Eugene, Ore. – Kevin Ziomek tossed his second straight complete game as No. 2 Vanderbilt downed No. 15 Oregon 4-1 on Friday night at PK Park.
Ziomek (4-0) pitched around trouble from the Ducks (10-4) in the first stranding a pair of runners by recording his first strikeout of the game. The punch out would not be his last as he shut down Oregon for nine innings. The lefty had retired seven straight until the fourth inning when Ryon Healy led off the frame with a home run to left field. Ziomek bounced back to get the next three hitters and start a new streak of nine straight retired. The Ducks tried to start a rally in the seventh when Brett Thomas was hit by a pitch to lead off but Ziomek struck out two and induced a ground ball to get out of the inning. The junior finished off his night in the ninth by striking out Thomas to end the game and give the Dores their 12th straight win. Over his last two starts Ziomek has allowed one run on three hits with 28 strikeouts in two complete game victories.
The Vandy offense staked Ziomek to an early lead with a three-run second inning. Rhett Wiseman’s one-out single started a streak of six consecutive VU batters to reach base. Tony Kemp’s two-run triple knocked in Wiseman and Xavier Turner for the game’s first runs. The triple is Kemp’s 17th of his career leaving him four shy of the Southeastern Conference mark. Jack Lupo followed Kemp with a single to center field to stretch the lead to three runs. Vanderbilt tacked on a run in the ninth with Lupo dropping down a safety squeeze bunt to score Navin from third. Kemp and Lupo combined to drive in all four VU runs and go 3-for-7.
The Ducks were held to just two hits as starting pitcher Jake Reed (1-3) was pinned with the loss. Reed allowed three runs on six hits with seven strikeouts over seven innings.
Vanderbilt’s 12-game winning streak is the team’s longest since 2011 when the Dores reeled off 12 straight to start the season 19-1. Ziomek’s outing lowered the Commodores’ starting pitchers’ ERA to 1.50 and the group now has 110 strikeouts in 90 innings. The victory marked the 13th time this season Vanderbilt has held opponents to three runs or less.
The Commodores and Ducks play tomorrow afternoon with first pitch slated for 4 p.m. CT. Sophomore Tyler Beede gets the nod for the Dores against southpaw Tommy Thorpe for Oregon.
