Grand slam in Espi’s first at-bat! đź’Ą#VandyBoys | #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/PB5YbMGGtl
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) February 19, 2023
ARLINGTON, Texas — Alan Espinal got it all, and Vanderbilt left the Lone Star State on a high note Sunday by routing Texas 12-2 at Globe Life Field.
Espinal’s grand slam highlighted an eight-run second for the Commodores. The junior catcher launched an opposite-field shot that turned out to be a knockout blow for a Longhorns team that never recovered.
Vandy (2-1) returns to Nashville on a two-game winning streak after dropping its season opener 11-4 to Texas Christian. The Dores bounced back with 23 runs over the next two games in victories over Oklahoma State and Texas.
Vanderbilt’s home opener against Central Arkansas (1-1) is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“I thought Friday was what you would expect in younger kids. There’s a lot of nerves,” Vandy head coach Tim Corbin said. “Now, we played a really good team, I think that’s pretty visible for everyone. But at the same time, we were probably sped up.
“I thought we relaxed, I thought we sat better in the batter’s box, even (Saturday) but certainly today.”
Espinal was at the heart of Vandy’s big second inning, the second game in a run in which the Commodores plated at least seven runs in an inning. Saturday’s outburst all started innocently enough when Calvin Hewett reached on an error.
Hewett stole second and then, with one out, stole third before Davis Diaz was plunked with a pitch. Jonathan Vastine came up and ripped a ball to second that was booted, allowing Vastine to reach and Hewett to score.
Another Texas fielding error loaded the bases ahead of Espinal. He unloaded on the first pitch he saw for his second career blast and first career grand slam.
“Bases loaded, I was just looking for a good pitch to swing at—I got that,” Espinal said. “It’s a big moment, but it’s something we train (for) every day, it’s something that’s really common for us to be in that situation, up against the wall.”
Later in the inning, an RJ Schreck RBI triple made it 6-0 and Hewett scored on yet another Texas miscue to make it a 7-0 ballgame. Parker Noland stepped in and skied an RBI triple to the left-field corner, putting the Dores up by eight runs.
All eight of those runs were unearned.
Texas got on the scoreboard in the third thanks to a Vandy error with the bases loaded. But Vandy starting pitcher Devin Futrell got a 4-6 double play on a caught line drive to get out of the jam.
TJ McKenzie’s RBI double in the fifth made it 9-1 Commodores. Eric Kennedy belted a solo home run to right for Texas in the bottom half of the inning to make it 9-2.
A Schreck RBI single in the sixth put Vanderbilt up 10-2, and Vastine’s bases-loaded single later in the inning made it 12-2, more than enough cushion for Vandy to claim the victory.
“We’re really dangerous,” Espinal said of the Commodores’ offensive explosion. “We can run the bases, we’re pretty fast, we can swing the bat for sure. It’s fun to watch whether I’m catching or in the dugout.”
Futrell (1-0) got the start on the mound for Vanderbilt and allowed two earned runs on three hits and three walks. He fanned five, and 50 of his 76 pitches were strikes.
Bryce Cunningham (S, 1) was dazzling out of the Vanderbilt bullpen by throwing four hitless innings and striking out seven.
“Domination,” Espinal said of Futrell and Cunningham. “That’s what we preach about. And every time I go catch, I just tell the guys to go dominate. Pitch by pitch, go dominate—and that’s what we did.”
— Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com.
Follow him @MrChadBishop.
