Vanderbilt baseball dropped a series to Oklahoma while picking up both its first run-rule win and loss of SEC play.
The Commodores lost Friday 9-4 and Saturday, 14-0 in seven innings before a 13-2, eight-inning win Sunday to avoid the sweep.
Vanderbilt (26-10, 8-7 SEC) sits in an interesting position halfway through conference play. If the Commodores repeat their 8-7 first-half record with their current RPI of No. 7, they will likely host a regional. But Vanderbilt has continually put up inconsistent performance and has struggled to win games where the opponent scores a lot of runs.
Here's what we learned:
Vanderbilt needs more from its starters
Both JD Thompson and Cody Bowker struggled in the series. In his Friday start, JD Thompson walked four batters and gave up four runs in the first inning, though he did settle in and pitch four more scoreless innings with only one additional walk and six strikeouts. On Saturday, Bowker lasted just three innings, giving up four runs with three walks and five strikeouts.
On both Friday and Saturday, the poor performances from the starters led to the Commodores turning to bullpen arms who are not usually among their top options. On Saturday, Brennan Seiber, England Bryan and Ethan McElvain combined to give up 10 runs in the final four innings of the game, though six of those runs were unearned.
Connor Fennell did put up a strong performance Sunday, albeit one that went just 4⅓ innings. He walked one and struck out five.
Vanderbilt needs more out of its starters, both in terms of innings and performance.
Luke Guth, Sawyer Hawks among bright spots in bullpen
It was a poor performance for Vanderbilt's bullpen overall, though two of its top arms, Alex Kranzler and Tommy O'Rourke, did not pitch.
Former closer Miller Green saw his struggles continue as he gave up three runs in one inning Friday. He has seen his ERA rise to 4.30 and has given up runs in three of his seven SEC appearances. Freshman Tristan Bristow made his SEC debut Friday, giving up two runs in one inning. On Saturday, Brennan Seiber continued to struggle with his control as he gave up four runs (one earned) in ⅔ of an inning. He walked two batters, hit two and threw a wild pitch. Ethan McElvain gave up two runs in 1⅔ innings with three walks and one hit batter.
Two pitchers each pitched scoreless innings Friday: Guth and Matthew Shorey. Guth pitched sparingly at the beginning of the season but he is the only pitcher on the staff who has yet to allow a run, and he has walked three and struck out 11 in 9⅔ innings this season. Guth has made his case for a larger role in the bullpen.
Hawks was also excellent, earning a save Sunday with 3⅔ innings in which he allowed one run with one walk and five strikeouts.
Vanderbilt still searching for answers in its lineup
Vanderbilt used different lineups in each of the three games of the series, with 12 players receiving starts. Neither Friday's nor Saturday's lineups were particularly effective, but the Commodores scored 13 runs with Sunday's.
Vanderbilt had never previously used ...
