Vanderbilt Commodores

What We Learned in Vanderbilt's Series Opening Win Against Alabama

With an assist from Mother Nature, the Commodores scored a run-rule victory over the Crimson Tide in Friday night's game at Hawkins Field.
Taylor Hodges|
Mike Mancini celebrates Vanderbilt's 12-2 win after he drew a walk in the eighth inning and the bases loaded.
Mike Mancini celebrates Vanderbilt's 12-2 win after he drew a walk in the eighth inning and the bases loaded. | Vanderbilt Athletics

It’s hard to make broad assumptions based on one game, but No. 15 Vanderbilt had to like a lot of what it saw Friday night at Hawkins Field.

The Commodores (33-13, 13-9 SEC) defeated No. 18 Alabama 12-2 behind another great pitching performance by JD Thompson and the offense playing like it did against Georgia two weekends ago.

Thompson threw 100 pitches in seven innings and gave up two hits and two walks, while also striking out 11 batters. Offensively, the Commodores had 16 hits, five walks and eight strikeouts.

Here are some other things we learned Friday night:

JD Thompson Pitches Better in the Black with Gold Pin Stripes Uniform

OK, the uniform probably isn’t what allows Thompson to pitch great or not. But the old saying goes: look good, feel good; feel good, play good.

Advantages of a Turf Field vs a Dirt Field

If Hawkins Field was a traditional field with dirt and real grass, Friday’s game would probably have been paused somewhere in the middle innings. But even with rainfall that looked to impact Alabama’s Connor Lehman, the game continued on. The broadcast announces even pointed out that if the teams weren’t playing on a turf field, the tarp would have been brought out.

Hosting a NCAA Regional Is Extremely Important

This a true statement for every team in the preseason. Teams nearly always play better at home than they do on the road or at a neutral site. It might be even more important for the Commodores this season.

Vanderbilt is 24-4 at home, with the only losses coming against Arkansas (three times) and Middle Tennessee. Away from Hawkins Field, the Commodores are 9-9 and they’ve lost every SEC series played on the road.

It’s such a stark difference in the level of play Vanderbilt has at home compared to on the road. At home, they look like one of the best teams in the nation. On the road, they look like a team on the verge of being dropped from the top 25 rankings.

BONUS: Things We Learned About SEC Baseball

Of the other two 12-9 SEC teams headed into the weekend, Georgia beat Missouri and Ole Miss lost to Oklahoma. That put Vanderbilt and Georgia in a tie and the Sooners and Rebels in a tie one game back.

Also, what is going on in Fayetteville? No. 11 Arkansas is one win away from sweeping No. 1 Texas. The Longhorns won’t lose their spot atop the SEC standings if that happens, but they’re already assured to lose their No. 1 ranking in the nation.

In fact, there’s a chance an SEC isn’t ranked No. 1 when the updated college baseball rankings come out Monday. LSU is ranked second behind Texas, but is playing a Texas A&M exceeding expectations after a disastrous start to the season (including a 1-9 start in SEC games). If the Tigers lose their series, an ACC team (pending the weekend’s results, Clemson, North Carolina and Florida State could see one of them as the newest No. 1 team).

Vanderbilt Commodores On SI:

Published
Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

Home/Baseball