LOS ANGELES – Vanderbilt jumped on No. 8 TCU early and reliever Patrick Raby worked out of key jams to help lead the No. 15 Commodores to a 7-4 victory on Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
The Commodores sent eight hitters to the plate in the first, finding the scoreboard on a Pat DeMarco single through the left side. Four batters later, Connor Kaiser sent a two-out, two-run single into center, plating JJ Bleday (single) and DeMarco. Vandy continued its two-out damage in the second, chasing TCU starter Nick Lodolo (3-1) as Jayson Gonzalez lined a two-run single up the middle for a 5-0 lead. The Dores tagged Lodolo for six hits and five runs in 1.2 innings. Five Commodore batters recorded hits the first time through the order while Gonzalez and Kaiser drove in two runs each.
The Horned Frogs (9-4) trimmed their deficit in the home half of the second, using a three-run home run from eight-hole hitter Conner Shepherd to make it 5-3. TCU threatened further, putting runners on first and second before Stephen Scott cut down the trailing runner at second base as part of a double steal attempt.
After a leadoff walk in the third, Vanderbilt headed to the bullpen. Raby (1-2), Sunday’s originally scheduled starter prior to Saturday’s rainout, induced a 4-6-3 double play after a fielder’s choice put runners on the corners. The right-hander was effective with TCU runners on base, stranding Luken Baker at third in the fifth after a groundout scored one Horned Frogs run. Two innings later, Zach Humphreys laced a one-out triple off the wall in left only to be stranded there following a pair of strikeouts.
Raby tossed five innings, scattering three hits while allowing one unearned run alongside three walks and eight strikeouts to earn the win.
The Dores added insurance in the sixth, using singles from Julian Infante and DeMarco, alongside a hit batter, balk and wild pitch to up their lead to 7-4. Zach King held TCU to one hit in the eighth and Reid Schaller locked up his first collegiate save, permitting a hit without allowing a run and fanning one in the ninth.
The win vaults Vandy to 12-4 overall and 5-1 against D1Baseball.com Top 25 opponents.
The Dores return to Hawkins Field for the first time in two weeks, hosting Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. Vandy opens SEC play next weekend with three games at Mississippi State.
