Eastern Kentucky is in Appalachia. It’s beautiful territory. It’s also very poverty-stricken and there are a ton of mean hombres around. Many are on the lookout for Revenuers as the general area continues to be the Moonshine Capital of the World. No wonder so many of them die young, their innards ravaged by either Rot Gut or opioids taken to make them forget the Rot Gut -- or the other way around. I consume neither so I don't know how the process exactly works. Truth be told, I did once take a sip of moonshine. One was enough.
But enough about Man’s Inhumanity to Himself.
The EKU Colonels
baseball team comes into The Hawk sporting an overall record of 10-20. They aren’t afraid to play the big boys, going 1-2 against Georgia Tech, 1-1 with Louisville, 0-1 with UK, and 0-2 with UT. They have one common opponent so far with Vandy: UT-Martin, whom they toppled 2 games to 1.
We especially take note of the fact they beat Louisville. We delight in the fact they did, however.
Back in 2018, their last visit to Nashville, they also beat Vandy.
I was there for that game. Wow, was it horrible for about 3 hours. Vandy couldn’t hit worth a flip and trailed 5-0 going to the bottom of the 8th. Then we scored 1 run in the 8th, but left the bases loaded! In the 9th they added a run off Vandy’s 9th pitcher of the day. Then Vandy staged a furious rally in the bottom of the 9th and scored 4 runs, but then left the tying run on base and lost 6-5.
Much like the Austin Peay game in 2019, we can never underestimate a mid-major teams’ desire to beat Vandy at The Hawk and it does occasionally happen – just not very often. This year, Vandy has not lost a mid-week game so far (knock on wood.)
Like most all mid-majors, they do have a few good hitters [Daniel
, Santiago
, Cam
, Caleb
] and pitchers. We never really know who they will be pitching against us and may, like UT-Martin last week, throw every good pitcher they have, to include normal weekend starters. It's similar to what Georgia did in game 1, as well. Both strategies were successful so be prepared.
Based on past games, their starter will probably be Brennan, Bryce, or Garret.
Were I going to be in the stands today (I'm not) you just know I'd be yelling out to Cam and Garret about their hair.
It's actually good to see some young men still part their hair in the middle.
Vandy is looking to right the ship after a treacherous run through the rapids last week when they eked out a win over UT-Martin and then lost a series to Georgia, yielding so many home runs that I lost count. Max Herz didn’t lose count, based on how many times he told the viewing audience, exuding gleeful cheers as each one flew over the wall. Sometimes I wonder if Max knows who pays his salary or who the vast majority of those watching the broadcast are rooting for.
I have no updates on the status of our guys on the DL but I hope at least one of them returns to action today in preparation for the weekend trip to The School I Will Not Mention. But to summarize, we currently are without:
Isaiah Thomas
Cooper Davis
Tate Kolwyck
Sam Hliboki
Ethan Smith
Michael Doolin
I suppose I could add Brett Hansen but I don’t know what’s up with him.
In any event, that’s a ton of talent to be playing without.
We are anxiously awaiting the call on who starts for Vandy. To date it’s been Christian Little. Christian has many talents and skills but, recently, I have seen little progress in commanding those skills on the mound. I’m thinking Corbs will stick with him seeing as how Hliboki and Smith are both unavailable, Reilly was used on Saturday, and McElvain is needed for the weekends.
Vandy will likely not score a ton of runs but I do expect them to win the game. Hope springs eternal among Vandy baseball fans, and for good reason ever since Tim Corbin has been in charge.
But enough about Man’s Inhumanity to Himself.
The EKU Colonels
We especially take note of the fact they beat Louisville. We delight in the fact they did, however.
Back in 2018, their last visit to Nashville, they also beat Vandy.
I was there for that game. Wow, was it horrible for about 3 hours. Vandy couldn’t hit worth a flip and trailed 5-0 going to the bottom of the 8th. Then we scored 1 run in the 8th, but left the bases loaded! In the 9th they added a run off Vandy’s 9th pitcher of the day. Then Vandy staged a furious rally in the bottom of the 9th and scored 4 runs, but then left the tying run on base and lost 6-5.
Much like the Austin Peay game in 2019, we can never underestimate a mid-major teams’ desire to beat Vandy at The Hawk and it does occasionally happen – just not very often. This year, Vandy has not lost a mid-week game so far (knock on wood.)
Like most all mid-majors, they do have a few good hitters [Daniel
Based on past games, their starter will probably be Brennan, Bryce, or Garret.
Were I going to be in the stands today (I'm not) you just know I'd be yelling out to Cam and Garret about their hair.
It's actually good to see some young men still part their hair in the middle.
Vandy is looking to right the ship after a treacherous run through the rapids last week when they eked out a win over UT-Martin and then lost a series to Georgia, yielding so many home runs that I lost count. Max Herz didn’t lose count, based on how many times he told the viewing audience, exuding gleeful cheers as each one flew over the wall. Sometimes I wonder if Max knows who pays his salary or who the vast majority of those watching the broadcast are rooting for.
I have no updates on the status of our guys on the DL but I hope at least one of them returns to action today in preparation for the weekend trip to The School I Will Not Mention. But to summarize, we currently are without:
Isaiah Thomas
Cooper Davis
Tate Kolwyck
Sam Hliboki
Ethan Smith
Michael Doolin
I suppose I could add Brett Hansen but I don’t know what’s up with him.
In any event, that’s a ton of talent to be playing without.
We are anxiously awaiting the call on who starts for Vandy. To date it’s been Christian Little. Christian has many talents and skills but, recently, I have seen little progress in commanding those skills on the mound. I’m thinking Corbs will stick with him seeing as how Hliboki and Smith are both unavailable, Reilly was used on Saturday, and McElvain is needed for the weekends.
Vandy will likely not score a ton of runs but I do expect them to win the game. Hope springs eternal among Vandy baseball fans, and for good reason ever since Tim Corbin has been in charge.
