Vanderbilt Baseball Just Did Something Bigger Than Rivalry. Column – Sports Illustrated

NASHVILLE—-It was nearly Deja vu for this Vanderbilt team as Tommy Goodin was enveloped by a mob of his teammates and emerged shirtless by the end of the interaction. 
Goodin had just delivered the third walk off in as many days and had done so in as dramatic a fashion as any of them. Vanderbilt trailed 15-10 as it was due up in the bottom of the ninth inning and looked to be on its final breath of the day. Turns out that line of thinking was naive. 
As Logan Johnstone and Mack Whitcomb did in the days prior, Goodin incited a mob in the moments following the final swing of the game. Johnstone did it with a base hit the other way on Friday. Whitcomb did it with a bunt on Saturday. Goodin did it most extravagantly with a grand slam on Sunday. 
All three had the same value at the end of the day in that they facilitated wins over Tennessee. Combined, they formed a special weekend for this Vanderbilt program against its biggest rival. 
“That’s going to be hard to ever repeat,” Goodin said. “I'm really glad that this did end up the way it was and me and the guys are gonna really take this in because it's definitely one of those things that doesn't really happen in baseball. It is my first time ever having a series walk off.”
Goodin has played a nearly countless number of baseball games throughout his lifetime and can say that confidently. If anyone on Vanderbilt’s roster believes they’ve experienced something like this before, they’ve got a heck of a story to tell. Even in that case, none of them have ever experienced something like this in a series of this magnitude. 
Vanderbilt’s NCAA Tournament hopes wouldn’t have been dead had it lost on Sunday–or this weekend for that matter–but it almost certainly would’ve had its back against the wall the rest of the way had these three games gone the other way. This team doesn’t have to worry about that these days, though. 
Instead, they get to ride a high into their Tuesday midweek against Belmont and trip to Texas A&M. This Vanderbilt team was swept decisively a week ago in Starkville, but this doesn’t appear to be that team anymore. Perhaps that group will show up again, but this group had a different confidence about it as it left Hawkins Field. 
“I think this could be a really good turning point for us,” Goodin said. “I think it'll be very huge, and I think this is a very big, big boost.” 
This wasn’t perfect by any stretch, but it feels a whole lot different than it would have without the late-game heroics that were involved. In a way, they were the difference between Tennessee walking out of Hawkins Field demoralized like it did or getting on the bus to an array of cheers from the fans in orange that made the trip. 
That was the first time that this program has swept Tennessee since 2013, but it’s playing this politically correct in regard to the rivalry. For the first time in a long time, though, it feels as if Vanderbilt beating Tennessee matters more in terms of its long-term implications than anything that has to do with the rivalry. 
The fireworks weren’t there at all over the weekend like they have been in this rivalry and although it had some high leverage moments, it felt like there was some figurative love lost here. Neither team was as highly-touted as they’ve been and this series was slated too early. Vanderbilt just had to take care of business, and it did. 
“It feels good, obviously it's our rival and everything, but I don’t think it would have mattered who it was against this weekend,” Vanderbilt center fielder Rustan Rigdon said. “It was just a big weekend in general to get a sweep after last week. Obviously, that bus ride back from Starkville wasn't very fun. We didn't know how it was going to look this week, but we just kept pushing through and got a sweep this weekend.” 
Corbin admits that the bus ride back from Starkville was a long one for a number of guys, but the good news for this Vanderbilt team is that it doesn’t have to think about that series any longer. It’s no longer looking to bounce back from anything or find a way to get back on track. This group is rolling again, it’s just got to find a way keep rolling. 
For now, though, it is.
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Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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