One swing completely changed the entire outlook of the Vandyboys’ opening SEC weekend. Unfortunately for Tim Corbin’s club it was Cade Belyeu’s grand slam that proved to be the difference between Vanderbilt and Auburn.

The Tigers took the series 2-1 with a 6-2 and 7-6 win on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Vanderbilt won on Saturday 8-5.

Friday night’s game was easily Vanderbilt’s worst of the series. JD Thompson went 5 innings giving up five runs. It’s a shame that a horrendous 3rd inning overshadowed what was an otherwise great performance for Thompson, but that’s just the nature of baseball. SIX (yes, six) of the eight batters who came up in the 3rd inning for Auburn reached base on a 2 strike count as Thompson struggled to land his putaway pitches. Alex Kranzler, Matthew Shorey, and Luke Guth also pitched, only Kranzler gave up a run (only his second of the year).

Offensively, Vanderbilt struggled. The ‘Dores only had 6 hits total and only scored on a 2 run homer from Jonathan Vastine. Vanderbilt had 11 strikeouts and 11 groundouts in this game as they simply could not get any hard contact against Auburn’s Sam Dutton. Simply put, the offense just was not there.

Saturday’s game looked like it was going to be even worse than Friday, as Ethan McElvain went just 1.1 innings giving up 3 runs. Fortunately for the ‘Dores, though, Sawyer Hawks came in and settled things down, pitching 4 strong innings only giving up 2 more runs. Vandy’s bullpen came in strong, too, as Tommy O’Rourke, Levi Huesman, England Bryan, and Miller Green combined to pitch 4.2 scoreless innings.

Offensively, Vanderbilt may have found something that day. Corbin switched up the lineup, moving Humphrey to the leadoff spot and inserting Jayden Davis and Braden Holcomb. The ‘Dores were able to get to Auburn’s Cade Fisher early, hitting 3 runs off of him and getting him out after just 2.1 innings. They then used a 5 run 5th inning that included two doubles from Johnston and Austin on top of singles from Vastine and Holcomb as Vanderbilt batted around the order. There were no more runs scored after the 5th inning for the Vandyboys, but this offensive explosion was enough to get them over the hump.

Sunday’s game looked like it was Vanderbilt’s to lose from the get-go. Cody Bowker continues to prove that he is one of the best pitchers in the Southeastern Conference as he went 7.0 innings, only giving up 2 runs. While he was in, Vanderbilt’s offense looked solid, as Colin Barczi hit a 2 run blast, Vastine and Holcomb hit back-to-back homers, Jacob Humphrey hit a triple and was driven in by Johnston, and Barczi recorded another RBI – all of which happened by the end of the 4th inning. Unfortunately for Vandy, though, it seemed as if they used up all their luck to start the game.

Auburn put in Andreas Alvarez and while Vanderbilt consistently got hard contact off of him, they simply could not find a gap in the defense as the offense stagnated (Auburn commentators noted that they thought Humphrey could have hit 4 home runs that day if the wind was not blowing in so hard from the right). Two consecutive errors from Johnston and Davis gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the 5th. Then after Bowker exited the depleted bullpen could not finish the job. Tim Corbin elected to play the matchups and used 5 pitchers in the 8th inning. Matthew Shorey came in to face two lefties, getting the first out then giving up a ground ball single; Brennan Seiber came in and threw one pitch (a HBP) before being taken out; England Bryan gave up a single (loading the bases) then got a strikeout; Miller Green then came in to face Cade Belyeu and after getting up 0-2 threw a pitch right down the middle which Belyeu (who was 0-10 on the weekend) hit for a game winning grand slam. Connor Fennell came in and got the last out of the eighth inning. Vanderbilt struck out 3 times in the 9th.

For the pitching, the biggest concern is Ethan McElvain. We saw how costly it is to have a starter only go 1.1 innings, as not only did it put Saturday’s game in jeopardy, but lost Vandy Sunday’s game, too. While nobody questions his innate talent, McElvain is clearly lacking the experience and mental fortitude to be a starter. It’s time to start stretching Hawks or Kranzler out and move them to the Saturday or Sunday position. McElvain can be a high-leverage reliever who has the potential to finish out games if he has his A level stuff that night. We saw how beneficial that was with other players with similar talent and issues (think 2023 Patrick Reilly–who is now likely to make it to the MLB as a reliever) and it is worth trying with McElvain.

I’m not as concerned with Thompson, as he only gave up 1 hit through 4 IP outside of that almost flukey 3rd inning. If he continues to have very bad stretches where he struggles to put batters away on 2 strike counts then I’ll be getting more worried, but this has not been the case yet.

I am not overly worried about the bullpen yet, either. The top end talent is there and if you can get just 2 or 3 more innings out of your starters then there is enough depth to get you through a weekend. On the other side, though, we saw this weekend that there is not enough depth to get strong performances if a starter really struggles. This could be a concern come SEC/NCAA Tournament time.

Finally, Cody Bowker deserves a mention of his own. Who would have thought the Georgetown transfer would have been the best pitcher on the team so far? His stuff is nasty, his delivery is just funky enough, and his command and control are elite. He could be the Friday night guy before the season is over.

The offense, aside from a disappointing Friday night, was not awful. The team had just 1 less hit than Auburn and actually had 4 home runs to Auburn’s 3. On Sunday in particular, too, there were a ton of extremely well hit balls (particularly from Johnston and Humphrey) that just went right into the wind or right at defenders. What is concerning is how inconsistent the offense can be in-game. There will be stretches where it seems like everyone is hitting a ball well immediately followed by 3 to 4 innings of 1-2-3 appearances with a bunch of strikeouts. I do not understand or claim to know why this is, the most likely explanation is that it is mental.

I think Corbin is close to finding the optimal lineup for this team. Braden Holcomb in particular responded well to getting another shot. He went 2-5 with 2 RBIs and a home run along with drawing 3 walks to only one strikeout. His K rate is now down to 30% on the season. Still high, but playable if his power comes through. Frankly, he should not be out of the lineup until he graduates – he’s just that valuable with his power. Jayden Davis went 2-8 in place of Mike Mancini which was better than what we had seen but still not good enough. Vanderbilt needs one of its two 2nd baseman to perform up to preseason expectations. The last question mark is at DH. Mac Rose’s average has plummeted down to .233, Rustan Rigdon has hit a freshman wall and is now batting .239, Mike Mancini is batting .250. I think you have to put one of the latter two in at DH to give yourself a chance. It does not look like Rose has what it takes to compete in the SEC, with both of the other two there is reason to play them. Rigdon is a freshman and would be well served to fight through this wall and become a more complete hitter. Mancini is still battling back from his hand injury and could round into form after having to sit out for a long while. Both of those two have a much higher potential than Rose and the offense will take a step up.

From an emotionless, purely pragmatic sense a 1-2 weekend away in the SEC is not a bad result. But baseball is not an emotionless sport, and how you win or lose can play a massive role in confidence and performance. This was a heartbreaking loss. Vanderbilt had no business losing on Sunday after Bowker’s performance. Poor defense, a spent bullpen, bad offensive luck, and questionable coaching decisions cost them the game and series. Hopefully the team can put it out of sight and out of mind, but that is easier said than done.

Vandy takes on Belmont on Tuesday at 6 PM CT and then Texas A&M this weekend at the Hawk for their conference home opener.