Instant analysis of Vanderbilt's three six-inning games against Wake Forest.
The Commodores fell 6-2 in game one, took game two 4-3 and 5-1 win over the Demon Deacons.
Take it all with a grain of salt
It's October, after all.
It's worth noting what's happened at these scrimmages, but the results shouldn't send anyone into panic or have anyone parading around.
Saturday largely wasn't a good day for Vanderbilt, particularly its offense. Neither was its outing at Rutgers.
That should raise some questions about this group's lineup, but shouldn't allow it to be written off as it heads towards February. It's a long season that hasn't even started yet.
I'm not sure the lineup Vanderbilt trotted out in game one is one I'd love in the regular season
It's the fall and thus too early to be uber critical of Tim Corbin's decision making, but if Vanderbilt's lineup looks the same as it did today as it does in April then there's a case for it.
Batting Jack Bulger, who hit for a .240 average and .348 OBP while stealing just three bases in 2023, is where the questions start.
Those questions would also continue if breakout candidates like Davis Diaz and Jonathan Vastine continue to hit at the seven and eight spots in the order.
Perhaps a positive from the order is Vanderbilt expressing enough confidence in Jayden Davis' power ability to bat him in the cleanup spot. The Samford transfer hit nine homers in 2023 but looks to take another step up in that department in 2024.
With the exception of a homer, Greysen Carter looked solid
As Carter looks to step into a bigger role in 2024, he'll need to continue to stack solid outings. It feels like with the exception of Nick Kurtz' first-inning homer, Carter did that on Saturday.
The junior right hander sat 97-99 with his fastball and threw his breaking ball that sat in the upper 80's for strikes.
Carter recorded two innings pitched, 1 earned run, three strikeouts and didn't allow a baserunner outside of Kurtz.
Levi Huesman and Devin Futrell struggled
The Coastal Carolina transfer had a hard time in Saturday's outing. The sophomore surrendered four runs after some hard contact and control issues.
Huesman finished with 1.2 innings pitched, three hits, four runs. Only two of those runs were earned, the other two scored as a result of Troy LaNeve misplaying a fly ball in left field.
Futrell started game two and gave up a two-run home run in the first inning as well as a solo shot in the second. The Vanderbilt lefty also gave up a homer in the Commodores' scrimmage against Rutgers and gave up a homer to Jack Bulger as well as a hard-hit double by Chris Maldonado in Vanderbilt's first intrasquad scrimmage of the fall.
Vanderbilt did some nice things off of Chase Burns
Corbin's team saw an arm that its grown familiar with over the years on Saturday. That showed at times, particularly for Vanderbilt's more experienced players.
First it was Bulger who ripped a hard-hit double down the left-field line in Burns' first inning of work.
The real damage came in Burns second inning, when Troy LaNeve took the former Tennessee right hander yard on an opposite-field shot. That was followed up by Diaz' single and stolen base before Burns struck out Vastine and was pulled from the game after 1.1 innings pitched.
Matthew Polk would certainly be a significant loss
Polk slid towards the bullpen wall while chasing down a foul ball in right field and suffered an injury in the process by the looks of it. After the play, the junior outfielder was down on the field with trainers.
Polk was eventually helped up and walked off the field under his own power, although grimacing and limping while doing it.
Losing the junior outfielder would take a dent and a given starter out of its lineup.
Fortunately for Vanderbilt, it sounds as if Polk may not need an MRI or x-ray to determine whether there's damage beyond just a cut in Polk's knee.
Troy LaNeve stood out all day
In an offense that was stagnant for part of Saturday, LaNeve stood was a real bright spot.
The fifth-year senior took a ball to the opposite field for Vanderbilt's first hit of the afternoon and cranked a homer to the same spot later in the six-inning contest. In the first inning of Saturday's third contest, LaNeve went yard again to the opposite field.
LaNeve also made a nice diving catch in left field that robbed Wake Forest of extra bases and a run. The fifth-year senior cancelled that out to an extent by misplaying a fly ball later in the outing that allowed Wake Forest to drive in two runs.
Vanderbilt's veteran outfielder looked every bit of a starter on Saturday afternoon and may have been its best player in its three game set with Wake Forest.
Bryce Cunningham, Ethan McElvain, David Horn and Sam Hliboki were Vanderbilt's standout pitchers
Two candidates for Vanderbilt's third rotation spot made their cases on Saturday afternoon. Cunningham and Hliboki combined for four innings of scoreless baseball with seven strikeouts.
Cunningham, in particular, was able to do some good things in terms of throwing his breaking ball for strikes and playing off of his fast ball with his offspeed pitches.
Hliboki did a nice job finishing at bats and generating some swing and miss en route to his four strikeouts.
McElvain also recorded four strikeouts in two innings of work while showing some real flair in the process. Corbin looks to really have something there.
Horn threw two scoreless innings and recorded two strikeouts.
Vanderbilt will have an abundance of quality arms in 2024, that shined through on Saturday.
Jack Bulger and Calvin Hewett will need to take leaps. Saturday provides hope that it can happen
Bulger caught some flak early in the day for being Vanderbilt's leadoff guy but had himself a day and provided some hope that he can take a leap in 2024.
The veteran catcher hit the ball hard for a double off of Burns in game one and connected again in a similar way on a two-run single in the fifth inning of Saturday's second game. That single proved to be Vanderbilt's biggest hit of the day.
Bulger also stole two bases on Saturday, one of which coming on a double steal.
Unlocking Hewett's power will be important for Vanderbilt's lineup as a whole, the senior's home run on Saturday provided some optimism that he can be a viable power option on a team that doesn't seem have an abundance of them.
This season's baseball coverage is presented by the Murfreesboro Pure Milk Company. a family-owned, third-generation milk and ice cream distribution company located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. A partnership began over 50 years ago with Purity Dairy in Nashville to provide Purity milk and ice cream to consumers in middle Tennessee, and they now serve southern Kentucky, northern Alabama and Chattanooga and north Georgia. Today, they supply grocery stores, convenience stories and others with Purity products, as well as Mayfield, Nestle and Haagen Dazs ice cream. For more information, visit their website at MPMCI.com.
