From 17 innings of baseball to the countdown to the SEC Tournament, the past two weeks of Vanderbilt Athletics have kept us on the edge of our seats. Check out these recent matchups in photos.
Men’s basketball
On March 1, the men’s basketball team traveled to Lexington to face the Kentucky Wildcats and defeated them in Rupp Arena 68-66 for the first time since 2007. During the game, big man Liam Robbinson suffered a season-ending injury.
Back at Memorial, Commodore Nation filled the gym for the last regular season home game on March 4. The team defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 77-72. Prior to the game, Vanderbilt was the No. 6 seed in the SEC Tournament, and this game secured that spot.
During the first half of the game, Jordan Wright’s performance boosted the team scoring 13 points. Tyrin Lawrence, Manjon, and Stute also contributed double-digit scores in the game.
“Coming in and seeing [the students] 60 minutes ahead of game time running down here and trying to get to the front of the court, you feel like you just can’t lose for them. You feel like you’re playing for the city of Nashville; you feel like you’re playing for Vanderbilt. There’s a lot of school pride here. Having that energy in the arena, you feel like you can’t lose,” Wright said after the game. “The magic is back for sure.”
The Commodores will next play tonight against LSU in the second round of the SEC Tournament at 8:30 p.m. CST at Bridgestone Arena.
Baseball
After securing a win over Austin Peay with 11 runs on Feb. 28, the VandyBoys played in the Cambria College Classic the first week of March. Their no-hitter over Minnesota in the U.S. Bank Stadium was their first of the weekend, later beating X and falling to Y.
Back at the Hawk, the VandyBoys played against Tennessee Tech on March 7, winning 12-1. The Golden Eagles started the game strong, but Vanderbilt pitchers Grayson Moore, Devin Futrell, Bryce Cunningham and Jack Anderson held them to just one run. RJ Schreck and Chris Maldonado were offensive stars of the game, with both having three hits.
The baseball team returned to Hawkins Field the next day to face the Evansville Purple Aces. During the 17-inning game — tying a Vanderbilt record for the longest baseball game, the score remained at a 1-1 tie. After hours of play, Parker Noland landed a walk-off single to end the marathon game.
The VandyBoys will play Loyola Marymount in a weekend series starting March 10 at Hawkins Field.
Men’s tennis
The men’s tennis team played at home on March 2 against Arkansas. Winning 4-2, the team put forward a strong start for its conference schedule. The Michael Ross/Nathan Cox and Siim Troost/Jeremie Casabon duos both won their doubles matches. Cox, Ross and Troost secured the other points for the Commodores.
During the weekend matches on March 4, the team lost 4-0 to No. 6 South Carolina. Later that day, the team quickly regained its momentum and won against Alabama A&M. Vanderbilt swept all of their singles games against the Bulldogs.
The team lost against the Tennessee Vols in Knoxville today. They will next play against Georgia on March 11 in Athens.
Lacrosse
The lacrosse team played at home on Feb. 27 against Louisville, losing 12-15. Nancy Halleron had a strong performance, securing her seventh goal of the season and a hat-trick. The Cardinals’ offense, however, was tough to beat.
The ‘Dores then traveled to Evanston to play against Northwestern and lost 34-7. They bounced back on March 8 against Penn State, notching a close 10-9 win at home. The lacrosse team will next play Penn State on March 11.
