Anchor Drop, April 30, 2023: Another Series Win

Good morning.

Optional Musical Accompaniment

Well, we absolutely hate losing to Tennessee, but at least this weekend is making that look like a blip. Vanderbilt clinched a series win with yesterday’s 9-3 win over Kentucky, the Commodores’ sixth series win in seven tries in SEC play. (Aside from the trip to Knoxville, the Commodores are 15-2 in the league. BIg picture, everyone. Okay, okay, could it have been against anybody else?) Today’s finale will start at 2:00 PM CT on the SEC Network. Andrew has your game thread coming later.

Lacrosse’s season is over, but Vanderbilt did claim a 12-11 win over Temple on Senior Day yesterday. They weren’t one of the four teams to qualify for the AAC championship, so their season ends with a 4-11 record.

Vanderbilt didn’t have anybody selected in the NFL Draft, but Anfernee Orji and Jeremy Lucien (that I know of) signed as undrafted free agents on Saturday.

(Note that this is the second year in a row that no Vanderbilt player has been selected in the NFL Draft, in case anyone still had any delusions about the state Derek Mason left the program in. Yes, Tyler Steen got picked in the third round, but Steen played last season at Alabama as a grad transfer. I am not saying that Alabama did anything to develop him into a third-round pick, but I am definitely saying that playing a year at Alabama made the difference between “guy who gets picked up as an undrafted free agent” and “guy who NFL GM thinks is worth a third-round pick.”)

(Also, you might think that Vanderbilt having no players drafted is something that happens a lot. It’s not. Prior to 2022, Vanderbilt hadn’t had a year with no draft picks since 2015, and before that, 2011. Even the Woodyball teams would have a Jamie Winborn or Corey Chavous get drafted. This is a low point.)

Anyway... uh, I should finish the basketball player report cards, shouldn’t I?

Sports on TV

All times Central. SEC baseball schedule here.

• 11:05 AM: MLB: Cubs at Marlins (Peacock)
• 12:00 PM: PGA Tour: Mexico Open at Vidanta, Final Round (Golf Channel)
• 12:00 PM: NBA: Heat at Knicks, Game 1 (ABC)
• 2:00 PM: PGA Tour: Mexico Open at Vidanta, Final Round (CBS)
• 2:30 PM: NBA: Warriors at Kings, Game 7 (ABC)
• 3:00 PM: MLB: Giants at Padres (MLB Network)
• 3:10 PM: MLB: Cardinals at Dodgers (ESPN+)
• 5:30 PM: NHL: Panthers at Bruins, Game 7 (TNT)
• 6:00 PM: MLB: Phillies at Astros (ESPN)
• 8:30 PM: NHL: Kraken at Avalanche, Game 7 (TNT)

Scoreboard

SEC Baseball: Arkansas 8, Texas A&M 7 ... Florida 11, Missouri 7 ... Georgia 7, Ole Miss 3 ... Tennessee 13, Mississippi State 2 ... Auburn 9, South Carolina 5 ... LSU 12, Alabama 8.

MLB: Tigers 7, Orioles 4 (Game 1) ... Pirates 6, Nationals 3 (Game 1) ... Royals 3, Twins 2 ... Blue Jays 1, Mariners 0 ... Marlins 7, Cubs 6 ... Reds 3, A’s 2 ... Red Sox 8, Guardians 7 ... Phillies 6, Astros 1 ... Orioles 6, Tigers 4 (Game 2) ... Padres 16, Giants 11 ... Pirates 16, Nationals 1 (Game 2) ... Rangers 2, Yankees 0 ... Brewers 7, Angels 5 ... Rays 12, White Sox 3 ... Diamondbacks 11, Rockies 4 ... Dodgers 1, Cardinals 0.

NBA: Nuggets 125, Suns 107 (Nuggets lead, 1-0.)

NHL: Maple Leafs 2, Lightning 1 (Maple Leafs win, 4-2) ... Rangers 5, Devils 2 (series tied, 3-3) ... Oilers 5, Kings 4 (Oilers win, 4-2.)