Commodores take down Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt used a solid outing from starter Sonny Gray to beat Tennessee 10-1 Friday night at a sold out Hawkins Field.

Gray scattered four hits over eight innings allowing one run and striking out six to earn his ninth win of the year. The Volunteers’ lone run of game came in the third inning without the benefit of a hit. The right-hander did not allow a hit after the second inning and moved into a tie for third place in Vanderbilt history with his 24th career victory.

Vanderbilt took the lead in the fourth inning on Aaron Westlake’s solo home run, his team-best seventh of the season. The Commodores blew the game open scoring eight runs over their final three at-bats. Connor Harrell capped the night’s scoring with a pinch-hit, two-run home run. Westlake helped lead the offense scoring three runs while Mike Yastrzemski drove in three runs. Jason Esposito extended his hitting streak to 22 games with a single in the fourth inning and moved into a tie for seventh all-time at VU with his 52nd double of his career in the seventh inning. Andrew Toles led the Vols with two hits.

The sellout was the third in the last four games for Hawkins Field with a season-high 3,645 fans in attendance.

The Commodores host Tennessee tomorrow with first pitch slated for Noon at Hawkins Field. The game will be televised on CSS. Grayson Garvin gets the nod for the Dores against UT’s Jon Reed.

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