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Vanderbilt Shuts Out Florida, 3-0, In SEC Tournament 5/27/2004
Vanderbilt Shuts Out Florida, 3-0, In SEC Tournament HOOVER, Ala. — Ryan Mullins struck out 12 in eight innings and Cesar Nicolas went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run as Vanderbilt shutout Florida, 3-0, in the second round of the SEC Tournament at Hoover-Metropolitian Stadium Thursday. Mullins went eight innings giving up seven hits and matched a career-high 12 strikeouts to earn his eighth win of the season. He did not allow an extra base hit and did not walk a Gator batter. Sophomore right-hander Jensen Lewis entered the game in the eighth with runners on first and second. He forced Matt LaPorta to ground into a double play and then struck out Brian Leclerc to earn his second save of the season. Tommy Boss (3-5) went the distance for Florida allowing three runs (all earned) on seven hits. He walked one batter and struck out four. Vanderbilt improves to 41-16, while Florida is 39-19. Ryan Klosterman led off the game with his eighth triple on the season to the left center field gap and scored when Warner Jones hit a sacrifice fly to left field. Cesar Nicolas then followed with a blast over the 405 mark in straight-away center field, his 14th home run of the season. In Florida’s half of the inning, Jonathan Tucker led off with a single to left field that he tried to extend to a double, but left fielder Aaron Garza’s throw to Jones at second caught Tucker before reaching base. It was Garza’s ninth assist of the season. Adam Davis reached when he was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a passed ball. C.J. Smith then hit a grounder to Klosterman who made a diving defensive stop and great throw to Mike Baxter at first for the out moving Davis to third. Mullins then struck out Ben Harrison to retire the side, stranding Davis at third. In the second inning with two away, Brian Leclerc hit a single to center field, followed by a single to right field by Justin Tordi. Mullins then struck out Brian Jeroloman to retire the side stranding two runners — his second consecutive strikeout to end the inning. Jonathan Douillard hit his first career triple to lead off the third inning when Florida’s Brian Leclerc tried to make a diving catch in shallow left field with the ball rolling to the fence. Klosterman reached on a fielder’s choice when his hit was fielded by the third baseman who caught Douillard in a run down to home. Antoan Richardson reached on a single to right field moving Klosterman to second. Warner Jones then hit into a double play to end the inning. Tucker led off the third inning with a single to left field and moved to second when Davis hit a shot off Mullins glove which deflected to Jones who threw Davis out at first. Tucker then stole third, but Mullins struck out Smith and Harrison to retire the side. “Another well pitched game,” Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin said of Mullins performance. “Sowers yesterday and Mullins today. The turning point in my mind for Mullins was the third inning with a guy on base and him striking out Smith and Harrison.” Vanderbilt’s Nicolas led off the fourth inning with a standup double down the left field line. Nicolas moved to third when Baxter hit a ground out to second base. Garza then hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field scoring Nicolas. It was Garza’s 27th RBI and third sacrifice fly on the season. In the ninth inning, Florida’s Ben Harrison hit a single to center field and moved to second on a wild pitch by Mullins. Jeff Corsaletti reached after he was hit by a pitch. Lewis then came in for Mullins – who threw 128 pitches in the game – and retired the side for his second save of the season. Going into the ninth inning, Mullins had retired 11 consecutive batters before Harrison hit his single. “We definitely came to this tournament feeling like we belong here,” Nicolas said. “It’s our second consecutive year and we’ve come with more confidence. We feel like every win we get here is big for us with what kind of seed we get in the NCAA Tournament. We came ready to play good baseball and build our resume.” The Commodores set the Vanderbilt school record for consecutive scoreless innings in the SEC Tournament with 18 (6-0 win over Georgia and 3-0 win over Florida). The previous mark was 14 in 1980 when the Commodores won the SEC Tournament championship. It’s also the first time Vanderbilt has shut out back-to-back SEC opponents since 1976 when the Commodores defeated Georgia 3-0 and 6-0 in Nashville during the regular season. The Commodores totaled seven hits in the contest led by Klosterman and Nicolas with two each. NOTE: The Commodores will host a NCAA Baseball Selection Show Party Monday (May 31) at 10:30 am at the Commodore Sports Grille in the Holiday Inn Select on West End Avenue. Head Coach Tim Corbin and the team will be on hand to find out where the Commodores will play in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. |
