Nashville, Tenn. – Vanderbilt let a late lead slip away on Saturday afternoon in a 9-3 loss to Tennessee at Hawkins Field.
Commodores’ (26-17, 10-10) starter Kyle Wright dominated for six innings carrying a no-hitter into the seventh having allowed only two base runners. Jordan Rodgers finally broke up the no-hit bid ripping a single to third that Ethan Paul failed to handle. Wright, however, bounced back to get the next two batters and keep Vandy in front 3-0.
Back out for the eighth inning, Wright’s command faltered quickly as he walked Pete Derkay to open the inning before hitting Matt Waldren. A pinch-hit single from Will Heflin loaded the bases before Wright’s sixth strikeout put the first out of the inning on the board. Jeff Moberg’s single followed, putting the Volunteers’ (22-18, 6-14) first run of the game on the scoreboard and ending Wright’s afternoon. Matt Ruppenthal entered from the bullpen with the Dores clinging to a 3-1 lead and recorded the second out when Ethan Paul fielded a ground ball and threw home to get the runner from third. Rodgers flipped the game with one swing, lifting a fly ball out to left field for a grand slam and 5-3 Volunteers lead. Tennessee tacked on four more in the ninth to even the series.
Vanderbilt broke up a scoreless game in the sixth inning with three runs. Alonzo Jones worked a walk to start the inning then moved to third when Jeren Kendall’s sacrifice bunt attempt was mishandled to open the door for a big inning. Julian Infante’s sacrifice bunt pushed both runners into scoring position for Reed Hayes, who made it 1-0 Commodores with a single through the left side. Paul and Jason Delay added RBI-singles to swell the Dores’ lead to 3-0 after six.
Hayes and Delay led the way for VU with two hits apiece. Wright was the tough-luck loser after giving up four runs on three hits over 7.1 innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked two.
Tennessee starter Garrett Stallings picked up the win with 7.1 innings of work. The freshman gave up three runs, one earned, on six hits in his third win. Zach Linginfelter recorded the final five outs to notch his first career save.
The two teams will decide the series tomorrow at 3 p.m. on SEC Network. Chandler Day gets the ball for the Commodores against Tennessee’s Zach Warren.
