This article is part of our College Baseball Picks series.
Vandy vs. Alabama: Sunday Showdown Promises Thrilling College Baseball Action
The Caden Aoki experience delivered for us in a big win against UCLA on Saturday night. We're looking for the weekend sweep on Sunday. There's a ton of action, but the lines as usual we're late coming out, so the early slate is tough for me to choose in this article. Therefore, I'm picking something later in the day.
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Alabama vs Vanderbilt: Key Pitching Matchup Analysis
Alabama (+100) @ Vanderbilt (-130) | Total: 12.5
It's been a good series between these two so far. The Sunday rubber match features a strong pitching matchup between Bama's Zane Adams and Vandy's Connor Fennell. It should be a great finish to the series.
Fennell has been a revelation since joining the rotation in March, providing the Vandy Boys with a much-needed reliable Sunday guy. His 2.38 ERA, 63 K/6 BB ratio in 34 innings has given his team a chance to win every time out. In fact, the 'Dores have won his last three starts. Aside from that, Vandy is a much different team at home where they are 24-5 this year compared to 8-7 on the road. The only series they've lost at home was when they got swept by Arkansas.
Fennell's command has played a huge part in his success. He'll see a Bama lineup that's been shaky in the second half of the year outside a sweep against Mizzou. Justin Lebron is trending as a top pick for the 2026 draft, especially drawing a lot of high praise after a sizzling start to the season. In the second half, he's been a disaster though, see his average plummet over 40 points since the middle of March. Nevertheless, he's still a gigantic threat (.315 avg/15 HR/1.026 OPS). Kade Snell (.382 avg/1.054 OPS/8 HR) has been the team's most consistent bat, along with Will Hodo (.287 avg/1.026 OPS/12 HR). The Bama offense has some guys, so for Fennell to succeed today, he needs to keep the ball down and limit the homers.
Zane Adams was the original Friday guy for the Tide, but struggles sent him back to the Sunday role. The 5.08 ERA and .280 OBA doesn't truly tell the whole tale of his campaign, as he got rocked in two starts against Auburn and Mississippi State with 13 ER in those two outings. Other than that, he's been good this season. His last two outings against LSU and Mizzou have been more to his game, giving up just two earned runs in 12 innings.
The lefty will see a lineup that's not daunting, but timely. Only two hitters are batting above .300 (Riley Nelson, Jacob Humphrey) and the latter may miss this one. The offense only has 43 bombs this year, but what they can do is run (82 bags in 98 attempts). Their success at the dish this year has been clutch hitting after guys get on base.
The big difference for me is Vandy should have their two best bullpen arms ready to go in closer Miller Green and set-up guy Sawyer Hawks. Those two have been amazing this year, and provide a huge advantage especially with late-game leads. It should be a close contest, but Vandy looks to have a pitching edge at home.
Pick: Vandy ML -130 (DK)
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