NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt shutout No. 22 Ole Miss 3-0 Thursday night at Hawkins Field behind starting pitcher T.J. Pecoraro.
The sophomore right-hander cruised through nine innings to become the first Commodores (27-25, 14-14) pitcher since Richie Goodenow in 2010 to pitch a complete game shutout. Pecoraro (1-4) allowed only three Rebels (34-20, 14-14) to reach scoring position all night throwing first pitch strikes to 27 of the 31 batters he faced and recorded seven one-pitch outs.
The defense picked up Pecoraro in the sixth inning after Tanner Mathis led off the inning with a double. A sacrifice bunt moved Mathis over to third and an error put runners on the corners with one out. Matt Snyder lifted a fly ball into left field that Jack Lupo caught for the second out then gunned down Mathis trying to score from third to end the inning. Pecoraro cruised from there facing 10 batters over the final three frames to complete his second straight game and earn his first win of the season.
The Vanderbilt offense scratched out a run in the fourth off Ole Miss starter Bobby Wahl before tacking on two more runs in the sixth. In the fourth the Commodores plated a run without the benefit of a hit. Mike Yastrzemski reached first on a one-out walk then stole second and looked to be picked off second base before swiping third. Gomez knocked him in on a groundout to shortstop for a one-run Vandy lead. Vince Conde led off the sixth with a double off the left field wall before coming around to score on an error by the shortstop. Tony Kemp reached on the error and scored two batters later when Gomez singled through the left side.
Gomez, Conde and Conrad Gregor were the only three Commodores to record hits in the win as the Dores set a season-low with three hits. Ole Miss was limited to just five hits with Pecoraro issuing no walks. Wahl (6-2) took the loss for the Rebels giving up three runs, two earned, on three hits with five strikeouts.
The shutout victory was the fifth of the season for the Commodores with the win matching a season-best three-game winning streak.
Vandy returns to action tomorrow night with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. Sam Selman (8-3) gets the nod for the home team against Rebels’ right-hander Mike Mayer (4-2).
