Why Vanderbilt baseball's SEC tournament rematch with Tennessee can bolster postseason resume

HOOVER, Ala. — Bryce Cunningham had an uncharacteristically poor outing against Kentucky.

That was no matter for Cunningham, who wanted redemption. Despite being on just four days' rest, Cunningham was the starting pitcher for Vanderbilt in Tuesday's SEC tournament opener against Florida.

All the right-hander did after that? Throw six shutout innings with no walks and six strikeouts in a 6-3 win by the Commodores.

"Last week motivated me and just pushed me to do my best in this one," Cunningham said.

Vanderbilt doesn't usually start a weekend pitcher on short rest in its opening game of the SEC tournament. But with the Commodores on the NCAA tournament bubble and facing a shortage of options on the mound, coach Tim Corbin saw Cunningham as the team's best option.

Vanderbilt (36-20) advances to face No. 1 Tennessee (46-10) on Wednesday (4:30 p.m., SEC Network) in what now becomes a double-elimination format. That game − the fourth against its rival in two weeks − will allow the Commodores to bolster their regional resume.

"We didn't make too much of the must-win situation," Corbin said. "We just didn't want to go there with the guys, but it's more about playing good baseball."

Vanderbilt now sits at No. 22 in the RPI, a figure that has historically gotten teams into the NCAA tournament even with a 13-17 conference record. Perhaps more importantly, the Commodores denied another bubble team in Florida the opportunity to pick up additional quality wins.

Although Vanderbilt has likely already secured its spot in the field, an additional win over the Vols would make the resume a near slam-dunk. Among five SEC teams that finished 13-17 − Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and LSU are the others − the Commodores have the worst record in Quadrant 1 games at 9-16. A neutral-site win over Tennessee would give Vanderbilt an additional data point.

Among the teams in the top 10 of RPI, the Commodores won one game of three against both Kentucky and Tennessee earlier this season, got swept by Georgia and defeated Indiana State in a midweek game in February. Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and LSU all each have at least one series win against a top-10 RPI team.

After Vanderbilt got swept by Tennessee in back-to-back seasons, the Commodores salvaged the third game of the series two weeks ago at Hawkins Field. All three games were close, but Vanderbilt's bullpen melted down in each of the first two.

"First we're going to solve that offense," Corbin said. "It's a very strong team. And (coach Tony Vitello's) got a lot of talent there. They they can make you work. They certainly can pitch and play defense too. So we're going to have to slow them down and we're gonna have to figure out who can help us do that."

It's been a long time since the two rivals have been as far apart as they were this season. The Vols shared the SEC title with Kentucky and earned the top seed in the SEC tournament for the second time in three years. They have two trips to Omaha and another two to super regionals in the past four seasons. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, has finished mid-pack in the SEC in two of the past three seasons and lost in regionals in each of the last two.

The Commodores have done things the hard way to close out the season. After a streak of seven straight conference losses, they notched a vital victory in the third game against the Vols. They did the same a week later on the final day of the regular season. Then, they got the victory in the win-or-go-home game against the Gators.

With a spot in the NCAA tournament much closer to becoming reality, Vanderbilt has much less to lose. And that could make a win Wednesday that much sweeter.

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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: Vanderbilt baseball can bolster resume vs Tennessee in SEC tournament