NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt baseball team used a strong offensive effort to cruise to a 12-2 win over Austin Peay on Tuesday evening at Hawkins Field. With the win, the Commodores move to 21-7 on the season and pick up their 27th consecutive midweek win at home.
Vandy jumped out to an early lead on Tuesday, scoring 11 of its 12 runs across the second, third, fourth and fifth innings to gain control.
Vanderbilt received another strong performance from freshman left-hander Devin Futrell, who picked up his team-leading sixth win on the year. Futrell allowed two earned runs over his 5.2 innings of work, while striking out a career-high 10 batters.
The Commodores used a trio of arms out of the bullpen. Donye Evans was the first reliever out of the pen. He worked 1.1 innings, allowing just one hit while punching out two. Evans was followed by fellow sophomore Brett Hansen, who covered 1.0 hitless frame with a pair of strikeouts. Jack Anderson tossed the final frame in the ninth to close the game out.
Vanderbilt began the night’s scoring with three runs in the top of the second. Dominic Keegan led off the frame with a single through the left side before Parker Noland worked a five-pitch walk to place runners on first and second. Calvin Hewett used the next at-bat to lay down a bunt single, while errant throws by both the pitcher and center fielder allowed all three runners to cross and put Vandy in front, 3-0.
The Commodores returned to the dish to add three more in the third. Enrique Bradfield Jr. began things with a leadoff double down the left field line before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Davis Diaz followed with a single up the middle to bring across the first run of the frame.
Two outs later, Keegan kept the inning alive with a single to center field, while Noland picked up his second walk of the night in the next at-bat to place two on with two outs. Hewett brought both runners across with a two-run single to shallow right field to push the Commodores’ lead to 6-0 after three full.
With one down in the fourth, Rob Gordon reached on a hit-by-pitch before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt. After Gordon moved up to third on a passed ball, Diaz picked up his second RBI of the evening with a double off the left field wall to bring the score to 7-0.
Austin Peay broke into the scoring column with one run in the fifth. The Governors used a one-out single followed by a double down the left field line to plate their first run of the night and make it a 7-1 contest.
Vanderbilt responded with a four-run frame in the home half to increase its lead to 10. Noland reached on a fielder’s choice, followed by a single through the left side from Hewett. After Jonathan Vastine loaded the bases with a five-pitch walk, Gordon scored three with a bases-clearing double off the center field wall, marking the first hit of his collegiate career. Gordon eventually came across to score on an errant throw by the Austin Peay pitcher to push the Vandy lead to 11-1.
The Governors scored one in the sixth on a solo home run to make it an 11-2 ballgame.
The Commodores tacked on one in the seventh. Hewett led off the frame with a hit-by-pitch before Gordon reached on a four-pitch walk to place runners on first and second with two down. In a pinch-hit attempt, T.J. McKenzie lined a single through the left side to plate Hewett and set the score at 12-2, the eventual final.
The Vanderbilt offense was paced by the duo of Keegan and Hewett, who each contributed three-hit efforts. Hewett added a team-high three runs scored, while Gordon led the team in RBI with three.
Vanderbilt will hit the road this weekend, traveling to Auburn for an SEC series. The Commodores and Tigers are set for a 6 p.m. first pitch in Friday’s series opener with action airing live on SEC Network+.
