Brodie Johnston & Vanderbilt Returns Home and Runs Away From Eastern Michigan, 13-2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It was the home opener at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn., and the Commodores came into this one after a 1-2 opening weekend in Arlington, Tex., and they would get back on the winning side by defeating the Eastern Michigan Eagles, 13-2 in a seven inning run rule.
Tyler Baird made his first start of the young season, after seeing an inning last weekend, and Baird put forth a solid 3.2 innings of work before the Dores turned it over to the bullpen in the fourth after Eastern Michigan scored a couple of runs. The story in this one was the offensive output. Vanderbilt has shown already this season to have a ton of power, and both Brodie Johnston and Colin Barczi came into the day with three homers each.
On Tuesday, the Dores knocked four more, and it didn’t take long for the first one, as Braden Holcomb hit a two out, three run bomb in the bottom of the first to take an early 3-0 lead. Tommy Goodin hit his first of the year, and Brodie Johnston blasted his fourth and fifth homers of the season, with a run-rule walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh to give the Dores the 13-2 win.
Johnston is just seeing the ball extremely well and has a great approach at the plate and is in good rhythm. That is something Coach Tim Corbin spoke about after the game.
“He’s comfortable at the plate. He is seeing the ball well. I just think that he’s kind of in rhythm. He was in Texas and he was here. I think the best thing is just staying in good counts and the balls that are off the zone, he’s not offering, even until he’s into his legs. He’s got good balance at the play and he’s a good hitter.”
After the game, Brodie talked about sticking to the approach that he and Coach Esposito had talked about and worked on, and how it all is paying off. He is currently slashing .529/.579/1.529 with five home runs, six RBI, and two doubles in just four games played.
“I mean, we’ve tweaked with my swing, and we’ve got it. I think it’s the best it’s ever been right now. I’m seeing the ball well. My swinging feels really repeatable, too. So the stuff we’ve just been working on grinding on every day, actually, is really starting to pay off now,” said Brodie Johnston.
Vanderbilt used more than the long ball to score runs in this game, and looked more complete by getting runners on and bringing them home, even if it was a sacrifice fly. The Commodores as a team hit .389 (7-18) with runners on and if a runner was on third with less than two outs, they were 4-for-4 in those situations.
Braden Holcomb, who got it started for the Dores with a three run shot in the first, is also seeing things well and comfortable at the plate. In four games, Holcomb has hit .333 with two home runs, eight RBI and a double.
Coach Corbin was pleased with the hitting as well, after 13 runs on 13 hits. He mentioned how they drove the ball to the middle part of the field, and offensively they are seeing the ball well so far this season. As long as the Dores are hitting and putting up runs consistently, they will always have a chance.
One player that I asked Corbin about was Ryker Waite. Waite has started at shortstop these first few games, and he is doing great in that spot. After not getting a chance to play behind Jonathan Vastine last season, Waite just went to work and came back ready.
“Plays with good rhythm, I think that’s the one thing I see. He comes and gets the baseball, knows the clock of the game pretty well,” said Corbin. “He worked very hard last year behind Johnny, even though he didn’t get an opportunity to play, but I thought he set himself up for success in the summer. When he went up to the Cape. He played every day up there and came back like a different player.”
Waite is also getting some things done at the plate, batting .308 with a home run and four RBI. In Tuesday’s game, he went 2-for-3 with an RBI, a double, and a run scored. Keep an eye on Waite as the season goes. His patience and hard work is paying off.
The Dores return to the field for the second game against Eastern Michigan today, Wednesday February 18 at 4:30 PM CT, on ESPN+.
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