It’s not very often that a Game-of-the-Year candidate emerges in mid-March, but Vanderbilt’s 13-12 win over LSU on Friday certainly fits the bill.
Badly needing a win, the Commodores were down to their final out before Washington State transfer Logan Johnstone turned on a hanging breaking ball and launched it into the Nashville night. It felt storybook. Scripted, even.
Unbelievable.
Down to its final out, Vanderbilt wins 13-12 on a walk-off home run from Logan Johnstone.
pic.twitter.com/NeVcZra2Hi
Entering the weekend, Vanderbilt sat dead last in the SEC with an 11–7 record — a mark that doesn’t fully capture the context of its early schedule. The Commodores traveled west twice for Power Four tournaments and played a heavy slate of back-to-back midweek games. They also entered the series battered by injuries, with six players on the weekend report, including their catcher and Saturday starter, while LSU arrived with a clean bill of health.
Those injuries showed up late Friday, when LSU climbed back against Vanderbilt’s thin bullpen.
The defending national champions hadn’t been flawless either, dropping four of their previous six games to mid-major opponents entering the weekend. Friday quickly turned into a slugfest. Well, perhaps a walk/wild-pitch/passed-ball fest is more accurate. LSU starter Casan Evans struggled with command and allowed six earned runs in just over three innings, while Vanderbilt starter Connor Fennell surrendered seven of his own as the teams traded blows deep into the night.
After ninth-inning base hits from Tommy Goodin and Rustan Rigdon and a sacrifice fly from Brodie Johnston, the stage was set for Johnstone. And he delivered.
It’s difficult to overstate how important of a win Friday’s was for Vanderbilt. Not only does it provide a much-needed conference victory, but it also eases pressure on a depleted pitching staff for the rest of the weekend. With the opener secured, the Commodores now have some breathing room as they try to turn their season around and build sustained momentum over the next two days.
Here are three key takeaways from the contest:
The Bats Can Carry This Team
A game like Friday’s likely would have slipped away last season if Vanderbilt’s starter allowed seven runs and the bullpen faltered the way it did.
Not this year, though.
Vanderbilt entered the weekend second in the country with 44 team home runs — a dramatic turnaround from last season, when the Commodores ranked near the bottom of the SEC in long balls. Under first-year hitting coach Jason Esposito, the lineup has shown real explosiveness, ranking near the top of the country in OPS, slugging percentage and several other offensive categories.
Patience was Vanderbilt’s biggest weapon Friday. LSU pitchers struggled to consistently attack the strike zone, and the Commodores took advantage, drawing 11 walks. They also added 10 hits, including Braden Holcomb’s 11th home run of the season.
Braden Holcomb doesn’t look to be slowing down for SEC play.
Oppo smash here gives Vanderbilt a 6-4 lead and knocks Casan Evans out of the game in the 4th.pic.twitter.com/tFdklHk4qz
Johnstone will receive most of the attention for the walk-off blast — and deservedly so — but it only happened because Tommy Goodin and Rustan Rigdon opened the ninth inning with base hits. Without those base knocks, Johnstone never even gets up to the plate.
Any way you slice it, this Vanderbilt team’s offensive ceiling sits in a completely different stratosphere than last year’s. It’s not unreasonable to think this group could develop into the program’s best lineup since Corbin’s 2019 national championship team.
Pitching Remains the Concern
While the offense has surged, Vanderbilt’s pitching — a strength last season — has become the team’s biggest question mark.
Some of that can be attributed to injuries, sure, but roster construction has also played a role. Vanderbilt acquired only two pitchers in the transfer portal — Nate Taylor and Jacob Faulkner — choosing instead to bank on freshmen and returning arms. That gamble has backfired in a major way.
Even after Connor Fennell exited with a three-run lead after five innings and 102 pitches, Vanderbilt’s bullpen couldn’t hold. Though Luke Guth provided stability in two solid innings of work, Jakob Schulz — the only healthy left-handed pitcher on Vanderbilt’s roster — struggled mightily, allowing four earned runs while recording only one out. Tristan Bristow, on in Schulz’ relief, battled command issues and surrendered the lead after hitting two batters, walking another and uncorking two wild pitches.
It’s hard to see things getting much easier the rest of the weekend. Saturday starter Wyatt Nadeau has been excellent early in the season, but he isn’t fully stretched out and will likely need help from the bullpen. Right now, that unit has given little reason to be confident that it can protect a lead — even if Nadeau gets it one.
Vanderbilt’s defense hasn’t always helped out, either. Holcomb’s failure to run down a ball in the gap and a costly passed ball from Korbin Reynolds in the eighth inning gave LSU the lead late. For a staff already walking the tightrope, those extra mistakes only add pressure. There’s not much to be excited about in terms of run prevention. Perhaps trying a different defender in center field could be the answer.
If Vanderbilt hopes to build momentum after its win Friday, the pitching staff will need to find answers quickly.
Fennell Walks the Tightrope
Connor Fennell spent most of Friday night flirting with danger. Against a powerful LSU lineup built to exploit his weaknesses, the Vanderbilt junior didn’t have much margin for error. That showed early on.
LSU stacked left-handed hitters at the top of the order and attacked Fennell’s fastball-changeup mix. When Jake Brown launched a hanging 3-0 changeup over the right-field wall in the second inning, it looked like the kind of moment that could unravel a start. For a Vanderbilt staff already battered by injuries, that would’ve meant turning to a thin bullpen far earlier than desired.
Fennell had no plans of letting that happen, though.
The final line wasn’t pretty — seven earned runs across five innings — but it also didn’t tell the full story. Fennell struck out eight, threw 102 pitches and, most importantly, absorbed innings Vanderbilt desperately needed. On a night when the Commodores needed someone to take the ball and battle, he did exactly that — even if it wasn’t pretty.
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Dylan Tovitz is a sophomore at Vanderbilt University, originally from Livingston, New Jersey. In addition to writing for Vanderbilt on SI, he serves as a deputy sports editor for the Vanderbilt Hustler and co-produces and hosts ‘Dores Unlocked, a weekly video show about Commodore sports. Outside the newsroom, he is a campus tour guide and an avid New York sports fan with a particular passion for baseball. He also enjoys listening to country and classic rock music and staying active through tennis and baseball.
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