Highlights | Smith | Corbin
Nashville, Tenn. — No. 3 Vanderbilt posted the team’s first shutout of the season on Friday with a 9-0 win over UIC at Hawkins Field behind a strong start from Jordan Sheffield.
Sheffield dominated over seven innings to match the longest outing of his career, striking out a career-best 11 with only one walk to earn his second win of the year. The right-hander breezed through the first two frames with four strikeouts but a leadoff single opened the third inning. Sheffield’s battery-mate, Jason Delay, took care of the base runner throwing out UIC’s Tyler Murphy trying to steal second base. Sheffield then ended the third with his fifth strikeout of the night to begin a string of eight straight retired Flames (3-2), including striking out the side in the fourth. His night came to a close in the seventh with back-to-back strikeouts to strand a runner at third base, reaching back for 95 mph on his final pitch of the night to blow it by Wyatt Mascarella.
The Vanderbilt offense began clicking early and often in the win as the Dores scored eight runs in the first four innings. Leadoff hitter Ro Coleman singled to open the game and came around to score when Delay beat out a would-be, inning-ending double play for the game’s first run. The Commodores (6-0) later blew the game open in the fourth inning with five runs capped by Bryan Reynolds’ first home run of the season. The first two runs of the frame crossed the plate in unconventional fashion as Will Toffey trotted home on a balk and Kyle Smith stole home with Connor Kaiser attempting to bunt. Jeren Kendall added a RBI-triple off the right field wall before getting the free pass home on Reynolds’ home run to left.
Freshmen Evan Steele and Maddux Conger finished off the Dores’ shutout, each working a perfect inning.
Seven Commodores contributed hits to the team’s total of 14 in the victory led by Reynolds’ three-hit, three-RBI game. The junior is 6-for-9 with four RBI in his last two contests. Kaiser posted his first career three-hit game with three singles while scoring two runs. Kendall kept up his torrid start to the season with two hits in the win. Coleman scored three runs from the leadoff spot and Alonzo Jones posted his third multi-hit game of the year with a pair of hits.
UIC starter Jake Dahlberg took the loss allowing eight runs, seven earned, on nine hits over five innings. Derrick Patrick posted two of the Flames’ five hits in the loss.
Vanderbilt and UIC continue the series tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for noon at Hawkins Field.
