OXFORD, Miss. — The second-ranked Vanderbilt baseball team suffered a 3-1 loss to No. 18 Ole Miss on Friday evening at Swayze Field. With the setback, the Commodores fall to 35-11 on the season, including a 16-8 mark in Southeastern Conference play.
Junior Kumar Rocker suffered the tough-luck loss, despite notching a quality start. The right-hander worked 7.0 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits, while walking one and striking out eight. The loss ended a four-game winning streak for Rocker while moving him to 11-2 on the season.
Hugh Fisher worked one inning out of the bullpen. The senior southpaw surrendered just one hit in the inning while picking up one strikeout to keep things close.
Ole Miss struck first on Friday with two runs in the second to grab an early lead. The inning began with a hit-by-pitch before the Rebels used a two-run homer to right field to move ahead, 2-0, after two innings of play.
The Rebels returned to the dish to add one more in the third, as a solo shot to right field made it a 3-0 contest after three full.
The two teams went scoreless across the next three frames before Vanderbilt broke into the scoring column in the seventh. Isaiah Thomas led off the frame with his ninth home run of the season to cut the deficit to two and make it a 3-1 ballgame.
The Commodores brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth, as Enrique Bradfield Jr. began the frame with a leadoff double. Bradfield would be stranded at third to end the inning as Vanderbilt failed to get any closer, resulting in a 3-1 final.
The two teams return to the diamond tomorrow afternoon for the second game of the weekend. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. from Swayze Field, with action airing live on SEC Network+.
