NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt slid by No. 23 Louisville 3-2 Tuesday night to get back to .500 and give Head Coach Tim Corbin his 400th win as the Commodores’ skipper.
The game was tied 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth when Conrad Gregor drew a leadoff walk. A sacrifice bunt from Drew Fann and a groundout to first base by Connor Castellano advanced Gregor to third base for Jack Lupo. Louisville (33-16) went back to the bullpen for Dace Kime, whose first pitch ricocheted off catcher Kyle Gibson’s glove to the backstop allowing Gregor to slide into home for the go-ahead run. Freshman lefty Jared Miller (2-0) then worked his second scoreless inning to earn the win and level the Dores’ record at 24-24.
The Cardinals struck first in the opening frame when the first batter of the game, Cole Sturgeon, hit his first home run of the season into the right field bleachers. Vandy tied the game in the third inning when Fann singled to start the inning and scored on Anthony Gomez’s double. Sturgeon’s perfectly executed hit-and-run double in the fifth put Louisville back in front until Mike Yastrzemski tied the game in the eighth. Vince Conde led off the inning with a double and scored on Yastrzemski’s two-out single up the middle. Gomez led VU with two of the team’s five hits while Sturgeon had two of Louisville’s four hits.
Three Commodores pitchers held the Cardinals to just four hits on the night. Kevin Ziomek started and turned in 3.1 innings allowing one run on three hits with three strikeouts. Drew VerHagen allowed one run on one hit with three strikeouts over 3.2 innings before handing the ball over to Miller. Sturgeon (0-1) took the loss for Louisville giving up one run on one hit in 1.1 innings on the mound after starting the game in center field.
Vanderbilt returns to the road this weekend at No. 4 LSU. The Commodores and Tigers play Friday night at 7 p.m., Saturday night at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday will be broadcast on FOX SportsNet.
