NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It was a slow start but the 18th-ranked Vanderbilt baseball team powered its way past Southeast Missouri State, 10-4, in its final non-conference game of the season. Zander Wiel highlighted the offensive explosion, picking up his fourth home run of the year.
Walker Buehler notched the win for Vanderbilt (39-14), pitching five strong allowing just one run on four hits. Buehler improves to a team best 9-2 and drops his ERA to 2.31.
Vanderbilt threatened to put the game away in the early innings, knocking out the SEMO starter Garret Stockton after just one inning.
In the top of the second the first three Commodores reached base, knocking Stockton out of the game having faced only six batters. Despite the bases loaded being loaded with no outs Vanderbilt could only manage to push two across, on a Rhett Wiseman sac fly and a Karl Ellison groundout.
After scoring one run in the third, Vandy threatened once again in the fourth. The Dores loaded them up with no outs but were only able to get one on a Ro Coleman sac fly.
The Commodore bats finally exploded for six runs on four hits in the fifth inning. Wiel got the scoring started in the frame by launching a one out two-run bomb over the left field wall and onto the roof of Memorial Gym. After a John Norwood strikeout, SEMO pitching walked three straight batters to load the bases with two outs.
With the bases full of Commodores, Coleman singled up the middle driving in two. Dansby Swanson followed that up with a ground-rule double knocking in Ellison and Coleman.
Holding a 10-1 lead after five, head coach Tim Corbin went to his bullpen which pieced together four solid innings to seal the win.
John Kilichowski and T.J. Pecoraro combined for two innings of scoreless work, striking out three Redhawk batters.
Hayden Stone came on in the eighth inning and struck out the side, but not before the OVC regular season champions pushed across two runs on two hits.
Brian Miller closed the game out in the ninth with two Ks after allowing the fourth SEMO run of the night.
Vanderbilt opens a critical three-game set at Hawkins Field, Thursday, May 15 against No. 17 South Carolina. Both the Commodores and Gamecocks are vying for one of the four top-seeds in the SEC Tournament, which is set to begin Monday, May 19 in Hoover, Ala.
