Vanderbilt Commodores' pitcher Sawyer Hawks (88) celebrates with his team as Ole Miss Rebels take on Vanderbilt Commodores during the SEC baseball tournament championship game at Hoover Met in Birmingham, Ala., on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Vanderbilt Commodores defeated Ole Miss Rebels 3-2. Jake Crandall/ Montgomery Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

By the numbers: Vanderbilt’s pitching masterclass at the SEC Tournament

Originally posted on Vanderbilt Commodores on SI
By Taylor Hodges | Last updated May 26, 2025 4:59 PM ET

Victorious, awesome, nasty, dominant. yearning.

Any of those adjectives could be used to describe No. 1 overall Vanderbilt’s pitching staff this week at the SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Alabama. There’s several reasons why the Commodores are SEC champions, but their pitching staff is the biggest reason.

Perhaps nothing better illustrates the dominance and confidence of Vanderbilt’s pitchers this week in Hoover than what Connor Fennel did against Tennessee:

Have you ever wondered what a badass college baseball pitcher looks like in today's game? Yes? Let us introduce you to @ConnorFennell7 pic.twitter.com/bFOxBjVf1D
— VandyOnSI (@VandyOnSI) May 24, 2025

How cool was that? That’s this writer’s favorite moment of the tournament. It’s just so funny and the fact it produces a ground out on the next pitch is just an awesome ending. And it’s the ultimate flex of “I don’t care what you do, I’m going to win.”

"I'm happy for the kids. That's why you do this. To see them reach an accomplishment. More to come, but just reaching an accomplishment that is very special because this is a very demanding league and very tough and this league does such a special thing in celebrating these kids, and we so much appreciate being a part of it," said Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin.

Don’t worry. The stats back up how dominant the Commodores were on the mound. Here are the four stats that prove it:

3

That’s how many runs opposing teams scored against the Commodores. That’s it. Against some of the best, hottest teams in the country, Vanderbilt shut them down.

Ole Miss was responsible for 67% the runs allowed, Oklahoma scored just one and Tennessee got shut out (to the delight of Vanderbilt fans everywhere).

38

That’s how many strikeouts the Commodores’ pitchers recorded in the tournament. No, it’s not a record-setting stat (Ole Miss had 62 in 2005, but that was in a different format).

15

That’s how many walks Vanderbilt pitchers allowed in Hoover. Free bases were the best offensive approach teams could take against the Commodores. Because …

10

That’s how many hits opposing teams got against Vanderbilt this week. That’s less than the total number of walks allowed. If you wanted to get on base against Vanderbilt, you stood a better chance at doing that keeping the bat on your shoulder.

No pitcher(s) will ever keep an opposing team from making contact. It’s going to happen because it’s baseball. When contact is made, pitchers need their defense to make a play. So, here’s one more stat that led to the Commodores’ dominance on the mound.

0

That’s how many errors Vanderbilt’s fielders committed. Highlight reel-worthy plays were made consistently. Outfielders made long runs and diving catches and infielders fielded ground balls perfectly to throw out runners or turn a double play.

“This team can defend now with the best of them,” Corbin said. “I mean, they're one of the best defensive teams we've ever had at Vanderbilt.”

This article first appeared on Vanderbilt Commodores on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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