A nightmare of a day
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Vanderbilt has had pitching struggles this year, but Saturday’s game against Florida, a 20-8 loss, took it to another level.
A weak-hitting Gator team scored at least one run off six different VU pitchers, battering the Commodores for 20 hits. Compounding things, the Commodores issued 11 walks, hit a batter and threw five wild pitches.
It's the most runs scored off one of coach Tim Corbin's teams since he arrived in 2003.
The game came against the backdrop of a weekend during which Vanderbilt honored the memory of former pitcher Donny Everett, who drowned the day before the scheduled start of last year's Nashville Regional.
VU presented Everett's framed jersey to his parents, Teddy and Susan, who threw out the first pitches on Saturday, while Teddy threw warm-up tosses with Everett's former throwing partner, Collin Snider, on the field just before the game.
Everett would have been a sophomore on this year's team, and would have turned 20 on Sunday. Video tributes to him were played between innings, at times.
It was obvious early that Vanderbilt wasn't at its best. Florida scored a run in every inning but the second and fourth.
Starter Drake Fellows gave up a pair of homers in the first, and the Gators batted around before three Vanderbilt pitchers could record an out in the third, as UF scored four in the first and eight in the third in an embarrassing Game 3 of the series.
Fellows was charged with six runs—five earned—in two innings. His replacement, Snider, was even worse, giving up five—all earned—without getting an out.
As a result, UF had a 12-run lead before Vanderbilt plated five in the third, keyed by run-scoring doubles by Julian Infante and Jason Delay.
Florida took two of three in the series form the Commodores (22-15, 7-8 Southeastern Conference). UF’s Dalton Guthrie, the game’s second batter, hammered a line drive over the 375 sign in left, center, giving UF a 1-0 advantage.
After a Toffey error and a hit-by-pitch, Nelson Maldonado lofted one over the wall in left for a four-run lead.
If was just the second homer of the season for each.
UF chased Fellows in the third after a walk and a single. Snider couldn’t find the strike zone, and a walk and a wild pitch resulted in a run, then, J.J. Schwarz broke his bat in half on an at-bat that resulted in a two-RBI single to center.
It only got worse from there. Whether it was Paxton Stover (two runs), Penn Murfee (four), Jackson Gillis (two) or Matt McGarry (one), Vanderbilt couldn't stop the bleeding until Maddux Conger, who got the final out of the eighth, became the only VU pitcher not to allow a run.
Jeren Kendall and Ethan Paul led VU with three hits each.
Corbin focused his post-game comments on the Everett situation. Kendall was made available the media, but Snider, one of Everett's closest friends, was not.
SCORING SUMMARY
F1: Guthrie homer to left-center off Fellows. F, 1-0
F1: Maldonado homer to left off Fellows scored Langworthy, Larson. V, 4-0
F3: Snider wild pitch scored Langworthy. F, 5-0
F3: Schwarz single to center off Snider scored Larson, Maldonado. F, 7-0
F3: Bell single to center off Snider scored Schwarz. F, 8-0
F3: Kolozsvary doubled off Snider to score Bell and Hicks. F, 10-0
F3: Langworthy grounded into double play off Stover as Koloszsary scored. F, 11-0
F3: Maldonado singled up the middle off Stover, scoring Liput. F, 12-0
V3: Toffey single over short off Kowar scored Kendall. F, 12-1
V3: Infante single to center off Kowar scored Scott. F, 12-2
V3: Delay double to the corner in right off Kowar scored Toffey, Infante. F, 12-4
V3: Bleday double to center off Kowar scored Delay. F, 12-5
F5: Langworthy double to center off Stover scored Guthrie. F, 13-5.
V5: Delay single over second off Kowar scored Paul. F, 13-6
F6: Kolozsvary doubled off Murfee as Bell scored. F, 14-6
F6: Liput reached on fielder’s choice off Murfee as Kolozsvary scored. F, 15-6
V6: Paul infield single off Horvath scored Kendall, F, 15-7
F7: Schwarz homered to center off Murfee. F, 16-7
F7: Kolozsvary singled off Murfee scored Hicks. F 17-7
F8: Guthrie homer to left-center off Gillis. F, 18-7
F8: Schwarz ground-out off Gillis scored Langworthy. F, 19-7
V8: Infante single to center off Horvath scored Coleman. F, 19-8
V8: Liput ground-out off McGarry scored India. F, 20-8