Enrique Bradfield Jr. shocked after breaking aluminum bat on fly ball to right field
A freak incident occurred in Vanderbilt’s 12-2 win over the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Friday night. Already ahead 10-2 in the seventh inning, Vanderbilt outfielder Enrique Bradfield swung for the fences. He connected and then some.
Two SportsCenter Top 10 highlights in one play? Count us in.
Bradfield’s aluminum bat split in two, with the larger piece flying toward the Vanderbilt dugout. Left with nine inches of metal in his hands, Bradfield sat stunned at home plate for a moment. The lightning-fast junior quickly snapped out of his daze and took off toward first base.
Despite the slow start, Bradfield would have made it. Unfortunately for him, Eastern Illinois outfielder Logan Eickhoff made a nearly equally crazy play. The 6-foot senior used every inch of his body to make a last-second diving catch in right field.
Bradfield won’t notice the missing statistic too much. The Florida native is batting .286 this season while tallying 37 stolen bases, the eighth-most in the nation. While Bradfield is a veteran, even he was bewildered by the uncommon moment.
Frankly, the wild five seconds of play left everyone confused. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the confusion didn’t last long enough for the underdogs to mount a comeback. The Commodores and their circus plays will advance to take on Oregon to advance to the Super Regionals of the NCAA Tournament.
Enrique Bradfield Jr. on Vanderbilt’s late surge
Vanderbilt had some shaky moments in the second half of the regular season this year, including two four-game losing streaks. But star outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. said being able to regroup as a team and put themselves in a position to win the SEC tournament has been fun to be a part of over the past two weeks.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Bradfield said. “The second half of our SEC season didn’t go as we planned, and it happens in this sport. This sport can be cruel at times.”
The Commodores were swept by Tennessee in late April and were then swept two weeks ago by Florida. Both series were on the road. During the month or so stretch of rough during the second half of the season, Vanderbilt went 6-10.