Monday, April 4, 2011

Vandy Sweeps Auburn, Claims Top Spot in Coaches' Poll

The bats really got going on the Plains this weekend as Vanderbilt scored 28 runs in three games and pulled off their first ever sweep of the Auburn Tigers (11-6, 11-2, 6-2).  It took a late rally to win the third game of the series but Vanderbilt remains atop the SEC East standings with a 6-2 conference record.  As expected, Florida and South Carolina both swept, so the three-way tie for first place in the division continues.

The coaches rewarded Vandy's big week of offense (38 total runs on 52 hits in four games) by voting them to replace UVA as the #1 team in America.  The Baseball America Top 25 remained largely unchanged, with the Commies on top of the rankings for a second consecutive week.

The Dores (25-3, 6-2) get MTSU at home tomorrow and will face a tough challenge from a surprisingly strong Alabama team (21-8, 7-1), which comes to Nash Vegas for the weekend series.  You can check the schedule and start times here.

There's a lot to like about this year's team.  Stanimal and I both have man-crushes on freshman left-fielder Tony Kemp, who's been nominated for SEC Freshman of the Week after going 9 for 18 last week and hitting his fourth triple of the year.  Anthony Gomez extended his hitting streak to 24 games and is really turning heads this season with his .363 batting average and 26 RBI.  Senior Mark Lamm has stepped up and pitched great in relief, allowing only one hit and no runs in 4.1 innings this week while tallying his first career save.  And of course Aaron Westlake continues to set the pace, batting .406 and slugging .660 with 5 HRs on the year. 

Whether it's the weekend trio of starting pitchers (Gray, Garvin, and Hill) or something else about the 2011 Dores, chime in and let us know what's got you excited about this year's run at Omaha.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm excited no one's announced they're leaving the basketball team yet.... Though I'm sure some of those are to come.

AspenVU said...

CKS needs to hire Franklin or Corbin to motivate the guys. Butler is testament that mental beats physical. VU BB will be fine.

Gotta like what the baseball team continues to do year after year!