KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 11 Vanderbilt baseball overcame a rain delay and rival Tennessee on Sunday, winning 7-5 to secure the series from the 15th-ranked Volunteers.
The victory gives the Commodores (36-16, 16-11 SEC) their second-consecutive SEC series, as well as their third series victory in their last four. Luke Guth took the win for Vandy while Ethan McElvain earned the save.
Colin Barczi paced the Dores at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a pair of homers and three RBI. Rustan Rigdon, Jonathan Vastine and Mike Mancini each knocked in a run for Vandy in the win, with Vastine’s and Mancini’s coming via home runs.
Each team scored a run in the first two frames.
RJ Austin singled with one out in the first and reached second on a failed pickoff attempt. Austin’s speed continued to wreak havoc as he stole third and scored as the throw to third went into left field.
Tennessee responded with a solo homer in the home half of the first to make it a 1-1 game.
Barczi put the Dores back in front in the top of the second as the catcher went opposite field for a solo shot, his seventh homer on the season.
The Volunteers used a sac fly to again even the score in the bottom of the second.
The score remained 2-2 until the top of the fifth. Mancini worked a walk and stole second before scoring on a single to left by Rigdon.
Again, the Volunteers answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single.
Braden Holcomb ripped a triple off the top of the wall in right field with two outs in the top of the sixth. Barczi then blasted his second home run of the game to make it 5-3, Commodores.
Moments after Barczi’s homer, the game entered a two-hour lightning delay.
Following the break, Vastine made it back-to-back home runs, blistering a solo shot to make it a 6-3 lead for Vandy.
Once again, Tennessee responded quickly. A two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth trimmed Vandy’s lead back to a run.
Mancini added an insurance run in the top of the ninth with a two-strike, opposite field homer to put the Dores up by two.
Tennessee loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth but McElvain registered the game-ending strikeout on three pitches. McElvain owns a 0.00 ERA with 12 strikeouts over 8.0 innings in his last six appearances since April 22.
The Commodores have one weekend remaining in the regular season as they host Kentucky for a three-game set starting Thursday at 6 p.m.
