Takeaways from Vanderbilt baseball intrasquad Game 1: Who could replace Bradfield at center

Vanderbilt baseball's pitching staff struck out 19 batters and walked just four in the David Williams Fall Classic intrasquad opener Sunday. The seven-inning scrimmage ended in a 3-2 win for the Gold team thanks to a walk-off home run by freshman Matt Ossenfort.

The annual event splits the Commodores into two teams who go head-to-head in a series of intrasquad games. In 2022, Vanderbilt, with only 16 pitchers on the roster and several of the team's top pitchers sitting out, held only one Fall Classic game. Now, the roster has renewed depth, with 46 players total, though only 40 of those will be able to be on the spring roster.

Vanderbilt returns 10 of its 16 pitchers from 2023 but is still searching for arms to fill open roles, especially in the bullpen, with Nick Maldonado and Thomas Schultz having turned pro. On the positional side, the Commodores are looking for someone who can be a middle-of-the-order bat after inconsistent offense the past two seasons, as well as a replacement for Enrique Bradfield Jr. at the top of the lineup and in center field.

Here are takeaways from the first game:

Hewett makes his case for Vanderbilt

Calvin Hewett was part of the same 2020 recruiting class as Bradfield.

While Bradfield became an All-American and first-round MLB draft pick, Hewett is back for his senior year, one of three players battling to replace Bradfield as the starting center fielder.

He made his case Sunday, going 2-for-3 with a walk and stealing two bases. In center field, he committed a throwing error after a single but also made a diving catch to rob Jack Bulger of a hit later that inning.

Always a late-game speed and defense threat, Hewett is making his case for a bigger role. In 204 career plate appearances, he has a .301 batting average, four home runs and 16 stolen bases, but his average regressed from .329 in 2022 to .243 in 2023.

"It's just about getting more at-bats," Hewett said. "The longer I'm here, the more comfortable I feel. And so just trying to work every day, not getting too comfortable. But certainly being around guys that compete every day makes me want to get better."

One of Hewett's competitors grew up just 45 minutes away from him. Jacob Humphrey, a transfer from UMass-Lowell, is from Standish, Maine, while Hewett is from Greenland, New Hampshire. When Humphrey committed, Hewett heard rave reviews from his summer ball teammates in Maine.

Humphrey struck out in both of his official at-bats but he was hit by a pitch and scored a run. He played both right and center field.

Sophomore RJ Austin was the starting center fielder for the Black team, though he moved to second base, his position in 2023, for the final inning. Austin, an SEC All-Freshman Team selection in the spring, figures to start somewhere but it's a matter of settling on a position.

High-octane arms at Vanderbilt

Four of the six pitchers who took the mound Sunday were clocked at 95 mph or higher on the stadium radar gun. Of that group, Andrew Dutkanych IV was the highlight. After missing most of 2023 because of an injury, he showed a fastball up to 97 mph and had one walk with six strikeouts in 2⅔ innings.

Greysen Carter threw his fastball consistently at 97-98 mph and got some swings and misses with his changeup, a pitch that hit 91 mph. Perhaps more importantly, he did not walk anyone (he did hit one batter) and threw 33 of his 49 pitches for strikes. In 34 career college innings, Carter has walked 38 batters and hit seven, so continuing to improve his control will be key to taking on a larger role.

Bryce Cunningham threw a game-high four innings with two hits, one walk and four strikeouts. He hit 95 mph with his fastball in the first inning, though he faded a bit as the outing went on. After putting up a 6.43 ERA in the spring, Cunningham is another who has shown up looking improved.

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Vanderbilt newcomers making noise

Three newcomers finished out the scrimmage on the mound. Air Force transfer Sawyer Hawks pitched 1⅓ innings, giving up two runs (one earned) with one walk and two strikeouts. Hawks was up to 94 mph with his fastball, but it was his curveball that really threw hitters off balance.

Freshman Ethan McElvain hit 96 mph with his fastball and was the winning pitcher despite giving up a game-tying home run to Logan Poteet in the seventh inning. Freshman Brennan Seiber took the loss, but he didn't walk anyone and struck out three in his one inning of work.

Offensively, Ossenfort made his presence known with the walk-off home run that hit the roof of Memorial Gymnasium. Freshmen Camden Kozeal and Colin Barczi each also had a hit. Samford transfer Jayden Davis started at second base and had one hit but also struck out twice.

"Curveballs are sharper, fastballs get on you faster, changeups are a lot better," Ossenfort said. "Every single pitch is tremendous. I don't even know the right word to say, just so much better than the high school pitching. So it's been a little bit of an adjustment but I feel like I've handled it pretty well."

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: Vanderbilt baseball takeaways from David Williams Fall Classic