News from the Diamond....

Alright, so it isn't spring yet, but there's a couple of interesting happenings from the baseball team that I'd like to publicize a bit more.

I'll start by acknowledging our recruiting efforts, which I clearly love to follow, no matter what the sport. Vanderbilt's baseball team has been solid in the SEC for several years. As such, we've gotten to the point where we are able to bring in some excellent high school talent. Our efforts have received a #25 ranking from Baseball America. Last year, we were ranked near the top of the list (we might have actually received the number one ranking, I'm trying to confirm that). Some names to look out for in the near future are LHP Mike Minor (a 13th round pick by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays), IF Alex Hilliard, and OF Steven Liddle.

Now, let me get to the big story, which I believe has gone under the radar because of the football and basketball seasons. Vanderbilt junior pitcher David Price recently was named to the watch list for the Roger Clemens award for this upcoming season. Last year he was a three-time national pitcher of the week honoree and he finished the season 9-5 on his way to breaking the school record for strikeouts with 155.

That's not all. Price was named Baseball America's Summer Player of the Year after going 5-1 with a 0.20 ERA and 61 strikeouts to 7 walks in 44 innings. Price pitched for Team USA last year as well, but his solid numbers last year are nothing compared to his performance this summer.

This guy should easily go high in the draft and could very well be a first-rounder.

So while we certainly would love to see our basketball team turn things around and would like for football to continue improving, it's important to show some love to those teams and players that are also representing the black and gold well. Could we have the best collegiate pitcher in America right in the confines of Hawkins Field?