NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For the second straight Saturday the duo of Jared Miller and Carson Fulmer were a perfect pair for No. 9 Vanderbilt, this time in the Commodores 2-0 win at Hawkins Field over Illinois-Chicago.
Last Saturday, Miller and Fulmer combined to shut out Long Beach State and on Saturday in Nashville the two hurlers did the same to the Flames (3-3). Miller was strong again working out of three jams on the afternoon to turn in seven scoreless innings. The big lefty worked out of a tight spot in the second inning when UIC put two runners on base with one out but Miller responded with back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat. The Flames threatened again in the fourth when Tyler Detmer led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Miller again answered the threat, this time with a pair of groundouts to second base. Miller’s final jam came in the sixth when the Flames put runners on the corners before the southpaw got another ground ball to end the inning.
For the day, Miller allowed four hits and no walks with a career-best six strikeouts. The Avon, Ind. native has not allowed a run in his 13 innings this season and has 10 strikeouts to go along with no walks.
Fulmer again followed Miller into the game and worked the final two frames to notch his second save and secure the Commodores’ (6-0) sixth win of the year. The right-hander struck out two in the eighth then struck out the side around a walk and single in the ninth to seal the game. The sophomore now has 10 strikeouts in five innings of scoreless relief work this year.
The Vandy offense started sluggish and did not score until the seventh inning when the team strung together four hits to get on the board. Xavier Turner led off the inning with a single and Zander Wiel ripped a single of his own to put two Commodores on the bases. Freshman Bryan Reynolds then moved the pair over with a sacrifice bunt. Vince Conde took advantage of the situation with a solid single to center field to break up the scoreless game and Rhett Wiseman added an insurance run two pitches later with a single through the right side to make it 2-0 VU.
Vanderbilt’s pitching staff has now allowed six runs, two earned, through 54 innings for a 0.33 team ERA. The staff’s control has also been impressive with only 10 walks and 57 strikeouts while allowing opponents to hit only .134.
The Commodores and Flames wrap up their three-game series tomorrow afternoon with first pitch set for 12:30 p.m. Sophomore Tyler Ferguson gets the ball for the Dores against UIC right-hander Jack Andersen.
