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| Brian Harris contributed two RBI in the Commodores’ 9-3 victory over Illinois-Chicago Sunday afternoon. |
UPCOMING HOME GAMES AT HAWKINS FIELD
Tuesday, March 11 vs. Western Carolina at 4 p.m. CT
Wednesday, March 12 vs. Western Carolina at 4 p.m. CT
Friday, March 14 vs. South Carolina at 6 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 15 vs. South Carolina at 2 p.m. CT
Sunday, March 16 vs. South Carolina at 1 p.m. CT
View Box Score | 2008 Season Statistics
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Ryan Flaherty went 3-for-4 with three RBI to lead a 16 hit Vanderbilt attack in a 9-3 win over Illinois-Chicago Sunday afternoon at Hawkins Field.
The Commodores (8-3) captured the series with the win, while UIC fell to 3-6 with the loss.
UIC took a 1-0 lead in the first scoring an unearned run on a RBI double by Jake Carr. VU tied the game in the third on a sacrifice fly RBI by Flaherty.
Vanderbilt scored three runs in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead. Brian Harris had a RBI double and Alex Feinberg and Ryan Flaherty added RBI singles to lead the way.
The Flames cut the deficit to 4-3 with two runs in the fifth and knocked VU starter Nick Christiani out of the game in the inning. Ty Rubio had a RBI double and Jason Ganek added a RBI single. The Dores went to the righthander Steven Schwartz out of the pen with one out and the tying run in Ganek at first. The Great Neck, N.Y., native induced Steve McGuiggan to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the inning.
Schwartz (1-0) retired all 10 batters he faced to pick up his first win at Vanderbilt. He struck out three in 3.2 innings of work.
“It was exciting to get back out there,” said Schwartz who last pitched against Arizona State on Feb. 23. “This was my first time to pitch at Hawkins Field in a live game and it felt good to do well today. My goal coming in was to throw strikes and get out of the fifth and get back into the dugout.”
Vanderbilt added three more runs in the fifth to put the game away. Andrew Giobbi had a RBI double, one of three hits on the day, and Brian Harris added a sacrifice fly RBI. Flaherty closed out the scoring with a RBI single to make it 7-3.
The Commodores added a run in the sixth and seventh to make it 9-3.
Mike Kool (1-2) gave up four runs on eight hits in four innings of work in the loss.
Nick Christiani gave up three runs, two earned, on four hits in 4.1 innings of work with two strikeouts in the start for VU. Drew Hayes closed out the game with a scoreless ninth.
The Woodlands, Texas, duo of David Macias and Shea Robin added three and two hits apiece in the winning effort. Alex Feinberg also recorded two hits and now leads the team with .447 batting average.
The series was shortened by a game due to snow that caused Saturday’s contest to be cancelled. It will not be made up against the Flames, but another game could be added to Vanderbilt’s schedule in the future.
The Commodores will close its 14 game homestand with five games this week, starting with a two game series against Western Carolina on Tuesday and Wednesday. VU will then open SEC play against South Carolina next weekend at Hawkins Field.
Illinois-Chicago 100 020 000 – 3 4 5
Vanderbilt 001 331 10x – 9 16 1
Kool, Kovacevich (5), Phillis (5), Bjerke (7), Ifft (7), Wyman (8), Worthington (9) and Coddington. Christiani, Schwartz (5), Hayes (9) and Robin. W- Schwartz 1-0, L- Kool 1-2. Sv- None. HR: None
