalry before the series started, but those emotions couldn’t be contained in Sunday’s game. Early on, both benches were given warnings after words were exchanged after Andrew Fischer’s first home run. The emotions popped up from time to time throughout the game and nearly boiled after the game’s final out.

During that post-game “conversation” the Vanderbilt players could been seen waving bye to the Volunteers and pointing towards the scoreboard. The Commodores earned that right after sitting through some rather intense crowd moments all weekend.

Everything else that follows is a bonus.

Vanderbilt Into SEC’s Top Four

The SEC is tightly packed this year and teams move up and down the standings with extreme frequency. Vanderbilt’s series win, plus results of some other games, leaves the Commodores in a three-way tie for fourth place in the SEC with Georgia and Auburn.

All three teams have played one another, so the first tiebreaker (total won-lost percentage of games played among the tied teams) can be used. Vanderbilt comes out on top, 4-2, followed by Georgia (3-3) and then Auburn (2-4).

If the Commodores hold on to that spot, they’d get two byes in the SEC Tournament.

Nashville, Get Ready to Host a Regional (and Maybe Super Regional)

Vanderbilt entered the weekend ranked No. 11 by both D1Baseball and Baseball America and they should see a rise in the rankings. At this point, even being swept by Kentucky next week wouldn’t knock the Commodores out of the top 16 and not host a NCAA Regional.

That rise in rankings could also be enough to put the Commodores into the top 8, meaning they’d host the Super Regional if they advance to it. Vanderbilt is 25-5 at home this year and 10-9 on the road. So, yes, playing at Hawkins Field would be a huge advantage.

Vanderbilt’s Offense Can Be Great in its Own Way

The highlight of the series for Vanderbilt has to be its stolen bases and how they led to the 10-6 win Saturday and helped win Sunday. The Commodores are third in the SEC in stolen bases and they also may be starting to find their swings at the plate.

Vanderbilt had five home runs in the series, four of which came in the most important game of the weekend (Sunday).

The Commodores don’t have a midweek game this week and will host Kentucky for the final SEC series of the season starting Thursday at 6 p.m. on SECN+.

Vanderbilt Commodores On SI:

feed

Published
Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Taylor Hodges is a staff writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI covering all-things Vanderbilt. Taylor brings more than a decade’s worth of award-winning sports writing, photography and video experience covering every level of sports — from Little League baseball to professional sports and other sports like hunting and fishing. Taylor is fueled by his lifelong passion for sports that began the same day Kirk Gibson hit his legendary World Series walk-off home run, Arkansas beat Texas in Austin and No. 4 Notre Dame beat No. 1 Miami in the Catholics vs. Convicts game.

Home/Baseball