KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 11 Vanderbilt defeated No. 15 Tennessee 10-6 on Saturday to even the series at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Commodores stole eight bases in the win and totaled 10 hits. Five pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts with Luke Guth earning his first win on the season.
Vandy scored in five different innings. RJ Austin and Braden Holcomb paced the offense with three RBI apiece and Riley Nelson went 3-for-5 at the plate with a double, RBI and two runs scored.
Vandy scored the first run of the game without recording a hit. Rustan Rigdon was hit by the first pitch, stole second on the second pitch and third on the third pitch. RJ Austin brought Rigdon home on a groundout to open a 1-0 lead in the first.
Tennessee answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first after a one-out walk.
Vanderbilt pulled even in the top of the third as Humphrey doubled and stole third before scoring on a groundout by Rigdon to tie the game at 2-2.
The top of the fourth started with a single through the shift for Riley Nelson. With one out, Braden Holcomb went opposite field for his eighth home run on the season to give the Dores a two-run lead.
The inning continued as Jonathan Vastine beat out an infield single and Jacob Humphrey was hit by a pitch. Mike Mancini then roped a single to center, scoring Vastine from second.
The Dores added on in the top of the fifth after a one-out double by Nelson. Nelson advanced to third on a balk and scored on a single by Holcomb as Holcomb picked up his third RBI of the game.
Tennessee scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth, both on two-out singles, to cut Vandy’s lead down to two at 6-4.
The Commodore offense put runs on the board for the fourth consecutive inning in the sixth, pushing four runs across to go in front 10-4. With the bases loaded, Austin lined a single to left to score Vastine from third and Humphrey from second. Nelson then ripped a single to right to bring Rigdon in from second.
Vandy’s fourth run in the inning came home on a fielder’s choice and an error.
After Vandy’s big inning, Luke Guth tossed a 1-2-3 frame in the home half of the sixth with a pair of strikeouts.
A pair of solo homers in the bottom of the seventh made it a 10-6 game, but Vastine started a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.
Sawyer Hawks blanked Tennessee in the bottom of the eighth with Jacob Humphrey making a diving catch in right field to end the inning.
Ethan McElvain took over on the mound for the ninth inning and retired the side in order as the Commodores evened the series with a 10-6 victory.
Vanderbilt and Tennessee will meet for the series finale at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday.
