Vanderbilt baseball picked up its third consecutive win at Hawkins Field on Tuesday, defeating Xavier 11-1.
The win came on the heels of a massive series win in Lexington, Kentucky over the weekend — one that pushed Vanderbilt’s RPI up to No. 72 in the country. With work to be done to extend their 19-year NCAA tournament streak, the Commodores understand the importance of stacking wins. Tuesday marked another step in the right direction.
“We’re starting to play a lot more together,” Tommy Goodin said after the game. “We’re going out there and just having fun and scoring a bunch of runs. That’s a confidence booster for all the guys.”
While Xavier may not present the same challenge as SEC competition, the win was encouraging for Vanderbilt in many aspects. Jacob Faulkner made his first start in the Black and Gold and impressed across 4.1 innings of one-run ball. The sidearmer forced consistent weak contact with his deceptive look, throwing 78 pitches and providing some length for Scott Brown’s bullpen.
“Faulkner did a good job,” Tim Corbin said after the game. “In my mind I was thinking three [innings] so the fact that he got us into the fifth, that was a good effort by him. He’s never done that here before.”
Nate Schlote and Jakob Schulz followed Faulkner and combined for five strikeouts across 3.2 scoreless innings, helping seal one of the staff’s cleaner games of the season. For a bullpen that has struggled at times in limiting damage, Tuesday was a step forward.
Offensively, Vanderbilt continued to put crooked numbers on the scoreboard, beginning with Goodin’s ninth blast of the season in the bottom of the first to put Vanderbilt back in front after Faulkner surrendered a run in the top half. The first baseman finished the game 3-for-4 at the plate with 5 RBIs, continuing his emergence as a middle-of-the-order force.
“The biggest thing is definitely approach,” Goodin said after the game. “At first I was very all over the place, but getting into an approach was the best thing that I could have done.”
Tommy Goodin gets Vanderbilt going with a three-run blast in the bottom of the first. pic.twitter.com/7CNzQHO1sf
With his effortless bat speed and growing consistency, the left-handed slugger has become one of Vanderbilt’s most reliable run producers.
In addition to Goodin, Brodie Johnston had another strong day at the plate, reaching base four times on three singles and a walk. After a pull-heavy freshman campaign, Johnston has evolved into a more complete hitter — chasing less, whiffing less, and using all fields while still maintaining the contact quality that earned him All-SEC freshmen honors a season ago. Entering Tuesday’s game, Johnston was slashing a stellar .370/.454/.691 and placed in the 97th percentile in expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) among all collegiate hitters.
Vanderbilt now turns its attention to a major test, as Texas is set to travel to Nashville this weekend for a high-stakes SEC clash. Second in the SEC with an 11-6 conference record, the Longhorns bring one of the league’s most talented rosters. A series win would significantly boost the Commodores RPI and keep its NCAA Tournament hopes firmly alive and well.
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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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