What's wrong with Vanderbilt's baseball's pitching after SEC Tournament?
HOOVER, Ala. — On April 22, Chris McElvain and Christian Little combined for a no-hitter against Kentucky. That was the last time Vanderbilt won a game started by McElvain.
In McElvain's second matchup with Kentucky, he gave up five runs in 4⅓ innings and took the loss in Friday's 10-2 contest that eliminated the Commodores from the SEC Tournament at the Hoover Met.
Vanderbilt's pitching, once one of the deeper staffs in the country, has struggled over the past month, raising questions about its effectiveness with Selection Monday looming for the NCAA Tournament.
The Commodores have lost nine of their last 11 SEC games not started by Carter Holton and have not given up fewer than five runs in a game not started by Holton since a 3-2 loss to the Wildcats on April 23.
McElvain, specifically, has given up at least four runs in seven of his last nine starts. And Vanderbilt has struggled to find a consistent third starter, with freshmen Bryce Cunningham and Devin Futrell and sophomores Patrick Reilly and Christian Little being up and down.
"(McElvain has) made some mistakes up in the zone in key parts of the games," coach Tim Corbin said. "I wouldn't say it's gone wrong for him. He's pitched reasonably well. He's just giving up some big hits at key moments. In these last two games we just didn't really help him much defensively. ... I think to try to create some defensive momentum for Chris, whether it was behind the plate or out in the field, we just didn't do that. But you know, I appreciate his effort."
Although Vanderbilt had several defensive miscues Friday — several of which went for hits and not errors — his 10 hits allowed were a season high and his two strikeouts tied a season low.
After McElvain, Thomas Schultz came in fresh off an outing in which he gave up eight runs after giving up just four all season before that point. Schultz gave up four hits and four runs, though all of them were unearned after a fielding error extended the inning.
As a whole, the staff had four strikeouts, the second-lowest total of the season. Vanderbilt has struck out double-digit batters in an SEC game just twice in 12 games since the start of May after doing it 12 times in the 21 conference games prior.
Pitching depth, once Vanderbilt's strength, is paramount in an NCAA regional. Now, it feels like the Commodores are left relying on Carter Holton and a prayer.
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Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Vanderbilt baseball's pitching has collapsed late in the season
