Scouting Analysis: How East Tennessee State Matches Up With Vanderbilt Baseball

The Nashville Regional is set and Vanderbilt baseball is looking to start a run to a College World Series Championship this weekend in the regional round at Hawkins Field. In addition to facing Wright State Friday night, the other two teams the Commodores could face on their home field are East Tennessee State and Louisville.

East Tennessee State is coming off a SoCon Conference Championship where the Buccaneers took down the Samford Bulldogs. Going into the regional round with a 41-15 record, East Tennessee State has proven that it can compete with SEC teams with a 7-6 win at then-No. 1 Tennessee in mid-March and a close 8-6 loss at then-No. 4 Georgia the week before taking down the Volunteers.

In the event Vanderbilt does face off against East Tennessee State, where would the Commodores take advantage of the Buccaneers and where could Vanderbilt be vulnerable?

Advantages

As with most matchups, Vanderbilt’s advantage against any opponent will be pitching and defense. The Commodores rank top 10 in the country in team ERA with a 3.76 ERA. Vanderbilt has two solidified starters between JD Thompson and Cody Bowker, but it has an even deeper bullpen that knows how to shut games down and prevent opponents from coming back.

The bullpen is led by Connor Fennell, who holds a 2.68 ERA in over 50 innings pitching this year, but that’s just the start. Sawyer Hawks and Luke Guth both also pose threats to opposing hitters with ERAs of 1.64 and 0.93 respectively.

In a potential matchup between Vanderbilt and East Tennessee State, if the Commodores jump out to an early lead, they would boost their odds of winning with the advantage they would have on the mound.

Where Things Could Go Wrong

But Vanderbilt has potential to struggle offensively against East Tennessee State. The Buccaneers are not too far behind in pitching stats as they rank 29th in team ERA at 4.44 and 25th in WHIP at 1.33, however the pitching staff has struggled of late, giving 7.0 runs per game in the last six games.

But East Tennessee State’s specialty is at the plate. The Buccaneers hit .313 as a team where the Commodores hit at a .270 average. They also score two more runs per game compared to Vanderbilt.

Most of all, this East Tennessee State team has a lot of power throughout its lineup. Five players on the roster hit over .300 among players on the team who have played in at least 40 games. Additionally, East Tennessee State has four of the top six home run hitters in the SoCon, including Cooper Torres, who is third in the conference in batting average.

Vanderbilt must be careful if they face East Tennessee State. The Buccaneers are not a team to be taken lightly, even by a top team like the Commodores.

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