AOG's own Bloggywo happened upon 2011 SEC Baseball Freshman of the Year Tony Kemp at the Dores-Razorbacks game this past weekend and was able to grab a photo of the 2011 College World Series rings the school gave out to the baseball team at halftime. Sharp!

Special thanks to Tony Kemp for the photo op.

Baseball America broke the news (via twitter) that Anchor of Gold, @VUHawkTalk and VandySports.com had been sitting on (at the request of VU): 2012 Top 60 catcher and Perfect Game All-American Chris Harvey has graduated a year early from Germantown Academy in Norristown, Pennsylvania and enrolled at Vanderbilt.

Most importantly for Commodore baseball fans, there will be no 2012 MLB Draft signing day induced stress (with him, at least), as he will not be eligible to be drafted until 2014.

The six-foot four-inch, 220-pound right-hander will compete for playing time with RS Sr. Drew Fann and So. Spencer Navin.

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The end of Monday night (or is that Tuesday morning) marked the moment when Major League Baseball teams lost the negotiating rights to their draftees. The evening is filled with activity, as teams rush to come to terms with the high profile players that held strong to see what their club's best offer would be. For Vanderbilt baseball, the evening held many mysteries, as several high profile players hung in the balance.

Of the 12 players drafted, 11 would sign. Will Clinard was the lone holdout (a big deal because Vanderbilt lost a lot of arms to the draft and will absolutely need his experience in 2012).

Of the 4 "high-profile" high school players that had signed to play for the Commodores and had yet to make their decision, Vanderbilt came away with 2: OF John Norwood and star pitcher and 21st overall pick Tyler Beede, both Blue Jay draftees.

Beede, in particular, was another huge coup for Vanderbilt Baseball and Head Coach Tim Corbin. Tyler was the only 2011 MLB Draft First-Rounder not to sign this year and was the first Toronto Blue Jay top draft pick not to sign in the 34 years of the franchise's history.

More on the outcome and what it will mean for the future of the Vanderbilt Commodore baseball tomorrow. In the mean time, we got our men in Beede and Norwood. And I'm grinning ear to ear.

A hearty AOG welcome to the entire 2012 Vanderbilt Commodore Baseball freshman class! The future starts now.

What are your thoughts on what happened last night? What will Vandy's starting rotation be next year? Are you as excited as I am?

Click picture to embiggen. Click here to see it on Flickr.

There it is folks. Thanks for all the support. And Congrats to Coach Corbin and the 2011 Vanderbilt Baseball team for an unforgettable ride.

Sometimes, a team just has your number. For the 2011 Vanderbilt Commodores, that team was Florida.

In the end, Sonny Gray's eighth inning was one too many, and Vanderbilt's rally was no match for Florida's persistence. The Gators posted their fifth win over Vanderbilt in 2011 to advance to the College World Series Final, 6-4. Vanderbilt's season ended with the loss.

The loss was Vanderbilt's fifth in six games against the Gators. Despite limiting Florida's potent offense throughout the season, the team's inability to pull through at the plate against their SEC Rivals eventually cost them their chance to play for a national title. After scoring seven runs per game in the regular season, the Commodores managed under three runs per contest against UF.

Vandy got on the board first behind Aaron Westlake's home run in the first inning. However, the team couldn't hold Florida's bats back for long. The team's ninth batter, Cody Dent, was especially difficult for starter Sonny Gray to handle. Despite batting just .190 coming into the game, Dent played a role in UF's scoring throughout the day. His leadoff triple would give the Gators their first run of the game, and his key walks in the fourth and sixth innings led to three more Florida runs. 

Vanderbilt struck back in the seventh and eighth innings to tie the game. Connor Harrell's RBI single made it 4-2 in the seventh, then a bases loaded walk to Tony Kemp brought the 'Dores within a run. Vandy threatened again in the eighth, loading the bases once more, but only got one run on a Conrad Gregor hit-by-pitch after Nolan Fontana's diving grab robbed Harrell of two more RBI.

The game was tied with nine outs to go, but Florida had an answer. Working against a tired Gray, the Gators loaded the bases after a single and two botched bunts from the Commodores. Jason Esposito's knuckleball throw to first failed to get Cody Dent at first, and one batter later Sonny Gray couldn't barehand a bunt to third, putting the 'Dores in a bind. Will Clinard came on in relief and got a huge pop-out for the first out in the eighth, but Tony Kemp couldn't track down Preston Tucker's deep fly to left field, allowing a run to score. Mike Zunino struck out to follow, but the wild third strike got away from Curt Casali, allowing the Gators to take a 6-4 lead.

The Commodores had one final chance to extend their season in the ninth, but it wasn't to be. Tony Kemp fouled out, and Anthony Gomez grounded out before Aaron Westlake doubled to bring the tying run to the plate. Unfortunately, Curt Casali's line drive died 30 feet short of tying the game, sending the 'Dores back to Nashville.

Post your pregame, in-game, and post-game comments and thoughts below.

Vanderbilt moved on to college baseball's final four thanks to a 5-1 win over #3 North Carolina in an elimination game at the College World Series. Taylor Hill's veteran performance on the mound propelled the Commodores to a rematch with #2 Florida Friday afternoon.

Hill worked seven solid innings to shut down the Tar Heels' offense, dealing 126 pitches in a gritty effort. He was aided by home runs from Connor Harrell and Curt Casali as the 'Dores jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and held on to win their second game against UNC in five days.

The Tar Heels posted their biggest threat in the fifth inning, as Hill faced a pair of bases-loaded situations that could have propelled UNC back into the game. He first retired Ben Bunting on a RBI groundout that put the Heels on the board, but then issued an intentional walk to Colin Moran to bring up red-hot Jacob Stallings. Stallings, the potential tying run, had already blasted a pair of doubles on the night, but struck out to end the inning with Hill's lead intact.

Vandy opened the scoring thanks to Tony Kemp's triple and Anthony Gomez's sacrifice fly in the first inning. Harrell pushed the lead to four runs with a three-run home run in the second - his second of the College World Series. Casali capped the Commodores' scoring with a solo shot four batters later.

With the win, Vanderbilt will face familiar foe Florida on Friday. The Gators will need just one win to advance to the World Series Finals, while Vandy will have to vanquish their SEC East rivals twice in a two-day span if they hope to play for a national title.