How Vanderbilt baseball salvaged series finale, NCAA tournament hopes vs. Tennessee

After the first of two Vanderbilt bullpen blow-ups against Tennessee, coach Tim Corbin said that the Commodores would have to stick with what they had.

"We've got what we've got," he said Friday. "Unless Jesus comes into the picture."

It didn't quite come to that, but Vanderbilt finally snapped its nine-game losing streak to the Vols with a win in the series finale after Devin Futrell — who had only two career relief appearances, neither of which was in 2024 — came out of the bullpen and closed the 3-0 win.

The Commodores (34-18, 12-15 SEC) lost the first two games, 8-4 on Friday and 7-6 on Saturday. They held leads into the later innings of both, but a five-run eighth inning doomed the Commodores on Friday, while on Saturday it was a four-run sixth that proved the difference.

After three strong starts by Bryce Cunningham, Carter Holton and JD Thompson, the first four relievers Vanderbilt turned to couldn't hold the leads. So the Commodores went with the nuclear option in Futrell on Sunday, and he responded by throwing three shutout innings, including three strikeouts with two runners on in the sixth.

"I'm not usually built for coming to the game with two people on," Futrell said. "So I did that. Got my energy amped up a little bit and I kind of beared down with that."

The series finale was the first time Tennessee (42-10, 19-8) had been shut out — and the first time it had been held without an extra-base hit — all season.

The Commodores have lost three straight SEC series, but the win did end a seven-game conference losing streak. They stopped their skid at a vital time.

Vanderbilt's rotation makes a statement against Tennessee

Despite the series loss, Vanderbilt got strong starts from all three starters. On Friday, Cunningham put up 6⅔ innings, allowing three runs, with two walks and 10 strikeouts. Holton threw five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) with one walk and seven strikeouts. Thompson had six shutout innings, with three walks and nine strikeouts.

Thompson, who was issued a warning for gesturing toward the Tennessee dugout and rubbing his forearm, mimicking his ejection and suspension for use of a foreign substance, called the Vols "mouthy."

"I'm not usually the vocal guy," Thompson said. "But I mean, when you got guys talking to you the whole game, you just got to let the emotions out sometimes, just put it all out there and enjoy it. And I think it helped us in the bunker for sure. Just for the hitters, just that momentum, that energy, something that we've lacked in a few big games that have cost us."

Along with Futrell's performance, the weekend was proof that the Commodores have four legitimate starters as the postseason approaches. Both he and Thompson missed significant time during SEC play, but with all four healthy now, the sky could be the limit for the rotation.

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Vanderbilt's bullpen struggles

On Friday, Vanderbilt held a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning. Miller Green, who had gotten the final out of the seventh, remained in the game. But Green, who generally has been the Commodores' most reliable bullpen arm this year, gave up a single, home run and triple before being pulled for Brennan Seiber. Seiber gave up another single and home run.

On Saturday, Vanderbilt turned to Greysen Carter with a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning. Carter gave up a walk, hit batter and another home run, then a wild pitch to let in four runs without recording an out. Ryan Ginther, who relieved Carter, got out of that inning but gave up another run in the seventh. Finally, Luke Guth stopped the bleeding and pitched 2⅓ innings without allowing a base runner, striking out three.

Guth nearly allowed the Commodores to come back in that game. Vanderbilt scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth, then put two runners on in the ninth. Alan Espinal nearly tied the game with a hard line drive, but the ball was hit right to the second baseman. A sac fly cut the deficit to one, but a groundout ended the game.

What Vanderbilt baseball needs to do to make the NCAA tournament

Vanderbilt still isn't guaranteed a spot in the NCAA tournament, but the win Sunday went a long way.

According to D1Baseball, all five SEC teams since 2012 that had 13 SEC wins and an RPI in the 20s have qualified. The Commodores' RPI is currently 27, and they will head to the No. 1 RPI team in Kentucky this weekend. One win in Lexington likely will mean Vanderbilt is safe, but a series win would help even more.

"I think we're going to carry a lot of momentum into the SEC tournament and we're going to get to the tournament," Thompson said. "I feel very confident about it. We're going to get a few wins. And I'm really proud of this group right now."

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Vanderbilt kept NCAA tournament hopes alive with win vs Tennessee