Latest news with #MLBDesertInvitational
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Vanderbilt baseball moves home opener vs Air Force to Monday due to weather: See new start time
Vanderbilt baseball has moved its home opener against Air Force to Monday due to weather, the program announced in a release. The Commodores (2-1) and Falcons (0-3) were originally slated to face off Tuesday and Wednesday, but the game times were changed due to snow in the forecast Tuesday night and Wednesday. The game Monday will be held at 4:30 p.m. while the Tuesday game will be at 1 p.m. at Hawkins Field. Both games will be streamed on SEC Network+. Fans who had tickets to one of the two games will be able to use those tickets for the rescheduled games, according to the release. Vanderbilt won two of three games at the MLB Desert Invitational this weekend, beating Grand Canyon and UC Irvine but losing to Nebraska. The Falcons got swept by Florida in their opening series. Commodores relief pitcher Sawyer Hawks was previously at Air Force before transferring to Vanderbilt. WEEKEND WRAP Riley Nelson's grand slam highlights Vanderbilt baseball at MLB Desert Invitational: What we learned Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@ or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt baseball home opener game time moved vs Air Force
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Riley Nelson's grand slam highlights Vanderbilt baseball at MLB Desert Invitational: What we learned
Vanderbilt baseball won two of three games in its season-opening MLB Desert Invitational over the weekend. The Commodores (2-1) won a pair of one-run games, beating Grand Canyon 4-3 on Friday and UC Irvine 9-8 on Sunday, but lost to Nebraska 6-4 on Saturday. The games were held at three ballparks in the Phoenix area. In Sunday's game, Vanderbilt blew a 5-0 lead and trailed by two in the eighth inning when first baseman Riley Nelson blasted a go-ahead grand slam. It was the first grand slam for the Commodores in nearly two years. Their new-look lineup, which returns just three starters, showed more power potential than in the past, but that didn't always translate into run-scoring. While the starting pitching and high-leverage relief was strong, the middle relief struggled. In all three games, Vanderbilt ran out a top three of RJ Austin, Nelson and Jayden Davis. The trio rewarded Tim Corbin's faith. Austin was 6-for-14 across the three games with a home run, a double and a walk. Davis, who only hit two home runs last season, was 4-for-12 with a walk, two doubles and a home run. Nelson was 6-for-13 with a double, a hit by pitch and the grand slam, which was the biggest hit of the entire tournament. Another hitter who raised his stock was catcher Colin Barczi. Although Barczi had just two hits on the weekend, he made lots of hard contact, with three deep flyouts to the warning track. Ace JD Thompson, the lone player with significant starts in 2024 to return for 2025, had a strong performance Friday. He threw 4⅔ shutout innings with one walk and six strikeouts against Grand Canyon. Georgetown transfer Cody Bowker had four shutout innings with one walk and six strikeouts against UC Irvine. Second starter Ethan McElvain was more of a mixed bag. He allowed four runs in 2⅔ innings against Nebraska and took the loss. He walked three and struck out seven. Facing 17 batters, McElvain generated a team-high 16 swings and misses, but he struggled with his command at times, allowing a lot of hard contact. Vanderbilt's bullpen struggled all weekend to bridge the innings between the starters and the closer. On Friday, after the Commodores had taken an early 4-0 lead, Matthew Shorey gave up four runs and got just one out to make the score a bit too close for comfort. On Saturday, Brennan Seiber gave up two runs in two innings. On Sunday, Hudson Barton pitched one scoreless inning before giving up four runs without recording an out in his second inning of work. Shorey was charged with two runs without recording an out, and while England Bryan was not charged with any runs, he allowed three inherited runners to score. The saving grace of the weekend was Vanderbilt's two best high-leverage arms: Sawyer Hawks and Green. Hawks came in on Friday in relief of Shorey and fired three shutout innings, allowing two hits with no walks and five strikeouts. Green picked up saves in both the Friday and Sunday games, totaling three innings with one run allowed, no walks and three strikeouts. Alex Kranzler (2⅓ IP, 0 R) and Jakob Schulz (2 IP, 0 R, 3 Ks) were also effective on Saturday. Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@ or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt baseball at MLB Desert Invitational: What we learned
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dansby Swanson attends Vanderbilt baseball game at Cubs spring training facility
Vanderbilt baseball played UC Irvine on Sunday at Sloan Park, where the Chicago Cubs hold spring training games. Naturally, Dansby Swanson came to watch his former team play. The broadcast showed the Cubs shortstop and his wife, Mallory, taking the game in from a suite at the ballpark located in Mesa, Arizona. The Cubs begin playing spring training games Thursday. Swanson hit .330 with 18 home runs across his three seasons with the Commodores from 2013-15. He was the first overall pick in the 2015 MLB draft and spent parts of seven seasons with the Atlanta Braves, including being part of their World Series championship team in 2021. He signed with the Cubs on a seven-year, $177-million contract before the 2023 season. He is known for his continued involvement with the Vanderbilt program. In 2022 his quip, "We don't do orange" during a press conference while with the Braves later prompted the Commodores to sell t-shirts with the anti-Tennessee slogan. He made an appearance at Vanderbilt basketball's upset win over the Vols in January as part of a reunion of the 2014 national championship team. The Commodores (1-1) are playing at Sloan Park as part of the MLB Desert Invitational tournament. SEC POWER RANKINGS SEC baseball preseason power rankings led by Texas A&M Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@ or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Dansby Swanson goes to Vanderbilt baseball game at Cubs facility
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Brodie Johnston, Mike Mancini questionable for Vanderbilt baseball opening weekend with injury
Two key Vanderbilt baseball offensive players may miss time at the start of the season due to injury. James Madison transfer Mike Mancini and freshman Brodie Johnston, both of whom projected as starters when healthy, are "up in the air" over whether they will play at the MLB Desert Invitational, Tim Corbin said on Monday. Mancini has been out since the beginning of the preseason and had minor surgery Jan. 31. In 2024 with the Dukes, the infielder hit .329 with 15 home runs and 29 stolen bases. He was competing for the starting job at second base, which is now likely to go to Jayden Davis, the incumbent starter at that position. Johnston suffered a hairline fracture in his hand after getting hit by a pitch during a scrimmage Feb. 5, according to his father Michael Johnston. He was the likely starter at third base. In scrimmages over the weekend, the players who saw time at third base were junior Chris Maldonado and freshman Rustan Rigdon. Maldonado could move over from his projected first base spot, with juco transfer Riley Nelson playing first. Johnston was the SEC Preseason Freshman of the Year by Baseball America. These injuries are not expected to be season-ending, Corbin said, but they may not be ready in time to play opening weekend. Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@ or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt baseball injury updates on Brodie Johnston, Mike Mancini
