NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Martin crushed a pair of home runs as second-ranked Vanderbilt ran its win streak to seven games while staying perfect at home in a 10-2 victory against Saint Louis on a flurry-filled Wednesday night at Hawkins Field.
It marked the 15th consecutive midweek win for the Commodores dating to March 5. Vanderbilt overcame the snow globe-like elements, which featured swirling winds, to produce double-digit hits for the fourth time in the last five games.
Martin (2-for-3) accounted for four RBIs while raising his average to .417. The junior highlighted Vanderbilt’s five-run second inning with a three-run home run over the Green Monster in left. In the eighth, the preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list honoree crushed a solo home run to left center.
All Vanderbilt. All day. ⚓️#VandyBoys | #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/0k9lr83l19
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) February 27, 2020
The Commodores (8-2) took advantage of four Saint Louis errors and once again looked stellar on the mound. Starter Ethan Smith (2-0) recorded his second consecutive scoreless start, limiting the Billikens (5-2) to two hits across five innings. The sophomore stuck out seven and walked three while holding Saint Louis to 1-for-7 (.143) with runners aboard and 0-for-2 (.000) with runners in scoring position.
Right-hander Erik Kaiser struck out all six batters he faced over the final two innings. Six Commodores logged a hit including Ty Duvall (3-for-4) who recorded a season high with three. Catcher CJ Rodriguez (2-for-5) drove in a pair and Harrison Ray (2-for-5) scored one and drove in another.
Sophomore Dominic Keegan made his first start of the season, coming at first base, as part of a 1-for-3 performance. Cooper Davis, Ray, Isaiah Thomas and Martin extended their reached-base streaks to 10 games. Thomas drew a walk and scored twice.
Saint Louis (5-2) threw seven different pitchers including starter Scott Youngbrandt (0-1) who was roughed up for five hits and as many runs while walking a pair in 1.2 innings. The Billikens collected eight hits and scored twice in the seventh to snap Vanderbilt’s scoreless-inning streak at 19.2 innings.
Vanderbilt returns to action at 4:30 p.m. Friday when it begins a three-game series against Hawaii. Saturday’s middle game begins at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s finale starts at noon. All three contests can be seen on SEC Network Plus and heard on WNSR 560 AM/95.9 FM.
