When it looked like all hope was lost, Braden Holcomb and the Cardiac Commodores saved their hosting hopes and got a massive series win. Vanderbilt won games 1 and 3 by scores of 12-2 and 9-7, they dropped game 2 2-5.

Vanderbilt was led offensively by Riley Nelson (4-12, HR, 2 BBs), Brodie Johnston (6-12, 3 2Bs, 2 BBs) and Braden Holcomb (4-12, 2 HRs, 3B, 1 BB). RJ Austin also had a 4-5 night with a home run, double, and 2 singles on Friday before going 1-8 the next two games.

Standout pitching performances came from JD Thompson and Sawyer Hawks. Thompson went 7 innings without allowing a run and striking out 11. Hawks came in late Sunday and pitched 2 scoreless innings, only allowing one hit.

Friday’s game looked like it was going to be a pitcher’s duel for the first 5 innings of the game. Both teams were held scoreless during this time and Vanderbilt only had 4 hits. The ‘Dores should have scored in the 4th when Riley Nelson and Brodie Johnston doubled on consecutive ABs, but bad base running and shallow flyouts doomed Vanderbilt to once again be held scoreless in the inning. In the 6th, though, Vanderbilt finally broke things open thanks to 3 consecutive singles by Austin, Nelson, and Johnston. A Mac Rose bunt single and Vastine single made it a 3-0 game. In the 7th Vandy added to their lead thanks to a Rustan Rigdon leadoff triple, Austin RBI single, and doubles from Johnston and Holcomb. This made it 6-0 heading to the 8th. Miller Green came on in relief of JD Thompson but gave up two runs due to 3 singles and a wild pitch. In the bottom of the 8th, though, Vastine singled, Rigdon walked, and Austin hit his 2nd home run of the year to make it 9-2. Nelson, Johnston, and Maldonado (who came in for Holcomb after an awkward slide into 2nd) all walked and a Jayden Davis single made it 11-2. Ryker Waite was then HBP to re-load the bases, where Mike Mancini drew a walk-off walk. This was Vanderbilt’s 3rd SEC game won via the run-rule.

Saturday’s game was much less successful than the prior night’s. Vandy got out to an early lead thanks to RJ Austin’s baserunning. He singled, advanced to 2nd on a groundout, then got to 3rd base on a WP, and drew a balk by getting Alabama’s ace Riley Quick to shift when Austin faked stealing home. After that, though, Alabama’s pitching and timely offense took over. Cody Bowker was not sharp and was giving up hard contact all day despite not being punished for it at first. In the 3rd, though, 2 walks and an RBI fielder’s choice evened the game up. In the 5th, a leadoff homer made it 2-1 in favor of the Tide. Levi Huesman came in relief of Bowker and gave up a HBP, 2 singles, and a double that made it 4-1. A Holcomb walk followed by Mac Rose’s RBI single made it 4-2 in the 7th, but Alabama responded immediately in the 8th with a double that would eventually score on a wild pitch. Vanderbilt did not record a hit in the 8th or 9th innings.

