NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Top-ranked Vanderbilt continued its offensive surge behind a 12-4 drubbing of East Tennessee State on Wednesday at Hawkins Field.
The Commodores (11-2) jumped out to a quick lead with nine combined runs through the first four innings. Vandy scored in every inning except for the third and eighth as four different Commodores posted multi-hit performances.
Walker Grisanti led the way for the Dores with a career day at the plate. He finished a home run shy of the cycle, going 4-for-5 with a personal-best four hits and three RBIs.
Make it ? straight victories.#VandyBoys 12, ETSU 4 pic.twitter.com/4ceYD7TzGP
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) March 6, 2019
JJ Bleday (3-for-5) extended his on-base streak to 41 straight games with an RBI-double in the bottom of the first. He also hit his team-leading fifth home run in the fourth inning and finished a homer shy of the cycle.
Jackson Gillis (1-1) entered in the fourth inning and preserved Vanderbilt lead. The junior tossed two scoreless innings and added two strikeouts for his first win of the year.
Mason Hickman tossed three nearly perfect innings in relief for the Dores alongside three strikeouts.
Erik Kaiser made his first collegiate start and set a career-high with four strikeouts. He lasted three innings in his outing, permitting four runs on four hits with three coming on a homer from Cullen Smith.
Smith (1-for-3) was a lone bright spot for the Bucs (9-3) who totaled six hits on the afternoon. Starter Zach Kirby (0-1) was saddled with the loss, permitting four hits and four runs alongside three walks.
The Dores have scored a combined 36 runs in the last two games and have won 10 of their past 11. They’ll look to continue that success this weekend, hosting Illinois State for three games starting on Friday at 4:30 p.m. Saturday’s middle game is set for 2 p.m. and Sunday’s finale gets underway at 1 p.m.
