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TEMPE, Ariz. — Mike Minor pitched eight solid innings and Vanderbilt pounded out 16 hits in a 9-4 win over Stony Brook in the elimination game of the NCAA Tempe Regional Saturday afternoon at Packard Stadium.
The Commodores (41-21) will face the loser of tonight’s Oklahoma-Arizona State contest tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. CT/1 p.m. MT. The Seawolves season ended with a 34-26 record.
Minor gave up four runs on seven hits in eight innings with seven strikeouts and one walk to improve to 7-3 on the year.
“The game was predicated on the start of Mike Minor,” said Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin. “To go deep into a ball game, especially after we lost the first game and have to play five games to win it. We needed a starting pitcher to go deep and he did. It was a hot day obviously and he threw a lot of strikes. [He had] one tough inning, but it wasn’t all his fault. He overcame it and pitched a very solid eighth. I think it stops and ends with him.”
Back-to-back triples by Pedro Alvarez and Ryan Flaherty gave the Commodores an early 1-0 lead.
VU added two more runs in the second to extend the lead to 3-0. Alex Feinberg walked and three consecutive singles by Steven Liddle, Andrew Giobbi and Shea Robin added two runs to the lead. The team’s opportunity for more damage in the inning was thwarted by a triple play on a popped up bunt attempt by Jonathan White.
Mike Tansey doubled to lead off the third, advanced on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly by Justin Echevarria to get the Seawolves on the board.
Minor pitched out of a jam in the fifth when Steven Mazzurco doubled to lead off the inning and moved to third on a single by Stephen Marino. Minor buckled down and struck out Tansey for the first out. Keith Fier then popped up a squeeze bunt that Minor caught and threw to third to get Mazzurco for the double play to end the inning.
VU plated three runs in the sixth to extend the lead to 6-1. Liddle tripled and scored on sacrifice fly by Giobbi. Reliever Jeremy Nowak hit Robin with a pitch and Jonathan White walked with two outs before David Macias singled to right to score a run. Alvarez then singled in another run to close out the scoring.
The ‘Dores added three more runs in the seventh to make it 9-1. Dominic de la Osa walked and moved to third on a double to right-center by Alex Feinberg. Liddle doubled down the left field line to plate both runners and Giobbi added a RBI single for third run in the frame.
Stony Brook put up three runs in the seventh to cut the lead to 9-4. Marino had a RBI single and two runs came in on a grounder by Tansey that got through Alvarez at third.
Gary Novakowski (7-5) gave up four runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings of work with four walks and two strikeouts in the losing effort for the Seawolves.
Andrew Giobbi led the Commodores with four hits and three RBI on the day, with Pedro Alvarez and Steven Liddle adding three hits each.
“I think Coach said we more aggressive today,” said Liddle. “We hit the ball a little better the other way today than yesterday. Guys weren’t pulling off balls like yesterday. I think the hits finally fell through.”
Vanderbilt 120 003 300 -9 16 2
Stony Brook 001 000 300 -4 7 0
Minor, Reid (9) and Robin. Novakowski, Novak (6), Purington (7), Barbot (7) and Echevarria. W- Minor 7-3, L- Novakowski 7-5. Sv-None HR: None.
