HONOLULU — The Vanderbilt baseball team used stellar pitching combined with a strong offensive effort to claim a pair of victories over Hawaii in Saturday’s doubleheader at Les Murakami Stadium. With the wins, the Commodores improve to 9-2 on the season and claim the weekend series.
Vanderbilt earned a 12-1 win in the first matchup of the day, before defeating the Rainbow Warriors, 13-1 , in the second contest. With the wins, Vandy has swept its last four doubleheader matchups dating to 2021.
The Commodores combined for 25 runs across the day, outscoring Hawaii 25-2 over both games.
Dominic Keegan led the offensive effort, finishing 7-for-11 on the afternoon, while Javier Vaz drove in a team-high nine RBI.
The two teams will return to the diamond tomorrow afternoon for the series finale. First pitch is set for 5:05 p.m. CT, with action airing live on ESPN+.
Game 1
Freshman left-hander Carter Holton carried a perfect-game bid into the seventh inning of Game 1 before Hawaii struck for two hits and a run in the final frame to break things up.
After a leadoff walk began the home half seventh, the Rainbow Warriors collected their first hit of the day with a single to right field to place runners on first and second. Two outs later, an RBI single to left field scored one to place Hawaii on the board.
Holton notched the first seven-inning complete game for Vanderbilt since March 25, 2018, when Mason Hickman went the full seven against LSU. The Savannah, Georgia, native surrendered just one run on two hits, while issuing one walk and striking out a season-high nine batters.
The Vanderbilt offense stayed hot in Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader, as the Commodores registered a season-high 19 hits. Seven of the nine Commodore starters registered multi-hit outings, including three-hit efforts from both Davis Diaz and Javier Vaz. Vaz also contributed a career-high five RBI to lead the team.
The Commodores got out to an early lead with three runs in the first. The scoring sequence began with singles from Diaz and Dominic Keegan to place runners on first and second. One batter later, Vaz recorded his first career triple to score the first two runs of the day.
Jack Bulger capped the inning’s scoring with a RBI single to center field, making it a 3-0 contest after one half.
Vanderbilt returned to the dish to add another run in the second to make it 4-0, as Tate Kolwyck connected on his second homer of the weekend with a solo shot to right center.
The Commodores broke things open with eight runs across the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Vandy plated three in the fourth, with RBI singles from Enrique Bradfield Jr. and Keegan, while Vaz picked up a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 7-0.
The Dores scored four runs on five hits in the fifth to widen their advantage. The trio of Diaz, Jones and Vaz each collected RBI singles to make it an 11-0 ballgame in Vanderbilt’s favor.
Carter Young connected on his second homer of the weekend in the top of the sixth, sending to a solo shot to deep right field to bring the score to 12-0.
Hawaii broke into the scoring column in the home half of the seventh to avoid the shutout. The Rainbow Warriors plated one run to bring the score to 12-1, the eventual final.
Game 2
Vanderbilt got on the board first in the second matchup of the day, scoring one in the third to grab an early 1-0 lead. With one down in the inning, Enrique Bradfield Jr. collected his first triple of the season before coming across to score on a sacrifice fly from Davis Diaz.
Hawaii evened things in the fifth with a run of its own. After a walk and a stolen base placed a runner in scoring position for the Rainbow Warriors, an RBI single to center field brought one run across to make it a 1-1 game after five full.
The Commodores took the lead in the sixth, as the Vandy offense exploded for eight runs on six hits. The first three batters of the inning reached base to load them up for Javier Vaz, who connected on his first career grand slam. The grand slam marked the first of the season for Vanderbilt, and the second home run on the year for Vaz.
Vanderbilt went on to plate four more runs in the inning, as the foursome of Tate Kolwyck, Bradfield, Diaz and Dominic Keegan each collected RBI hits to make it a 9-1 contest.
The Commodores added four runs across the eighth and ninth innings, beginning with one run in the eighth. T.J. McKenzie began the scoring sequence in the eighth with a one-out double to center field. One batter later, McKenzie came around to score on an RBI single from Matthew Polk to bring the score to 10-1.
The Vanderbilt ninth began with a leadoff walk followed by back-to-back singles to load the bases. In the very next at-bat, McKenzie delivered an RBI single to plate the first run of the inning. After Calvin Hewett scored the second run of the frame on a wild pitch, Polk collected his second RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly to center field to set the score at 13-1, the eventual final.
Patrick Reilly earned the start on the mound in the second game of the twinbill. The sophomore right-hander allowed one earned run on four hits, while yielding one walk and striking out three.
Fellow sophomore Hunter Owen was the first arm out of the Vanderbilt bullpen, covering 3.0 frames of one-hit baseball. Owen surrendered one hit and two walks while picking up six punchouts.
The freshman duo of Ryan Ginther and Greysen Carter covered the final 2.0 frames, each making their collegiate debut.
