Baseball Notebook

The Commodores (24-10, 8-6 Southeastern Conference) went 5-0 last week, swept an SEC opponent on the road for the first time since 1993 and are No. 17 in Baseball America's top 25.

If you haven't already, check out our interviews with coach Tim Corbin and outfielder David Macias.

Vanderbilt plays two midweek games -- at Lipscomb tonight and at Western Kentucky tomorrow -- before coming home for a three-game series this weekend against Auburn.

While Mississippi State may be down this year, winning all three games in Starkville was no easy chore. It was Vandy's first sweep there since 1914 and first series victory there since 1986. The Commodores scored 35 runs against the Bulldogs, the most ever for a three-game SEC road series in school history.

The Commodores excelled in all phases. The offense came to life, hitting .340 with six homers, three triples, 11 doubles and 48 runs scored in five games. The pitching staff sported a 2.60 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 22 walks in 45 innings, while the defense only made three errors in 185 chances.

Macias continues to rake, hitting .565 (13-for-23) with a double, triple, homer and four RBI with nine runs scored from the leadoff spot. The senior leads the team in hitting (.386) and has already set a career high with six homers.

Pedro Alvarez appears to be getting his timing down after missing 23 games with a broken hand. The junior is hitting .462 in six SEC games with three homers, two doubles and 11 runs scored, and is slugging .885.

Junior shortstop Ryan Flaherty remains consistent, hitting .391 (9-for-23) with three homers, nine RBI and seven runs scored. He leads the team with eight homers and 35 RBI.

On the mound, redshirt freshman Caleb Cotham turned in a solid performance Saturday, throwing seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts and four walks. He now leads the team with a 5-2 record and 3.22 ERA with 50 strikeouts and 18 walks in 44.2 innings.

Pitching coach Derek Johnson said the Dores needed Nick Christiani to pitch for them to have success, and the junior responded with two strong outings last week. He went 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA, and is now 4-1 with a 3.57 ERA on the season.

AROUND THE SEC

As with basketball, the SEC East dominates the SEC West. Take a look at the current standings:

SEC East
Georgia 12-3
Florida 9-6
South Carolina 9-6
Tennessee 9-6
Vanderbilt 8-6
Kentucky 7-8

SEC West
Ole Miss 9-6
Alabama 6-9
Auburn 6-9
LSU 6-9
Arkansas 5-9
Miss. State 3-12

Five of six SEC East teams are above .500, while five of six SEC West teams are below .500. Vanderbilt still has series with Georgia, Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee in the second half.