Tag: Vanderbilt Commodores

Shelnut belts 3-run homer to put Florida over Vanderbilt

Florida didn’t get the series win it wanted in Nashville this weekend, but at least the Gators left Vanderbilt with a win on Saturday.

Things didn’t go the way Florida wanted this weekend, but the Gators didn’t left Nashville with the last laugh, beating the Vanderbilt Commodores, 6-2, on Saturday.

Tyler Shelnut’s three-run home run in the fifth turned the momentum Florida’s way, and he added two more to the tally with a two-run double in the ninth.

Before Shelnut got going, Florida struggled to hit Vanderbilt starter JD Thompson, but a fourth-inning ejection shifted the momentum in UF’s favor.

Florida’s dugout argued that Thompson was going to his arm, with the thought being that foreign substance was in play. The umpires conferred and ejected Thompson just after a Cade Kurland double put the first Florida run of the day on the board.

Colby Shelton also had two hits for Florida’s offense. Jac Caglianone’s home run streak ended at nine, which is good for a share of the NCAA record for consecutive games with a homer.

Caglianone went five innings on the mound. He gave up two earned runs on six hits and three walks while fanning five. The command wasn’t quite there like it was earlier in the year, but he still threw 60 of his 100 pitches for strikes.

Cade Fisher took over for Caglianone, but thing went bad fast. He walked two batters and hit another, forcing Kevin O’Sullivan to give him the hook before he got through an inning.

Fisher Jameson was dominant the rest of the way, though. He struck out six of the 11 batters he faced and allowed just one hit. Efficient.

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Gators baseball drops Game 2, series against Vanderbilt

Florida won’t leave Nashville with a series win after dropping the second game of the weekend set against Vanderbilt.

Florida’s offense couldn’t figure out Vanderbilt’s pitching staff for most of Saturday night, leading to a 5-2 loss that guarantees the Commodores a win in the three-game series that concludes Saturday.

The Gators struck out 12 times, including 10 against Vanderbilt’s starter, left-hander Carter Holton, who threw seven innings. The only time Florida got to Holton was in the sixth, when Brody Donay and Jac Caglianone each hit solo home runs.

Caglianon’s blast tied an NCAA record for most consecutive games with a homer at nine. Fifteen of his 23 home runs have come against lefties.

Luke Heyman provided Florida’s other two hits on the night. He singled twice, which should help his numbers after a nasty slump at the plate. Still, Colby Shelton and Tyler Shelnut struck out three times apiece. Florida can’t expect to win with no support from the middle of the order. The pitching staff simply isn’t experience enough to win these low-scoring duels.

Pierce Coppola made his second start for Florida. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out just one over 1 2/3 innings. Liam Peterson took over after Coppola, throwing three innings of one-run ball.

Ryan Slater kept things close after Florida put up the two run to make it a one-run game, but Luke McNeille allowed Vandy to tack on two runs in the eighth. Fisher Jameson struck out the only batter he faced.

Florida and Vanderbilt conclude the series on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.

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Gordon Sargent will defer his PGA Tour card, return to Vanderbilt for senior season

Big news in the college golf realm.

Professional golf is going to have to wait a bit longer to see one of the game’s premier amateur players take his next step.

Gordon Sargent announced Thursday he was returning to Vanderbilt for his senior year. The news may come as a surprise to some, considering Sargent has a PGA Tour card secured thanks to PGA Tour University Accelerated, but he’ll defer his status until next summer, meaning the amateur game gets another year with one of its best players.

“It’s been an honor to represent this university alongside my teammates and coaches, and I look forward to continuing to compete – and further my education – at this amazing place that has given so much to me,” Sargent said in a release. “I would like to thank everyone who has supported me on this journey, and I’m excited for this final chapter at Vanderbilt.”

Sargent, from Birmingham, Alabama, is one of the game’s longest hitters with his astounding speed. He earned the final of 20 points in the PGA Tour U Accelerated program in the fall when he was on the United States team at the World Amateur Team Championship in Abu Dhabi.

As of now, Sargent is the only player who has earned 20 points via PGA Tour U Accelerated since the program was introduced two years ago.

Sargent, No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, won the NCAA individual championship as a freshman and went 4-0 at the Walker Cup last fall at St. Andrews. He also earned low amateur honors at the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.

This year, Sargent has one win, coming in his latest start at the Mason Rudolph Championship. The 2023-23 Golfweek Player of the Year has posted four top-five finishes during the 2023-24 season and holds a scoring average of 69.92 through eight collegiate tournaments.

By deferring his PGA Tour card, Sargent will be able to take it following the 2025 NCAA Championship. He will have full status through 2026 once he turns professional.

