ATHENS, Ga. – Vanderbilt emerged with a wild 17-7 win over Georgia Saturday afternoon at Foley Field to clinch the series and win a share of the Southeastern Conference championship.
After cruising to an early 6-0 lead the Commodores let Georgia back in the game with the Bulldogs scoring four runs in the sixth inning. The Bulldogs then took the lead with back-to-back home runs in the three-run seventh inning. However, the Dores sent 10 men to the plate in the eighth to score five runs on five hits and piled on six more runs in the ninth to finish off the victory and clinch a piece of the school’s first SEC crown since 2007.
“Winning a piece of the SEC title is a great honor for a group of kids who have played extremely consistent the entire year,” Head Coach Tim Corbin said. “It is a great accomplishment in a very difficult league.”
The Commodores pounded out 18 hits, including 11 in the final two innings, en route to the team’s 44th win of the year. For the second straight day all nine players in the VU lineup had at least one hit with five collecting two hits or more on Saturday. Connor Harrell continued to swing a hot bat going 3-for-3 with three runs scored, three RBI and his sixth home run of the year. Aaron Westlake and Jason Esposito each hit home runs in the team’s ninth inning rally. Tony Kemp led all players with four hits and Anthony Gomez added three RBI. Zach Cone led Georgia with two hits and two runs scored.
Mark Lamm picked up the win in relief working 1.2 scoreless innings for his fifth win. Tyler Maloof was pinned with the loss giving up five runs on five hits while recording just two outs. Vanderbilt starter Taylor Hill gave up four runs, two earned, on eight hits over 5.1 innings in a no decision.
Vanderbilt opens SEC Tournament play on Wednesday with seeding and game time yet to be determined. The Commodores can be the third or fourth seed in the tournament depending on the outcome of the Florida-Kentucky game.
Registration is now open for Summer 2011 Baseball Camps. Please click here to sign up or to find out additional information about the camps led by Head Coach Tim Corbin.