Sunday’s game was easily the best of the season and one of the most exciting since Arkansas Game 2 in 2023. Riley Nelson’s sixth home run of the season gave Vanderbilt a 1-0 lead in the 1st and an RBI single of his in the 3rd (Rustan Rigdon had walked and advanced to 2nd) made it a 2-0 game. Connor Fennell, to this point, was dealing and had retired 8 straight, striking out 5. In the 4th, though, he did what he had never done this season: walk 2 straight batters. This would come back to bite him as Garrett Staton hit a 3 run homer to flip the game on its head and give Bama the lead. After a scoreless 5th inning, the Crimson Tide extended their lead thanks to a 2 run homer from Will Hodo that ran Fennell off. Luke Guth came on in relief and gave up a single and HBP before being removed for Miller Green. Green gave up 2 singles that made it 7-2. The Vandyboys offense continued to look poor as they were held to just one hit (a triple from Braden Holcomb) in the 6th and 7th. In the 8th, though, a Braden Holcomb solo shot with 2 outs proved to be the spark Vandy needed to get back into things. Mac Rose then drew a walk and Colin Barczi hit an oppo home run that cut the Alabama lead to 2. In the 9th, Alabama put in Carson Ozmer, arguably the best closer in the country who had struck out the side in the 9th inning on Saturday. Unintimidated, Mike Mancini hit a bloop single and Rustan Rigdon got hit by a pitch to put 2 on with no outs. They advanced into scoring position thanks to an RJ Austin sac bunt. Riley Nelson grounded out, meaning Vandy was down to their final out. Brodie Johnston would play the hero as he hit a double to the left-center field gap that tied the game at 7 a piece. Not to be outdone, Braden Holcomb then sent a towering walkoff home run to the batter’s eye in straightaway center field, winning the game 9-7 for Vanderbilt.

These three have found a home as Vanderbilt’s 3, 4, and 5 hole hitters. Having them all back-to-back in the order gives Vanderbilt a great combination of high batting averages (Holcomb and Nelson are hitting .350 and .373 in SEC play with OBPs over .420) and power production. Those 3 have 22 of Vandy’s 47 home runs and only Nelson has played every game this season. When these three are hitting as well as they did in this series AND translating their very good raw power into actual production, Vanderbilt becomes a scary team to face all of a sudden. Colin Barczi is also right behind them in the order and he is batting .265 in SEC play and has hit 5 home runs, so if he can keep producing too then this effect is just compounded.

It has been well established that if Vanderbilt wanted to host a regional they needed to win 2 of their final 3 series and get to at least 16 SEC wins. They’re half way to that goal. Given Vanderbilt’s elite KPI and RPI (number 1 and 3 in the country, respectively) I think that even if they get swept one weekend, simply winning 1 of their final 2 series in SEC play should ensure that a Nashville regional is played.

To earn a national seed Vandy might not have to do much more than that. They play Louisville in a midweek game this week which will be another Q1, high quality victory opportunity. If they can win that game and 1 more SEC series while also avoiding being swept in any series loss, that could get them there. There is so much parity amongst the elite SEC teams that it does not take much to get ahead. If, however, you want a guaranteed national seed, simply win both remaining SEC series.

Clearly the bullpen management has been thrown out of whack the last couple of weekends with Hawks missing the Ole Miss series and then being on a pitch count this weekend. Getting him back to normal will be extremely valuable for Vandy as they take on Tennessee who, despite recent struggles, still have one of the SEC’s leading offenses.

JD Thompson deserves a shoutout of his own, too. His performances at home in SEC play have been nothing short of remarkable. He still needs to improve his consistency, but when he is on he’s as good as any starter in the country. Getting him at the top of his game could give Vanderbilt a real two headed monster between him and Fennell heading to the postseason.

Speaking of which, Connor Fennell had his first struggles of the year, but I think that he just got thrown off by an extremely hot hitter in Blake Snell and got out of his game. So long as he can re-center his mentality and approach on the mound, he’ll be fine.

I am getting somewhat more concerned with Cody Bowker, though. He has not had a quality start since the first SEC series of the year. Whenever he attacks the zone and is okay giving up a hit or two he does great, but his tendency to nip at the edges of the zone have gotten him in trouble with walks recently. It will be interesting to see if there are any adjustments made to his approach on the mound in these last couple of weeks.

This was an extremely significant series win for Vandy, not only because of how they won it, but because of the extremely real postseason implications it has had. Braden Holcomb’s emergence and Johnston’s maturation look like they will unlock doors that were previously closed to this team. JD Thompson continues to look like one of the best pitchers in the country at home, too (now he just has to do it 2 weekends in a row, though).

Things don’t get any easier from here, however, as Vandy goes up I-65 to take on a ranked Louisville team and then travels to Knoxville as they face THAT team out East. Let’s see what these guys are made of.