By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — Despite being ranked second in the nation most of the season, the Vanderbilt Commodores face a tough battle just to win the SEC Eastern Division, let alone defend their NCAA title. The Commodores dropped the final game of their series against the 14th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels Sunday, and begin the week with a 17-9 SEC record. They are a half game behind Tennessee (18-9), who also dropped two of three games over the weekend to top ranked Arkansas. The Razorbacks not only remain atop the national standings, they lead the SEC East with a 19-8 record.
Vanderbilt lost one game in the standings via cancellation as the third and final game in the Alabama series was rained out and will not be rescheduled. The Commodores must have a higher winning percentage than both Arkansas and Tennessee to win the title. Vanderbilt’s final three SEC games will be this week against Kentucky, running Thursday through Saturday. Hawkins Field will be allowed to reach full capacity for this series. Vanderbilt was also one of 20 teams whose home fields were named as possible sites for NCAA Regional games. These sites will be named later this week. The Commodores played Florida International Tuesday in a nonconference game prior to the Kentucky series.
Kumar Rocker lost only his second game of the year Friday in the opener against Ole Miss, despite only giving up four hits in seven innings. Unfortunately two of them were home runs, and the Commodores were held to one run and six hits in the 3-1 loss. Vanderbilt’s bats exploded in the Saturday game for seven home runs and the Commodores rolled to a 13-2 victory. Isaiah Thomas had two of the seven. Jack Leiter gave up only two hits and one run over six innings, winning his eighth game in 10 decisions. But Vanderbilt relief pitching unraveled in the Sunday finale, giving up 10 runs in the fourth inning. The Commodores rallied twice, but eventually were defeated 13-10.
The Commodores are hoping for a top four seed to get a bye in next week’s SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama. It’s the first step towards a possible return to the College World Series and third title for head coach Tim Corbin.
