NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Mississippi State rallied for five runs in the eighth inning and held off Vanderbilt to win 9-8 Sunday afternoon at Hawkins Field and avoid a series sweep.
The Bulldogs sent 10 men to the plate in the eighth inning to take the lead scoring five runs on five singles and two walks. Adam Frazier’s two-run single tied the game and C.T. Bradford’s RBI-single gave Mississippi State its first lead of the weekend. The Commodores put runners on base in the eighth and ninth innings but failed to advance a man past first base. The loss snaps the Dores’ 12-game winning streak.
Vanderbilt had built an 8-4 lead heading into the fateful eighth inning, scoring six runs on nine hits in the first inning. The first three batters in the VU lineup, Tony Kemp, Anthony Gomez and Aaron Westlake, finished the day a combined 8-for-14 with four extra-base hits, five runs scored and five RBI. Westlake hit his third home run of the year with a two-run blast in the first inning and Gomez extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a three-hit game. Kemp tripled and doubled in his first two at-bats of the game. Jarrod Parks led the Bulldogs going 3-for-5 with a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
Navery Moore was pegged with the loss giving up one run on two hits and two walks. Chad Girodo picked up the win for Mississippi State with one scoreless inning of relief. Vanderbilt starter Taylor Hill allowed four runs, two earned, on six hits over 4.2 innings in a no decision.
The Commodores wrap up an 18-game homestand on Tuesday night hosting Tennessee Tech at 6 p.m. Vandy hits the road next weekend for the team’s first SEC road series when the club travels to Arkansas.
