Vanderbilt Commodores (32-13, 11-10 SEC) at Georgia Bulldogs (32-12, 10-11 SEC)
Game 1: Friday, May 3 @ 5 p.m. CT • SECN+
Game 2: Saturday, May 4 @ 1 p.m. CT • SECN+
Game 3: Sunday, May 5 @ Noon CT • SECN+
Athens, Ga. • Foley Field
Series Preview: Vanderbilt heads to Georgia for a three-game series at Foley Field beginning Friday.
- Vanderbilt enters the series in seventh place in the SEC standings while Georgia is one game back in eighth.
- Georgia leads the all-time series 124-123 since 1897. Vandy swept the series in Nashville last season and won the series in Athens back in 2022.
- In SEC games, Vanderbilt is hitting .264 while Georgia is hitting .269. The Dores have a 5.06 ERA compared to Georgia’s 7.38.
Last Time Out: Three of Vanderbilt’s past five games have been decided by one run with Vandy winning two of those contests.
- Vanderbilt beat Tennessee Tech, 8-7, in 11 innings Tuesday night at Hawkins Field. RJ Austin was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring home the winning run.
- In each of the last two games vs. Tennessee Tech on Tuesday and Mississippi State on Sunday, Vanderbilt rallied from a five-run and six-run deficit, respectively. The Dores trailed the Bulldogs by six runs Sunday before taking a one-run lead, eventually falling 8-7. On Tuesday, Vandy trailed the Golden Eagles by five runs and rallied to win in extra innings.
- The Commodores have homered in five consecutive games. Each of Vanderbilt’s last three home runs have been three-run homers (Espinal, 4/27 vs. Mississippi State; LaNeve, 4/28 vs. Mississippi State; Austin, 4/30 vs. Tennessee Tech).
Cunningham in Control: Junior Bryce Cunningham was named SEC Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season on Monday.
- Cunningham threw a two-hit, complete-game shutout Friday vs. Mississippi State as Vandy defeated the Bulldogs, 4-0.
- Cunningham totaled four strikeouts and tossed 122 pitches in Vanderbilt’s second complete-game shutout on the season. Devin Futrell blanked Illinois State over nine innings on March 10.
Scoring Early: Vanderbilt has scored 89 runs in the first two innings this season, averaging nearly two runs per game in the opening frames.
- Vandy is outscoring its opponents 47-29 in first innings and 42-13 in second innings.
- The Dores are 15-1 when they score in the first frame and 21-4 when scoring first.
Golden Spikes Award: RJ Austin was one of 45 players named to the 2024 Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List.
- Austin leads Vanderbilt in RBI (46), hits (54), runs scored (39) and stolen bases (20).
- The sophomore from Atlanta was named SEC Tournament MVP last season and has a team-high 16 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games this season.
- Of the four SEC players with 20 or more stolen bases, Austin leads the way with 42 RBI.
Top Relievers: Junior Ryan Ginther and freshman Brennan Seiber were named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year midseason watch list on April 24.
- Ginther and Seiber have four saves each this season. Vandy is one of only two SEC schools with multiple players on the watch list.
200 K’s for #20: Junior Carter Holton recorded his 200th career strikeout at South Carolina on March 23.
- Holton has registered five quality starts in his last seven appearances. He has 10 or more strikeouts in four starts and eight or more strikeouts in seven starts this season.
- Among active SEC pitchers that have pitched their entire careers in the SEC, Holton ranks fourth in career wins (18), second in strikeouts (239) and third in innings pitched (190.1).
Welcome to the Show: With the call-ups of Austin Martin (Twins) and Jack Leiter (Rangers) this season, Vanderbilt leads all schools with 14 alumni to appear on MLB rosters this season, including the IL.
- Austin Martin made his debut with the Minnesota Twins on March 30.
- Jack Leiter made his MLB debut for the Texas Rangers on April 18. With Leiter’s debut, 33 former Commodores have made their MLB debuts since Tim Corbin’s first season at Vandy in 2003.
1,000-Win Club: Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin reached 1,000 career wins on March 5 vs. Eastern Michigan.
- Corbin recorded his 900th Vandy win on March 16 vs. Auburn.
- Among active coaches, Corbin ranks 10th by most wins. He is second in the SEC behind Arkansas’ Dave Van Horn (1,249).
Weekly Awards: Five Commodores have earned six weekly awards from the SEC this season.
- April 29: Bryce Cunningham (Pitcher) threw a complete-game shutout in a 4-0 win over Mississippi State. Cunningham turned in the longest outing of his career, throwing 122 pitches while allowing only two hits.
- April 8: Jayden Davis (Co-Player) led all SEC hitters with a .583 average on the week, helping lead the Dores to a series win over ranked LSU in Baton Rouge. Davis went 7-for-12 in the series and drove in eight runs with a homer and three doubles.
- April 1: Bryce Cunningham (Pitcher) tossed 7.0 shutout innings vs. Missouri, allowing just one hit with a career-high 12 strikeouts.
- March 18: Alan Espinal (Player) had eight hits over the weekend to help the Commodores sweep No. 18 Auburn. His eight hits tied for the most in the SEC.
- March 11: Devin Futrell (Pitcher) recorded the first complete-game shutout by an SEC pitcher this season. Futrell carried a no-hit bid to the final out of the fifth inning and struck out seven batters. The southpaw did not allow a walk.
- March 4: Camden Kozeal (Freshman) led all DI hitters with 14 hits, helping the Commodores to a 5-0 week.
