Nashville Super Regional Preview

Image credit: Stephen Scott (Getty Images)

Vanderbilt

Coach: Tim Corbin

Postseason history: Eighth super regional appearance (second straight). Seeking fourth trip to Omaha and first since 2015.

Postseason route: No. 2 seed in Clemson Regional. Went 3-0, defeating No. 1 Clemson 19-8 in regional final.

Scouting report (anonymous coach breaks down the Commodores)

“The big difference was we’re watching video and scouting and we’re seeing a totally different team than what we played because for a while (Connor) Kaiser and (J.J.) Bleday were both out (earlier). Maybe I was overemphasizing the fact they weren’t there and then were there, but to me those two guys made the whole thing go. Kaiser is incredible defensively but has finally come around with the bat, obviously. And then Bleday was a game changer. He was kind of the one guy in the lineup – even though several guys did damage to us at different times – he was the one guy that you’re kind of worried about and looking to see when he’s coming back around.

“To me, they have maybe not the wealth of arms that they’ve had in particular years when they’ve been dominant. But nonetheless, (they) still have their usual wealth of arms where if a guy doesn’t get it done they can go to somebody else without sweating it. And also, there’s enough of them that they’ll have somebody to get it done.

“This is to no fault of theirs, I think with the makeup of their pitching staff they have a bunch of good arms. I’m sure in the fall they thought several guys could start. But there isn’t a whole lot of matchup coming out of there and there is not that guy that’s definitely the setup man or definitely the closer. If you roll the dice enough times, certain numbers are going to come up. If you’re just rolling guys out there, there’s a really good chance for an opposing team to catch a guy on an off day and get to them. I don’t think it’s lack of talent. It’s just for whatever reason they don’t have a guy that has the makeup of a lefty matchup guy or a closer or a setup guy or anything like that.

“I think (their super regional experience) matters a ton. It motivates you because if you’re not the team that wins in the final game…it’s got to drive you a little bit. I think it makes you a little more focused, a little more determined on top of what everyone knows in sports anyway – experience helps. You’ve been there, you’ve done that, you’re not going to get overwhelmed. To me, the experience that they have has a two- or threefold effect to make them a little better.”

Batters

Pos.	Name	Bats	Yr.	Avg.	OBP	SLG	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
C	Stephen Scott	L	Junior	.260	.415	.604	14	38	31	46	5
1B	Julian Infante	R	Junior	.191	.280	.276	2	17	16	67	1
2B	Ethan Paul	L	Junior	.240	.358	.429	9	41	27	60	17
3B	Jayson Gonzalez	R	Freshman	.225	.287	.355	5	28	11	56	1
SS	Connor Kaiser	R	Junior	.298	.397	.452	6	45	30	48	12
OF	J.J. Bleday	L	Sophomore	.367	.493	.500	3	14	28	21	2
OF	Pat DeMarco	R	Freshman	.271	.346	.445	9	40	21	49	10
OF	Austin Martin	R	Freshman	.335	.447	.407	1	18	32	43	21
DH	Phillip Clarke	L	Freshman	.307	.394	.473	6	36	25	36	4

Pitchers

Pos.	Name	Throws	Yr.	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	BB	SO	AVG
SP	Drake Fellows	R	Sophomore	7	4	0	3.52	92	33	102	.210
SP	Patrick Raby	R	Junior	5	5	0	3.38	64	30	53	.264
SP	Mason Hickman	R	Freshman	8	2	0	5.25	70.1	26	65	.252
RP	Zach King	L	Sophomore	1	3	3	3.40	47.2	21	49	.234
RP	Maddux Conger	R	Junior	2	0	1	2.21	20.1	14	22	.237

Mississippi State

Coach: Gary Henderson

Postseason history: Eighth super regional appearance (third straight). Seeking 10th trip to Omaha and first since 2013.

Postseason route: No. 2 seed in Tallahassee Regional. Went 4-1, defeating Oklahoma 8-1 in regional final.

Scouting report (anonymous coach breaks down the Bulldogs)

“That’s just the magic, man. It’s a huge compliment to Gary and those kids. Them being alive right now is a huge testament to intangibles and what can happen when you have good pieces. Everyone would love to run Konnor Pilkington and Ethan Small out Friday and Saturday. They’ve got some freshmen that are good players that got off to bad starts like freshmen do and now are playing really well. And they’ve got enough supporting pieces around them.

“They’re not a super explosive offense if you look at their home run and stolen base numbers. Jake Mangum definitely sets the table for them. He’s certainly a sparkplug that pressures you with footspeed. He’s a really good player, a really good hitter. He really pressures you when he hits the ball on the ground.

“I think a guy that has stepped up is J.P. France. He’s been a big difference maker for them. You get an older guy, get a grad transfer guy. This time of year, you go back to experience and he’s pitched in different parts of the game for them and done well in all of them.

“There’s nothing that sticks out at you. You don’t see a Brent Rooker, you don’t see huge power, huge run. Pilkington is very talented, but he’s got a 4.6 ERA. It’s just you’ve got a team that’s got some really strong intangible things going on.

“We played three competitive games with them. I’ve been in the league for 15 years now and you see plenty of teams that finish in the middle of the standings and get hot and make a run. I never discount any SEC team. If you make the NCAA Tournament from our league, you’ve got the talent. It bounced their way. They’re good and they’re hot and it bounced their way.

“I can’t verbalize how much respect I have for that group of coaches not only to just hold it together but to thrive. Your job as a coach in the short term is to get everything you can out of your group. Not only did they bring the group together, but you can say they overachieved. I really respect Gary and Jake (Gautreau) and Mike Brown.”

Batters

Pos.	Name	Bats	Yr.	Avg.	OBP	SLG	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
C	Dustin Skelton	R	Sophomore	.269	.364	.365	1	12	10	24	0
1B	Tanner Allen	L	Freshman	.302	.369	.473	5	42	25	54	0
2B	Hunter Stovall	R	Junior	.315	.362	.430	2	37	23	33	10
3B	Justin Foscue	R	Freshman	.259	.342	.383	3	19	17	21	0
SS	Luke Alexander	R	Junior	.207	.295	.322	6	44	27	43	1
OF	Rowdey Jordan	S	Freshman	.325	.405	.540	7	33	20	32	2
OF	Elijah MacNamee	R	Junior	.321	.392	.503	6	37	12	41	1
OF	Jake Mangum	S	Junior	.354	.435	.488	3	29	26	25	14
DH	Josh Hatcher	L	Freshman	.259	.342	.333	3	16	19	47	4

Pitchers

Pos.	Name	Throws	Yr.	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	BB	SO	AVG
SP	Konnor Pilkington	L	Junior	2	6	0	4.61	91.2	30	97	.264
SP	Ethan Small	L	R-Sophomore	5	3	0	2.94	85.2	31	107	.235
SP	Jacob Billingsley	R	R-Senior	5	3	0	5.05	67.2	36	64	.268
RP	Riley Self	R	Sophomore	4	0	1	2.70	23.1	10	20	.200
RP	J.P. France	R	Senior	5	5	2	3.41	58	23	62	.248