After leading 5-1 in the 8th inning, the Commodores’ bullpen gave up seven runs as Dayton took an 8-5 lead. That was all the Flyers needed as the Vandy offense had nothing to show for the final two innings.
Here are four takeaways from a tough midweek loss:
- Solid outing for JD Thompson:
In his second career start, the sophomore out of Texas had seemingly every pitch working tonight. He pitched 4.2 innings, striking out six and only walking two. The only run he surrendered was a solo home run over the monster in left field to cut the lead to 3-1. Most of his strikeouts were on elevated fastballs that the Dayton hitters frequently chased. After making only 13 appearances last season, tonight’s outing was a step in the right direction for a young pitcher who could become the primary midweek starter if this continues.
After the game, Tim Corbin credited Thompson’s control throughout his outing.
“Strikes. It was kind of a run-off of what happened on Sunday. I thought he was really efficient and I thought he came after the hitters. To get a guy to go at least 4.2 innings on a Tuesday is good. That was good baseball.”
- Bullpen struggles
Sam Hliboki and Miller Green did fine, but newcomers Sawyer Hawks and Ethan McElvain struggled out of the bullpen. Hawks loaded the bases to start the eighth inning, putting the freshman McElvain in a difficult high-leverage spot. It appeared as if he might escape the jam, but Dayton’s Mason Dobie smashed a 2-RBI double into right field to cut the lead to 5-4. To make matters worse, a wild pitch tied the game and then McElvain gave up three more runs to give the Flyers an 8-5 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth.
Tim Corbin said the 8th inning was a “loss of emotion.” He added, “When you can’t control your adrenaline, things like that will happen. You start overthrowing, then you lose the count, then you know, anxiousness kicks in, and the game starts to turn.”
He also added that Ethan McElvain, as a freshman, will learn from tonight’s late-game situation.
“Listen, he’s just going to have to learn from it. You can’t play this game tight, you can’t play this game mad, and you can’t play this game without not being able to handle your emotions.”
- Hustle doubles from Hewett and Humphrey
Over the weekend, Hewett showcased his speed and athleticism on the basepaths, but Humphrey did not as much. Tonight, UMass Lowell transfer Jacob Humphrey ripped a double into the gap and was flying around the basepaths. As Corbin said after the game on Sunday, they’ve got to find ways to get guys like Hewett, Humphrey, Vastine, and Austin on first base.
Tim Corbin discussed the luxury of having a package of players like Hewett and Humphrey.
“The speed element is certainly good. You hit a ball between two outfielders that don’t get to the fence and you still get to second base, that’s a good thing. I like the package of Humphrey and Hewett.”
- No home runs to be found
After hitting only three home runs total last weekend, tonight was no different. Looking around the conference, Georgia hit three vs. Georgia Southern, South Carolina hit two vs. Winthrop, Tennessee hit one vs. UNC Asheville, Alabama hit three vs. MTSU, and Texas A&M hit five vs. Incarnate Word. Those aren’t crazy impressive numbers, but they’re more than Vanderbilt has. If the power output doesn’t increase, this team will have trouble matchup up against teams like Texas A&M, Tennessee, and South Carolina. The pitching will keep them in games, but the power will win games, especially in the later innings when you need a big swing.
The Commodores return to Hawkins Field tomorrow for a matchup vs. Eastern Kentucky with first pitch scheduled for 4:30pm. Andrew Dutkanych will get the start.
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