NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt and Tennessee needed 16 innings to decide Saturday’s game at Hawkins Field, but a Mack Whitcomb squeeze bunt ended the marathon as Vanderbilt won 6-5 to clinch the series over No. 21 Tennessee.
Just one inning shy of matching the program record for longest game, Saturday’s contest featured big innings offensively from each side along with several moments of clutch pitching.
Vanderbilt put up five runs in the fourth and Tennessee did the same in the sixth. Neither side would score again until the bottom of the 16th.
Rustan Rigdon and Max Jensen each drew walks with one out. A gutsy double steal put both runners in scoring position. After an intentional walk to load the bases, Mack Whitcomb executed a squeeze bunt with Rigdon charging home from third to score the winning run.
It’s the second walk-off in as many days for Vanderbilt and the team’s sixth in its last nine home SEC games dating to last season.
Pitching was the story for much of the day as Vanderbilt’s bullpen didn’t surrender a run over the final 10 frames. Five Commodore arms combined for 18 strikeouts.
Vandy starter Wyatt Nadeau didn’t allow a hit through the first five innings and finished with seven strikeouts. Tyler Baird was excellent in relief, blanking Tennessee over five innings with two hits allowed and four strikeouts.
Nate Schlote took care of the next three frames, giving up just one hit. Luke Guth and Nate Taylor tossed one inning each with Taylor earning the win, his first as a Commodore.
Vandy’s offensive burst in the fourth inning came via the long ball. Chris Maldonado opened the scoring with an RBI single before Ryker Waite launched a two-run shot. After a double by Korbin Reynolds, Mike Mancini went opposite field for his seventh homer of the season.
Mancini had three of Vandy’s 14 hits in the game. Waite, Reynolds and Colin Barczi tallied two hits each.
The Commodores (16-12, 4-4 SEC) will look to finish off a series sweep over the Volunteers (18-9, 3-5 SEC) in the finale on Sunday. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. and will air on ESPN2.
