College Station, Texas – No. 8 Vanderbilt used a stellar start from Kyle Wright to even the series at No. 2 Texas A&M on Friday night with a 6-1 win at Blue Bell Park.
The Aggies (36-10, 15-8) threatened again early on Friday putting runners on the corners after Kyle Wright walked Nick Banks with out and gave up a single to Boomer White. But unlike Thursday night, the Commodores (36-11, 14-9) were able to escape the jam without giving up a run thanks to a strikeout out and groundout. Wright took off from there, not allowing a hit until the fifth when JB Moss doubled with two outs before Wright finished the inning with his third strikeout of the night. A leadoff single in the sixth gave the Aggies hope but Wright again was up to the task, getting a strikeout and a pair of fly outs to end the frame. The sophomore punched out a pair in a perfect seventh inning to finish off his outstanding night and earn his sixth win.
The Commodores were unable to find the big hit on Thursday night and wasted a leadoff single in the first inning from Jeren Kendall Friday. But the Dores finally broke through in the third inning when Tyler Campbell and Connor Kaiser were hit by pitches to start the inning. Kendall dropped down a perfectly placed bunt for a base hit with White’s throw from third going wide for an error allowing Campbell to score. Will Toffey followed by hitting into a double play that allowed Kaiser to trot home from third for a 2-0 lead.
Vanderbilt stretched the lead with two more in the fifth when Julian Infante walked and Alonzo Jones doubled to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. Another Texas A&M error brought the two freshmen across for a four-run VU lead. Jones drove in a run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly and Kaiser added more insurance with a clutch, two-out single to score Nolan Rogers in the eighth.
Kendall led the way for the Dores going 3-for-4 with three stolen bases to push his season total to a team-best 23.
Texas A&M starter Brigham Hill took his first loss of the year, giving up five runs, three earned, on five hits over 4.1 innings. White led the Aggies’ offense with two hits.
The two teams decide the series tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. on SEC Network. Patrick Raby gets the nod for the Commodores against the Aggies’ Kyle Simonds.
