HOOVER, Ala. — The Vanderbilt baseball team used a strong pitching performance combined with timely offense to earn a 3-1 win over Ole Miss on Tuesday evening at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. With the win, the Commodores improved to 36-19.
Vanderbilt plated single runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings to build a 3-0 lead across the first six frames. Ole Miss got on the board with one run in the seventh, but would get no closer as the Commodores held on for the 3-1 win to advance to Wednesday.
Carter Holton turned in another impressive outing for Vanderbilt to pick up his eighth win on the season. He notched his seventh quality start on the year with six shutout innings. The freshman left-hander allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out six batters on the evening.
The Commodores used two arms out of the bullpen with Nelson Berkwich being the first reliever. Berkwich worked one inning and allowed one earned run on one hit while walking one batter. Christian Little covered the final two frames, holding the Rebels to one hit while striking out four to pick up his third save on the season.
Vanderbilt used a two-out rally to manufacture its first run of the day in the third as Spencer Jones began the sequence with a double down the right field line. Dominic Keegan followed up with a single up the middle to score Jones and give Vandy a 1-0 lead after three full.
The Commodores added one apiece in both the fifth and sixth innings. Enrique Bradfield led off the fifth with a single before back-to-back walks to Jones and Keegan loaded the bases. One batter later, Parker Noland recorded an RBI groundout to second base to score Bradfield and increase the Vanderbilt lead to 2-0.
Tate Kolwyck reached on a hit-by-pitch to begin the Vanderbilt sixth before Carter Young doubled to left to place runners on second and third. One out later, the Commodores scored one on a fielding error by the Ole Miss shortstop to push their lead to 3-0.
Ole Miss broke into the scoring column with one run in the seventh. The inning began with a leadoff walk before a groundout moved the runner into scoring position. One out later, a single through the right side allowed one run to cross to set the score at 3-1, the eventual final.
Vanderbilt is scheduled return to action at 8 p.m. Wednesday to face top-ranked Tennessee. The contest will air live on SEC Network.
