NASHVILLE, Tenn. – No. 19 Vanderbilt finished a series sweep over No. 5 Georgia with a 5-2 win Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Field.
Connor Fennell was electric on the mound, earning his fourth win on the season after going 5.2 innings. The righty held Georgia to two runs on three hits and registered a career-high 11 strikeouts.
Neither team was able to breakthrough on the scoreboard until the fourth inning when Georgia used a solo homer to open up a 1-0 lead.
Rustan Rigdon led off the bottom of the fourth with a single and moved to third on a single to right field by Braden Holcomb. With one out, Rigdon came home on a fielder’s choice as Jonathan Vastine picked up an RBI and tied the game at 1-1.
Mac Rose worked a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs, Riley Nelson went opposite field for his fifth home run on the season. The two-run shot made it 3-1, Commodores.
The Bulldogs hit another solo homer in the top of the sixth to pull within a run, but Vandy added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Jacob Humphrey was hit by a pitch and went to second on a failed pickoff attempt. Mike Mancini then singled through the right side to bring Humphrey home.
After a single by Nelson put runners on the corners, Brodie Johnston executed a perfect safety squeeze with Mancini scoring from third to give Vandy a 5-2 advantage.
Sawyer Hawks took over on the mound to start the eighth and slammed the door on Georgia for his sixth save. Hawks held the Bulldogs to two hits and struck out a pair of batters.
Nelson finished the game with three hits and two RBI. Holcomb went 2-for-4 and now has eight hits in his last 15 at-bats with two home runs, six RBI and three runs scored.
Vanderbilt earns its second sweep over a top five opponent since the 2023 season when the Dores swept Ole Miss. The Commodores are now 30-10 on the season and 11-7 in the SEC. Vandy owns a 22-3 record at Hawkins Field this season.
Next up for the Commodores is a Tuesday matchup against MTSU at Hawkins Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
