NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt used a four-run fifth inning in game one and a complete game shutout in game two to sweep a doubleheader over Belmont, 8-6 and 3-0, Tuesday night at Hawkins Field.
The Commodores improved to 29-20 on the year, while the Bruins fell to 26-25. VU ended the season series with a 3-1 record against Belmont.
“The main thing is we won them both,” said Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin. “They were different games because in the first game we had to score some runs to beat them and then in the second game we played better defense and had a good pitching performance from Nick.”
Senior Nick Christiani pitched a complete-game five-hit shutout in the second game with seven strikeouts and one walk to move to 5-3 on the year.
“We needed a strong performance from Nick tonight and he came up big for us,” said Corbin. “He didn’t know that he was going to pitch and then we called his number and he responded. I thought that fifth inning tonight was real impressive. I thought Nick threw some hard strikes and the velocity of his fastball was good tonight, (92-94 mph) and it had some sink.”
VU took a 2-0 lead in the second inning of game two when Aaron Westlake singled and Andrew Giobbi doubled before Jason Esposito brought both home with a double down the left field line.
The Dores added another run in the fourth when Esposito singled to left and advanced to second when the leftfielder misplayed the ball. Joe Loftus then brought him home with a single to right to make it 3-0.
Westlake and Esposito each had two hits in the second game of the twinbill.
Frank Adelman also went the distance for Belmont in the nightcap, allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits in six innings of work with two strikeouts and a walk.
The Commodores broke open a 4-4 game with four runs in the fourth and then held on late for the 8-6 win in game one.
VU loaded the bases in fifth with no outs as Aaron Westlake singled, Andrew Giobbi walked and Jason Esposito was hit by a pitch. Jonathan White struck out and Joe Loftus popped out before Brian Harris was hit by a pitch to bring in the go ahead run. Riley Reynolds followed with a two-run single and Steven Liddle capped the inning off with a RBI single up the middle.
Belmont scored a run in the sixth on Packy Elkins solo homer and another on a RBI double by Brandon McCall in the seventh to cut the lead to 8-6. Russell Brewer came on in relief of starter Taylor Hill and retired the three batters he faced to end the game and pick up his fourth save of the year.
Hill (2-1) allowed six runs on 12 hits in six innings with five strikeouts and two walks in the winning effort.
Riley Reynolds led the offense with a 4-for-4 game and three RBI. Andrew Giobbi added two hits and two RBI as the only other hitter with a multi-hit showing in game one.
Derek Wiley’s RBI double in the first gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead. VU responded with two runs in the bottom half on Giobbi’s single up the middle.
Belmont scored another run in the second on Dylan Craig’s RBI single, but VU responded with two more runs in the bottom half on a Reynolds RBI single and a sacrifice fly RBI by Curt Casali to make it 4-2.
The Bruins scored a run in the third on Derek Hamblen’s RBI double and another in the fourth on Daniel Wagner’s RBI infield single to tie the game at 4-4.
The Commodores will be back in Southeastern Conference action this weekend at Georgia in a three-game series. The teams will open on Friday at 6 p.m. CT, and will continue on Saturday at Noon CT and at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday. Saturday’s game will be broadcasted regionally on CSS.
Game 1
Belmont 111 101 1 – 6 12 1
Vanderbilt 220 040 x – 8 9 0
Graskewicz, Ivie (4), Simmons (5) and Zeblo. Hill, Brewer (7) and Giobbi. W- Hill 2-1, L- Ivie 2-3. Sv- Brewer (4) HR: BEL: Elkins (3)
Game 2
Belmont 000 000 0 – 0 5 2
Vanderbilt 020 100 x – 3 7 0
Adelman and Zeblo. Christiani and Giobbi. W- Christiani 5-3, L- Adelman 1-2. Sv- None HR: None