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No changes at the top of USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll

The defending champs tumble out of the rankings as in-state school Louisiana jumps 12 spots.

The college basketball season ends on Monday night and all eyes shift to the chase for Omaha. Once again it is the SEC that is reigning supreme in the top 25 rankings with the Arkansas Razorbacks and Texas A&M Aggies replacing last year’s CWS title game participants, the LSU Tigers and Florida Gators.

In the top 10, the Hogs and Ags are joined by the Tennessee Volunteers, Vanderbilt Commodores, and Kentucky Wildcats. The aforementioned Gators landed at No. 18 and the Tigers fell out of the rankings completely.

Kentucky and the UCF Knights are two big winners jumping eight spots in the poll. The Wildcats checked in at No. 8 overall while UCF jumped into the rankings at No. 19. The biggest winner of the week is Louisiana, who is No. 24 after being ranked No. 36.

The Gators were among the big losers after falling nine spots to No. 18. Last week’s No. 18 team, the LSU Tigers, dropped off completely. Florida was swept by unranked Missouri while No. 6 Vanderbilt took two of three from the Bayou Bengals.

Check out the full coaches poll that was released on Monday.

USA TODAY Sports College Baseball Coaches poll

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Arkansas 27-3 775 (31) –
2 Clemson 28-3 735 –
3 Texas A&M 28-4 716 –
4 Tennessee 26-6 656 –
5 Oregon State 26-4 655 –
6 Vanderbilt 25-7 609 –
7 Duke 24-8 580 +3
8 Kentucky 27-4 503 +8
9 Florida State 26-5 498 +3
10 Virginia 25-7 490 +1
11 East Carolina 23-7 440 +2
12 North Carolina 26-6 432 -5
13 Dallas Baptist 25-6 405 -5
14 UC Irvine 24-4 397 +3
15 Wake Forest 21-10 284 +7
16 Virginia Tech 21-8 216 -1
17 Alabama 22-10 192 -3
18 Florida 17-14 187 -9
19 UCF 21-8 186 +8
20 Coastal Carolina 22-9 166 +1
21 Nebraska 22-7 142 +2
22 Oregon 22-8 128 +7
23 Mississippi State 21-12 114 +3
24 Louisiana 24-8 109 +12
25 Oklahoma State 21-11 94 +7

Schools Dropped Out

No. 18 LSU; No. 19 South Carolina; No. 20 North Carolina State; No. 24 Georgia; No. 25 TCU

Other Receiving Votes

South Carolina 67; Indiana State 59; LSU 54; Georgia 45; Texas Tech 26; Creighton 23; Northeastern 14; TCU 12; North Carolina State 11; Lamar 11; Campbell 11; West Virginia 8; St. John’s 7; Ole Miss 4; Kansas State 4; Oklahoma 3; UC Santa Barbara 2; Southern Miss 2; Louisiana Tech 2; Utah 1

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LSU baseball suffers another Game 3 run-rule loss as Vanderbilt takes series

The Commodores run-ruled LSU on Saturday to take the series.

LSU had two chances to get their first conference series win of the season after winning against Vanderbilt on Thursday evening. They could not make it happen as a late rally won Game 2 for Vandy and then the Commodores run-ruled LSU today to take the series.

The Commodores plated five runs in the first three innings before LSU was able to respond. [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] scored due to a throwing error in the bottom of the third inning as LSU would cut the lead to 5-1.

Vandy went on to score two runs in the top of the fourth, one run in the top of the fifth, and three runs in the top of the sixth inning to extend their lead to 11-1. [autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] was charged with three runs, [autotag]Will Hellmers[/autotag] was charged with two runs, [autotag]Cam Johnson[/autotag] was charged with two runs, [autotag]Christian Little[/autotag] was charged with one run, and [autotag]Jaden Noot[/autotag] was charged with three runs today.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] hit a two-run homer to cut the Commodore lead to 11-3.

Vandy scored a run in the top of the seventh and the eighth inning to win the game via run rule 13-3. LSU will be back in action on Tuesday as the Tigers take on McNeese at 6:30 p.m. CT.

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Photos from LSU baseball’s Game 2 loss to Vanderbilt on Friday night

LSU will look to take the series in Game 3 on Saturday.

The LSU baseball team had a chance to secure its first SEC series win of the year in Game 2 on Friday night against Vanderbilt, and late in the game, it looked like it had a decent chance to.

The Tigers held a 6-5 lead entering the eighth, but a late rally from the Commodores that saw them score three runs in the final two frames ultimately erased that lead and evened the series with an 8-6 win, setting up a rubber match on Saturday.

It was a solid start on the mound from [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag], who went 5.1 innings and allowed just four runs, but [autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] allowed the three late runs in relief.

