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Vanderbilt Shuts Out Belmont, 3-0 3/30/2004
Vanderbilt Shuts Out Belmont, 3-0 NASHVILLE, Tenn. — No. 25 Vanderbilt scored two runs in the first inning and got a combined shutout from Matt Buschmann and Stephen Shao for a 3-0 victory over cross-town rival Belmont, Tuesday night at Hawkins Field. Vanderbilt improves to 19-5, while Belmont moves to 20-8. Ryan Klosterman lead off the game for Vanderbilt with a single to left field and moved to second on Antoan Richardson’s sacrifice bunt. Warner Jones hammered the first pitch he saw off the left field wall for a double which scored Klosterman. It extended his hitting streak to 31 games, tying the SEC record for a streak spanning consecutive seasons. Jones advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on Mike Baxter’s infield single one batter later to give the Commodores a 2-0 lead. Belmont’s best scoring opportunity came in the third inning when the Bruins had runners on second and third with one out. Ryan Petitt hit a slow roller half way up the third base line where Buschmann flipped it to catcher Jonathan Douillard. Douillard then ran Novak down and tagged him out. Buschmann then got Jason Warpool to fly out to left for the third out and end the threat. From there, Buschmann cruised in his final two innings of work, recording five strikeouts over the next six outs. He finished with a career-high seven strikeouts while scattering four hits as he improved to 4-1. “We stretched him out and that helped him,” Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin said. “His fastball was kicked up a notch and he was able to control it more. It was just a great outing for him.” Left-hander Stephen Shao worked the final four innings and struck out three as he recorded his first career save. “Stephen Shao was outstanding,” Corbin said. “He mixed all three pitches very well.” Commodores scored their final run of the game in the sixth when Mike Baxter scored on a wild pitch by Bruin reliever Charles Lee. Belmont starter Dennis Gomez dropped to 1-1 on the season after he was allowed two runs in three innings. Neither team had a player record more than one hit. Douillard, Baxter and Ryan Klosterman were the only Commodores to reach base more than once. The Commodores held Belmont to just five hits. Belmont came into the game hitting .318 as a team. It also marked the first time since April 26, 2003, that the Bruins had been shut out. For Vanderbilt, it was their fifth shutout of the season. Vanderbilt will return to action on Wednesday when it plays host to Austin Peay at Hawkins Field. First pitch is at 6 p.m. |
