NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The second-ranked Vanderbilt baseball team held on for a 3-2 victory over North Alabama on Tuesday evening at Hawkins Field. With the win, the Commodores improve to 35-10 on the season while earning their 22nd consecutive midweek win at home.
Dores on top‼️@domkeegan12 sends @caddayung home to give Vanderbilt a 2-1 lead. #VandyBoys pic.twitter.com/jLwH4qOw4t
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) May 12, 2021
After a pair of hit-less halves of the first inning, North Alabama struck first in the second via an RBI single from Dominick McIntyre to shallow right field, which brought Austin Thrasher across to score.
In the home half of the second, the Commodores evened the score on a double-steal that had Isaiah Thomas race across the plate shortly after Cooper Davis swiped second.
An inning later, Vanderbilt used a Dominic Keegan triple that sent Carter Young home, and Keegan crossed home two batters later on a Thomas single to push the lead to 3-1.
Now on the mound for the #VandyBoys 👉 @nelsonberk pic.twitter.com/xSPLJArHfN
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) May 12, 2021
The Lions got a run back on a double-steal of their own, coupled with a throwing error charged to Keegan as Thrasher scored in the fourth frame to cut the deficit in half.
Vanderbilt had a prime opportunity for insurance in the seventh, but stranded the bases full of Commodores.
Freshman southpaw Nelson Berkwich (1-0) struck out two and walked one in 2.0 shutout innings of relief, picking up his first career win.
Nick Maldonado picked his fifth save of the season with his 1.0 inning of work. The sophomore right-hander stranded the tying run on third base with a groundout to second.
Vanderbilt will step back into conference play with a trip to Oxford, Mississippi to take on 18th-ranked Ole Miss. The series will start with a 6 p.m. first pitch on Friday, being televised on SEC Network.