Here are the photos from the loss, which dropped the Tigers to 3-8 in SEC play.

LSU baseball succumbs to late rally as Vanderbilt evens series in Game 2

LSU squandered a chance to clinch its first SEC series win.

After taking Game 1 of the series last night, LSU could win their first conference tilt of the season if it could beat Vanderbilt in Game 2 on Friday night. Unfortunately, Vandy rallied late to win the game 8-6, setting up a Saturday rubber match at The Box.

[autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] started the game with a solo homer in the bottom of the first inning to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the third inning, Vandy hit a two-run shot against [autotag]Gage Jump[/autotag] to give the Commodores a 2-1 lead. LSU quickly answered that homer with two homers of their own. [autotag]Ashton Larson[/autotag] hit a solo shot and White hit a two-run shot to give LSU a 4-2 lead.

Vandy scored one run in the top of the fourth and the top of the fifth to tie the game 4-4. Jared Jones then put LSU back in the lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning to give LSU a 5-4 lead.

Vandy scored a run in the top of the sixth inning to tie it once again but LSU answered that run once again in the bottom of the inning as [autotag]Mac Bingham[/autotag] hit an RBI groundout to give LSU a 6-5 lead.

In the top of the eighth inning, Vandy hit a two-run homer against [autotag]Nate Ackenhausen[/autotag] to give Vandy a 7-6 lead late in the game. The Commodores scored another run in the top of the ninth inning to extend their lead to 8-6.

LSU was unable to score any more runs as the Tigers dropped game two 8-6. The rubber match will be played on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT.

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Photos from LSU baseball’s Game 1 win over No. 6 Vanderbilt

LSU began the weekend with a much-needed top-10 win.

LSU came into the weekend desperately needing a series win, and coach Jay Johnson’s team got the start it needed on Thursday night.

The Tigers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 10-6 victory over the No. 6 Commodores. The bats got going early as LSU jumped out to a 9-0 lead in large part thanks to a six-spot in the third.

[autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] was fantastic on the mound yet again. Though he allowed four earned runs, he also only gave up four hits while striking out 10 and issuing no walks.

LSU had some issues in relief, allowing six runs in the fourth and fifth innings as Vandy mounted a comeback, but it was too little, too late. Now, the Tigers have a chance to secure a massive series win on Friday night in Game 2.

In the meantime, here are the photos from Thursday’s win.

LSU baseball gets back in the win column against Vanderbilt in Game 1

LSU entered this week needing to bounce back in a big way. It did just that with a 10-6 win over No. 6 Vanderbilt on Thursday night.

LSU entered this week needing to bounce back in a big way. LSU did just that with a 10-6 win over No. 6 Vanderbilt on Thursday night.

The Tigers were dominated by Southern on Monday and were swept by Arkansas in their latest SEC series. No. 6 Vanderbilt strolled into Baton Rouge looking to add insult to injury.

LSU got on the board first in the bottom of the third inning as [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] hit a solo homer, [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] scored on a fielder’s choice, [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] hit an RBI single, [autotag]Brady Neal[/autotag] hit a two-RBI single, and Neal scored on an RBI groundout to give LSU a 6-0 lead early in the game.

In the bottom of the fourth inning [autotag]Mac Bingham[/autotag] hit a solo homer and [autotag]Hayden Travinski[/autotag] hit a two-RBI double to give LSU a 9-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth inning, Vandy finally got on the board as they plated four runs against [autotag]Luke Holman[/autotag] to cut the lead to 9-4. In the top of the sixth inning, the Commodores scored two more runs to cut the lead to 9-6.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] singled to center and Bingham scored due to a throwing error to increase the lead to 10-6. [autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag] remained in the game to pitch the top of the ninth inning, he retired the Commodores to secure the 10-6 victory.

Game 2 of the series will be Friday night at 7 p.m. CT.

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LSU drops precipitously in On3’s national baseball power rankings amid 4-game losing streak

LSU fell 14 spots in this week’s rankings after getting swept on the road.

LSU had a nice start to the season as the defending national champions, but since SEC play began, it’s been a rough go of things.

The Tigers are 0-3 in SEC series, most recently being swept at Arkansas, and they sit at just 2-7 overall in conference play. After dropping a midweek game to Southern on Monday night, LSU has now lost four in a row as it hopes to turn things around this weekend as a top-10 opponent comes to town in Vanderbilt.

In the meantime, however, coach Jay Johnson’s team continues to drop in On3’s national power rankings. After spending the whole year in the top 10, it fell 14 spots this week all the way to No. 20.

A series win over the Commodores, who rank eighth, would likely provide a nice boost for LSU in next week’s rankings. But with a loss, the Tigers will likely fall out of the top 25 entirely.

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