Vanderbilt escaped its series with Tennessee with a win on Sunday after dropping two in a row to start the weekend.
Here's three quick takes on the series.
The rivalry should never be that lopsided, Vanderbilt's Sunday win felt plenty significant
It's almost inexplicable to think about.
Tennessee being ranked No. 1 and backing it up while Vanderbilt was unranked on its own field and didn't prove that ranking unfair.
Vanderbilt came into Sunday having lost nine games in a row to Tennessee, seven-straight SEC games and three-straight series.
That's far from the standard that's been set within this program. Streaks like that and weekends like Vanderbilt has had against its rival are reason to think that change is needed within the program.
Baseball is the sport at Vanderbilt in which this can't happen. It's supposed to be the saving grace of its athletic department. It hasn't been that lately.
Instead the first two days of this weekend felt eerily similar to every other sport. Big orange crowds watching big orange results in Nashville.
Vanderbilt's win on Sunday felt like a significant one that stopped some major bleeding.
Vanderbilt's starters had a nice weekend, it's bullpen...not so much
Bryce Cunningham, Carter Holton and JD Thompson delivered enough for Vanderbilt to have a chance to sweep the weekend.
Instead, it lost the series.
That all started on Friday as Cunningham went 6.2 innings and surrendered five hits as well as three runs while striking out 10.
"He pitched really well," coach Tim Corbin said. "After he got through that first inning, I thought he was really good. He commanded the fastball really well and he attacked. Obviously a good offensive team today. I thought he did what he needed to do to put him in a good position."
Holton's five inning, two-run outing was similarly impressive and had a similar result. A Vanderbilt loss that largely wasn't his own doing.
Friday's loss saw Vanderbilt seemingly in control before Miller Green and Brennan Seiber surrendered five runs to allow Tennessee to take the opener. Saturday's saw Greysen Carter pick up the loss after surrendering four runs.
Wherever the individual blame may lie, it feels as if Vanderbilt doesn't have enough reliable options out of the pen, particularly veteran options.
Corbin acknowledges that this bullpen isn't changing and it's what Vanderbilt has to work with the rest of the way, although he still trusts it.
“We’ve got what we’ve got unless Jesus comes into the picture," Corbin said. "I have confidence in the kids. It comes in waves sometimes but you know what; let's just send them back out there again."
Vanderbilt's bullpen ended the weekend with 9.1 innings pitched, 10 runs surrendered and just one win
JD Thompson, who went six innings of two hit, no-run ball on Sunday was the lone Vanderbilt starter that got rewarded for his efforts over the weekend.
Thompson didn't only have the production, he seemed to have some real flair and swagger about him that was encouraging.
Vanderbilt needs more of that type of swagger, as well as what its starters gave it throughout the weekend.
It needs far more from its bullpen the rest of the way, though. With the options it has and how frequently it has to turn to freshmen, it feels as if the path to a reliable bullpen is hard to see from this point on. Especially if Devin Futrell has to start a game.
Tournament outlook
The tournament hopes aren't a given, but Sunday really helps.
As it stands, Vanderbilt sits at 12-15 in SEC play and 28th in the RPI after this weekend. It'll be close but it feels as if 13 league wins and a top 30 RPI will get Vanderbilt in with its high strength of schedule.
That means it's gotta get one next weekend in Lexington and it's gotta keep the RPI up.
Vanderbilt's players seem to be confident in its chances.
"We're gonna carry a lot of momentum into the SEC Tournament and we're gonna get to the tournament," JD Thompson said. "I feel very confident about it. We're gonna get a few wins."
It's all on the table for Vanderbilt, it just has to do it.
