NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt won 10-5 Thursday in the series opener against No. 16 Oklahoma at Hawkins Field.
Mike Mancini and Connor Fennell led the way for the Commodores. At the plate, Mancini went 3-for-5 with two home runs, a double and six RBI. On the mound, Fennell held the Sooners to three runs over 7.1 innings and struck out 10 batters without surrendering a walk.
The game started as a pitchers’ duel between Fennell and Oklahoma’s LJ Mercurius. It was a 2-2 score after six innings before the Dores pulled away late with three runs in the seventh and five in the eighth.
Oklahoma broke through in the fourth with a two-run home run off the bat of Deiten LaChance. The Sooners wouldn’t score again, however, until the eighth inning.
Vanderbilt got on the board in the fourth as well with an RBI double by Braden Holcomb to score Brodie Johnston.
The Commodores tied it up at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth as Mancini led off the frame with his first homer of the game.
A two-run double by Mancini in the seventh gave the Dores their first lead. Johnston made it a 5-2 game later in the inning on an infield single.
The Sooners responded with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth to pull within one but Vanderbilt plated five runs in the eighth to create distance.
Holcomb walked, stole second and then scored on a failed pickoff attempt. Logan Johnstone then drilled a line-drive home run to right-center to put Vandy in front 7-4.
Ryker Waite was hit by a pitch and Korbin Reynolds singled before Mancini blasted a no-doubt, three-run homer to give the Dores a 10-4 advantage.
Mancini has been on a tear in SEC play, belting eight home runs with a 1.394 OPS.
Oklahoma made things interesting in the ninth but Tyler Baird hung on to pick up his third save on the year, all coming in the last five games.
Vandy tallied 10 hits on the night with Mancini and Johnston totaling three apiece. Mancini, Waite and Rigdon each scored twice in the win.
Vanderbilt improves to 21-14 (7-6 SEC) while No. 16 Oklahoma falls to 22-11 (5-8 SEC). Game 2 in the series is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch Friday at Hawkins Field.
