NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt broke a deadlock with a three-run home run from Stephen Scott in the sixth inning and rode a pair of steady pitching performances to a 9-2 victory against UMass-Lowell on Sunday afternoon at Hawkins Field.
The win solidified the three-game sweep for the No. 13 Commodores (7-1) and moved the team’s winning streak to six games. Vanderbilt went a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen bases and finished one shy of matching a Hawkins Field record.
UMass-Lowell (2-5) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-out single from Michael Young but only produced a pair of hits the remainder of the way. Starter Chandler Day permitted three hits and two runs while walking one and fanning six in a no decision.
Tyler Brown (1-0) took things the rest of the way to pick up the win, tossing the final four scoreless frames while allowing just a leadoff single in the ninth inning. The freshman struck out six hitters and sat down 12 of the 13 batters he faced.
Vandy knotted things up in the second, using three-straight hits including an RBI-triple from Alonzo Jones and an Austin Martin RBI-single to even the score at 2-2. The Dores put runners on in the third and fifth but finally broke through in the sixth.
Philip Clarke lined a leadoff single into right and two batters later, JJ Bleday drew a five-pitch walk, chasing starter Henry Funaro (0-1) from the game. After hitting a towering foul ball on his first pitch, Scott made the correction, sending a three-run home run into the right field bleachers to provide the Dores a 5-2 advantage.
Four hits in the seventh inning led to three insurance runs as Clarke (single), Jayson Gonzalez (single) and Scott (groundout) recorded RBIs to push the lead to 8-2. Scott set a career-high with four RBIs as part of a 2-for-4 performance.
A wild pitch plated the final Vanderbilt run in the eighth. The Dores hit .370 in three games against the River Hawks and posted a .517 on-base percentage while swiping 12 bases in as many tries. Vandy did not commit an error in the set and recorded a 1.33 ERA while outscoring UMass-Lowell, 39-4.
The Commodores return to action on Tuesday, hosting Austin Peay at 4 p.m. at The Hawk. Vandy closes its 10-game homestand a day later against Indiana State, getting underway at 4 p.m.
