Five-seed Florida faces 12-seed Vanderbilt on Wednesday.
Vanderbilt pitcher Tyler Baird will get the start for the Commodores against the Gators. | ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Imageswith the Vanderbilt Commodores on Wednesday afternoon.
Vanderbilt enters the contest 33-24 on the year and finished the regular season 14-16 in SEC play. While their overall record does not catch the eye on paper, Florida cannot take their eye off the ball here and look ahead to the next round. Vanderbilt has the offense to make things interesting on Wednesday and is playing to keep its postseason alive. Vanderbilt has survived largely on its offense this season.
In 2026, four Commodore hitters are hitting at least .300. The offense is averaging 6.7 runs per game and has reached double figures eight times this season. The Commodores are alsois outfielder Braden Holcomb. Holcomb is hitting .351 with 14 homers and 52 RBI in 57 games.
Additionally, he is tied for fifth in the SEC in doubles, with 10 this season. Vanderbilt’s other major bat in the lineup is third baseman Brodie Johnston. Johnston is batting .332, with 15 homers and 47 RBI. His 15 home runs are tied for first on the team, and he is also second in doubles .
As good as their offense has been, the same cannot be said about the Vanderbilt pitching staff. Connor Fennell has been the one consistent name in the starting rotation and pitched in the Commodores' win over the Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday. Outside of Fennell, the Commodores' starting pitchers have struggled to nail down a consistent role.
Vanderbilt pitching is 12th in the SEC in team ERA , 14th in earned runs allowed , 14th in walks and 15th in hit batters . It does not get better in conference play, either. It ranks 13th in ERA , 13th in earned runs allowed , 15th in walks , 10th in strikeouts and 16th in hit batters . Righty Tyler Baird is getting the start against Florida on Wednesday.
He is 0-5 this season in 22 appearances , posting a 4.81 ERA in 43 innings. He has a 49-to-24 strikeout-to-walk ratio and allowed 23 earned runs this season. They used only one relief pitcher against the Wildcats, which gives them many options to choose from to throw against the Gators.
However, the one arm used on Tuesday was one of their main arms from the pen. Some names to look for from the pen are righties Nate Schlote, Luke Guth and Brennan Seiber. Schlote is the best of the bunch, posting a 1.52 ERA across 23 ⅔ innings. As for Guth and Seiber, each has pitched at least 30 innings.
Kyle Lander is a contributing writer at Florida Gators on SI. He is also a graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in journalism. On top of his writing, Kyle is a photographer for the site as well. Outside of his work with Florida Gators on SI, he likes to hike, travel, watch movies and hang out with family and friends.
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