NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt starter Brett Jacobson held Ohio hitless through five innings as the Commodores cruised to a 10-1 win in the home opener Friday afternoon at Hawkins Field.
Jacobson (2-0) moved into the start today after Commodore ace David Price was scratched due to illness. The sophomore from Arizona delivered, holding the Bobcats scoreless until the fourth when they were able to plate an unearned run. He finished with four strikeouts and three walks in five innings of work before being relieved by Tyler Rhoden in the sixth.
Rhoden pitched 2.2 innings of hitless ball before giving up an infield single to Dusty Hammond in the eighth. Matt Stiffler followed with a solid single to left but Rhoden was able to close Ohio out to finish with three scoreless innings of work with five strikeouts. Freshman Caleb Cotham made his Commodore debut in the ninth and finished the game with a 1-2-3 inning.
Vanderbilt improved to 4-0 on the year, while Ohio dropped its season opener to drop to 0-1.
VU pounded out 16 hits on the night, including a solo homer by Alex Feinberg, his second career homer and first at Hawkins Field.
Head coach Tim Corbin was pleased with the clutch hitting, but noted improvements to be made defensively. “We got four two-out hits tonight and three of them were doubles. Three two-out RBI’s are inning extenders. The only thing I’m kind of displeased in was our defense. We have to be able to turn double plays. We have to minimize those opportunities for the opposition. At the same time it was a good performance offensively.”
Vanderbilt took a 2-0 lead in the second on a RBI single by Brad French and a RBI groundout by Ryan Davis.
Matt Meingasner added a RBI double in the fourth and Davis scored on a wild pitch in the fifth to make it 4-0.
Ohio got on the board with an unearned run in the fifth and then the Commodores responded with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, two more in the sixth and a run in the seventh to close out the game.
Feinberg opened the sixth with a homer to left and Jonathan White added a RBI single to make it 6-1.
VU added two more in the seventh and the tenth run in the eighth courtesy of a RBI double by redshirt freshman Andrew Giobbi in his first collegiate at bat.
Meingasner led Vanderbilt with a career best four hits and three runs scored. David Macias, Alex Feinberg, Ryan Flaherty, Brad French and Ryan Davis each had two hits in the win.
Matt Smith (0-1) gave up four runs, three earned, on six hits in four innings of work to take the loss.
The Commodores and Bobcats will face off in the second game of the three game series tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. Sophomore Nick Christiani will take the hill against Bobcat southpaw Dan Weiss. All single-game tickets available through the month of February can be purchased for only $1. Fans can call (615) 322-GOLD for more info.
Ohio 000 010 000 – 1 2 3
Vanderbilt 021 112 21x – 10 16 3
Jacobson, Rhoden (6), Cotham (9) and Robin, Hawkins. M. Smith, Schlarb (5), Smith (7) and Klimko, Mcdonough.W-Jacobson 2-0. L- M. Smith 0-1. Sv- None. HRs: VU: Feinberg (1).
