Wiseman | Corbin | Highlights
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – No. 11 Vanderbilt picked up a strong outing from Brian Miller in relief to even the series with Texas A&M behind an 8-5 win at Hawkins Field Saturday afternoon.
Saturday’s game started a lot like Friday night’s game with the Aggies’ (21-15, 6-8) offense jumping on the Commodores’ (27-9, 7-7) pitching. Texas A&M fired out of the gate when Vandy starter Jared Miller led off the game with a walk and was in quick trouble when Logan Taylor doubled into the left field corner to put two runners in scoring position with no outs in the first inning. Cole Lankford made Miller pay with a two-run single to stake the Aggies to an early lead.
Trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the second, the Dores jumped on the comeback trail with the bottom of the lineup leading the way. Rhett Wiseman sparked the rally with a two-out single and scored on John Norwood’s single after stealing second. Jason Delay’s two-out double into the left-center field gap cut the Texas A&M lead to a single run.
The Commodores took the lead in the third with three doubles and a little help from the Aggies’ outfield. Xavier Turner led off the frame with a double down the left field line to push his hitting streak to 21 games. Bryan Reynolds swapped spots with Turner with a double of his own to make it a one-run game again. The rally seemed to stall, however, after a walk to Vince Conde and a sacrifice bunt from Zander Wiel put two runners in scoring position. Wiseman appeared to have ended the inning with a pop up to left-center but miscommunication between the left fielder and center fielder led to the ball dropping in for a two-run double that gave the Commodores the lead.
Brian Miller entered the game out of the bullpen for the Dores in the top of the fifth inning after Jared Miller walked the leadoff batter. A balk and a walk put two runners aboard before Brian Miller finished off the inning with his third strikeout of the frame. Brian Miller locked in and allowed only two hits over the final four innings to earn his first win of the season, retiring the final 11 Aggies he faced.
The bottom third of the Vanderbilt lineup – Wiseman, Norwood and Delay – produced in a big way, combining to go 7-for-11 with five runs and five RBI in the win. Wiseman matched his season-high with three hits, Norwood posted his third straight two-hit game and Delay’s two hits equaled his career-best. Dansby Swanson added three hits from the leadoff spot and Turner notched his 10th multi-hit game during his 21-game hitting streak.
Texas A&M starter Daniel Mengden took the loss allowing six runs on eight hits over three-plus innings. Lankford led the offense with two hits and three RBI, including a solo home run.
The Commodores and Aggies decide the series tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Hawkins Field. Sophomore Tyler Ferguson gets the ball for the Dores against Aggies’ right-hander Grayson Long.
