Hoover, Ala. — No. 10 Vanderbilt was eliminated from the Southeastern Conference tournament in a 13-3 loss to No. 1 Texas A&M in seven innings at the Hoover Met on Saturday afternoon.
The Commodores (43-17) took the lead in the top of the first inning with Jeren Kendall singling to right field and coming into score on an Alonzo Jones double. The lead, however, was short-lived as the Aggies (43-14) scored seven runs on seven hits — the most hits and runs allowed in an inning by VU this season — in the bottom of the first inning to take a commanding lead.
Vanderbilt starter Kyle Wright struggled to get three outs in the bottom of the first as the first two Aggies singled to start the inning. A pop up produced the first out of the inning but back-to-back, RBI-singles scored two runs before Wright recorded a strikeout for the second out. A fifth A&M single scored another run before back-to-back doubles pushed the damage to seven runs.
The Commodores scratched out two runs in the sixth on a Bryan Reynolds RBI-single and a sacrifice fly by Jones to make it 10-3 Texas A&M. The Aggies added a run in the sixth and finished off the game via the run rule with two more runs in the seventh thanks to three Vanderbilt errors.
Wright took the loss giving up a career-high 10 runs, nine earned, on a career-high 11 hits over five innings. The sophomore struck out seven and walked one in his fourth loss. Reynolds led the way with two hits as Kendall scored two runs and Jones drove in two.
Kyle Simonds earned the win with seven innings of work. The right-hander allowed three runs, one earned, on six hits with a career-high 10 strikeouts. Michael Barash had three hits and Austin Homan drove in three runs.
The Commodores now await the NCAA Tournament, which will begin next Friday. Head coach Tim Corbin and the team will watch the selection show on ESPNU on Monday at 11 a.m. at the Commodore Grille inside the Holiday Inn Vanderbilt with fans encouraged to attend.
