NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt used a solid outing from No. 1 starter Sonny Gray and a slew of two-out hits to cruise to an 11-1 victory over Oregon State in the first game of the best-of-three NCAA Super Regional on Friday night.
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Vanderbilt starting pitcher Sonny Gray held Oregon State
to one earned run Friday in Game 1.
The Commodores jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning after Gray retired the Beavers in order on three straight ground balls. Oregon State starter Sam Gaviglio (12-3) walked three Vanderbilt batters with two outs in the opening frame, opening the door for RBI singles by Mike Yastrzemski, Jason Esposito and Connor Harrell to give the home team an early 4-0 lead.
Vanderbilt would reach base with two outs seven more times after that big first inning. After Curt Casali drove in a run with a bases-loaded groundout to second base in the fourth inning, Yastrzemski launched a three-run home run to right-center off Gaviglio with two outs, his third homer of the season, to bring the score to 8-0. Yastrzemski finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and 4 RBI.
Tony Kemp singled with two outs in the fifth inning to plate Conrad Gregor. Vanderbilt’s freshman leadoff man went 2-for-4 on Friday night. The Commodores scored 10 of their 11 runs with two outs.
Gaviglio was pulled in the sixth inning after allowing 10 earned runs on 10 hits and walking six batters. Two batters later, Jason Esposito took reliever Cam Booser into the left-field bleachers for a two-out, two-run home run that capped off the Vanderbilt scoring.
The Beavers got on the board in the seventh inning when Jake Rodriguez scored Danny Hayes from second base with a single into right field off of Gray, the final batter the Vandy starter would face. Gray (12-3) scattered four hits over 6.1 innings and struck out four for his 12th win of the season. The junior from Smyrna, Tenn., who was selected with the 18th overall pick in the first round of the MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics this week, received a standing ovation from the home crowd after being pulled in the seventh inning of what may have been his final start at Hawkins Field.
Vanderbilt lefthander Corey Williams pitched 2.1 scoreless innings in relief of Gray, retiring the final seven Oregon State batters in order and finishing with three strikeouts.
The two teams square off in the second game of the Super Regional tomorrow night at 8 p.m. CT. Fans interested in attending Saturday’s Super Regional game against Oregon State may do so by purchasing single-game tickets, which are now available online. Vanderbilt’s ticket office in the McGugin Center will open at 3 p.m. Saturday. To reach the ticket office on Saturday, fans may call 615-322-GOLD.
