NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt stranded the bases loaded on three different occasions and was limited most of the night by Eastern Kentucky pitching in a 6-5 loss on Wednesday at Hawkins Field.
The No. 13 Commodores (12-5), who threw nine different pitchers for one inning apiece, were saddled with a four-run deficit after three innings, thanks to three RBIs from Alex Holderbach. The Colonels’ (7-11) designated hitter drove in five total, the most allowed by VU pitching this season, to help EKU to the victory.
Freshman starter Jake Eder (1-1) drew the loss, permitting one hit and two runs (one earned) while walking one and fanning another in the first inning. Vandy had no solution for EKU starter Kaven Brown (1-1), who scattered three hits while fanning eight and walking two in 5.1 innings of work to earn the win. The Colonels scored off four different Vanderbilt pitchers including a pair against Chandler Day. Mason Hickman, Justin Willis, Paxton Stover and Hugh Fisher each tossed one hitless frame apiece.
The Dores put one across in the eighth, trimming the deficit to four on a scorching infield-single from Julian Infante to plate Ethan Paul, who reached on a two-out hit by pitch. EKU grabbed the run back in the ninth, however, on a Holderbach sacrifice fly that proved to be the difference.
After being limited to six hits in the first eight innings, Vanderbilt made a comeback-bid in the ninth, scoring four runs, including three with two outs, to trim the deficit to one. Connor Kaiser drove in two on a line-drive triple and Harrison Ray fought off a 0-2 pitch for an RBI-single up the middle before Infante lined out.
Vandy returns to action on Friday, opening Southeastern Conference play at Mississippi State. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with the game slated for the SEC Network’s Bases Loaded coverage. The matchup will be streamed in its entirety on SEC Network Plus.
