NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jayson Gonzalez and Enrique Bradfield fueled Vanderbilt’s offense in a somewhat sloppy contest between Memphis and Vanderbilt on Tuesday at Hawkins Field.
The Commodores walked away with a 10-4 win in a game where the teams combined to make four errors, issue 12 walks and leave 23 runners on base. Nonetheless, with the victory Vanderbilt is off to its best start since the 2016 squad began that season 16-1.
Gonzalez drove in four on three hits, one of which was a two-run triple. Bradfield had two RBIs, two hits, two walks, two runs and stole three bases.
Cooper Davis also tied a career high with three RBIs and hit his first career home run.
“We move pretty well, that is pretty much how we scored some runs today,” Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin said. “I don’t know, eight balls that never left the infield that were recorded singles because of hard 90s down to first base? We extended the inning that way and certainly got some RBIs that way.
“I thought all the way around we did a pretty good job of base running to keep innings going to extend ourselves and score runs.”
Vanderbilt (10-1) now prepares for its first road trip of the season as it heads to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to face Oklahoma State (10-0-1) for a three-game series starting at 6 p.m. Friday.
Davis began the Vandy scoring Tuesday by blasting a solo shot to centerfield. That set the tone for the afternoon.
Tate Kolwyck started the second inning by taking second base on an errant throw after a grounder to shortstop. He moved to third on a balk and scored on Bradfield’s infield hit to first.
Bradfield would later come around to score on Davis’ RBI grounder to second making it 3-0.
Vanderbilt starter Christian Little, however, ran into trouble in the third. After Hunter Goodman’s sacrifice fly got Memphis on the board, Alec Trela and Taylor Howell rolled RBI singles through the infield to tie the score at 3-all.
Little went 2 2/3 innings and was charged all three earned runs. He gave up four hits, walked three and struck out four.
“I thought it was solid,” Corbin said of Little’s start. “You could tell he ran out of gas in his third, but he got out of a tough jam in that first inning which was really important for us. He’s still growing. Just a young kid and first, second, third time out there he’s learning a lot.
“I lot of it is mental stamina just as much as it is physical stamina what he’s got to learn inside the college game.”
The Commodores got the lead back in the fourth thanks to a Gonzalez RBI single to right that scored Bradfield. Gonzalez’s two-run triple in the fifth was followed by Davis’ RBI single made it 7-3.
Vandy added two in a strange sixth inning. Four infield singles, two which plated runs courtesy of Bradfield and Gonzalez, respectively, put the Dores up 9-3.
Memphis greeted Vanderbilt reliever Miles Garrett with consecutive singles in the seventh. An E6 allowed the Tigers to get within 9-4, but Garrett would escape further damage.
Isaiah Thomas drove in Vandy’s 10th run with an RBI double in the seventh.
Hugh Fisher and Chris McElvain tossed scoreless eighth and ninth innings, respectively, for Vanderbilt. Patrick Reilly (1-0) went 3 1/3 innings in relief and gave up just one hit.
Memphis starter Carson Stinnett went 4 2/3 innings and was charged seven runs – two earned – on seven hits. He walked four, struck out six, threw three wild pitches and exited after 103 pitches.
The Tigers fell to 4-6 and lost their fourth in a row to Vanderbilt dating to 2002.
— Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com.
Follow him @MrChadBishop.
