Live Blog: #1 Tennessee Baseball at #5 Vandy Boys (Friday Series Opener)
One of the biggest College Baseball series of the past few years at Hawkins Field. 6:00pm First Pitch. Live Updates Ahead…
4:47PM: Vanderbilt Football on hand, signing posters… Lots of smiles… New Head Coach Clark Lea has been doing well in his 1st 15 months at the helm, securing many local Middle Tennessee recruits lately. Spring Practice soon…
5:33PM: Lots of orange in the house… including quite a few Season Ticket seats… Selling your seats to the enemy? LOL. With some tickets going for $400+, can you blame them tho?…
6:20 PM: Chase Burns is for real. Nasty slider… Topping out at 98. Freshman with serious poise. Only a questionable 3rd strike borderline call that led to a Vandy double in the 1st. 0-0 headed to the 2nd, with the memory of an early Vol lead, fading into the distance and some extra tension in the air…
6:27 PM: Looked like Russell went big fly for the VOLS, but ball hung up in the wind and was caught on the warning track. 3rd ball struck well against McElvain… kind of concerning for Vandy…
6:28 PM: Looks like we were right… That ball is LAUNCHED… 2 run BIG FLY for Luc Lipscius… He’s now wearing a cheetah coat in the dugout… VOL bench en fuego… 2-0 GBO.
6:38 PM: How can you NOT love Javy Vaz!!? Serious sparkplug for the Boys… Laces a 2 out opposite field double in the 2nd… Chase Burns K’s the next batter to get out of it. 2-0 headed to the 3rd on a gorgeous night in the Ville…
6:52PM: Enrique Bradfield Jr. Best player in the stadium. LOM base hit to center- just call it a Triple as he steals second and third easily. How does Burns not even throw over to 1st or 2nd? Youth showing. Scores on a chopper to 2nd. If you could put value on a run, that was big. Feels like 2-1 is a lot closer than 2-0 for some reason. Momentum?…
7:11PM: Chase Burns. Major League Slider. That is all. (2-1 Vols thru 4.)
7:16PM: Don’t sleep on Chris McElvain… 7th K of the night for the Commodore’s Ace.
7:27PM: TWILIGHT ZONE FRIDAY NIGHT… Less than 4 1/2 innings in and we have an Illegal Bat call erasing a Bomb and TWO balls lost in the lights BY THE HOME TEAM in ONE inning!!! IS THIS AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE?? Possibly the new fangled light show lights installed at Hawkins? It’s 5-1 Vols and the VandyBoys have “wasted” their Ace. Crazy.
7:33PM: …and now a Vandy passed ball that scores another… WHAT. IS. HAPPENING.?
7:38PM: Vandy not timid… still stealing bases down 5 runs… Javy Vaz out there tearing it up again… Make it a 4 run deficit. 6-2 Vols.
7:45PM: Young ballplayers- remember that play… Pitchers should be the best glove in the infield… PFP… Burns making a game changing play on that bunt by Bradfield JR.
8:17PM: A little chirping after Tennessee’s Gilbert HBP. Hunter Owen responding back while requesting a new baseball… ratchet things up another notch… Owen responds by rolling up an inning-ending double play ground ball… Bottom of the 7th. 4 run game…
8:21PM: I told you Javy Vaz is the MAN… THIRD time on base with a leadoff single… Vandy Boys are in business…
8:30PM: CARTER YOUNG… flashing leather in the 8th… small circle, lightning release… Bang. Bang. Big out for Vandy down 4…
8:50PM: A few balls hit on the screws for Vandy, but right at people…
9:00PM: 1st error of the night by the VOLS with 1 out in the 9th- but, let’s be real- this game was decided by Vandy’s lack of ability to field fly balls in the early night sky…
9:03PM: During the game, Vandy landed the top pitching recruit in the 2023 class. LHP Thomas White. Fastball already runs into mid-90s #3 in the country.
9:07PM: Javy Vaz on base for the 4th TIME tonight… Love that kid! Tying run on deck…
TENNESSEE VOLS ARE 25-1. WHEN YOU’RE HOT, EVERYTHING GOES YOUR WAY. 6-2.
SEE YALL TOMORROW!
