The No. 14 Vanderbilt Commodores secured their eighth win of the season on a beautiful Tuesday evening at Hawkins Field, taking down the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles by a score of 16-3.
Freshman Austin Nye toed the bump for Vanderbilt fresh off of a strong collegiate debut against Air Force last Monday and tossed 2.1 innings, surrendering three hits and two earned runs while striking out four. The four relievers who followed him were solid, combining for five strikeouts while allowing just five baserunners.
“I just think we have enough [bullpen] pieces where we can use them and we want to use them,” head coach Tim Corbin said. “They’re fresh and they want to pitch, and as long as they are executing they’ll find a way in there.”
At the plate, a combination of a patient approach and some clutch situational hitting allowed Vanderbilt to score runs in bunches. The Commodores collected 16 free passes and a slew of hits with runners in scoring position, including key doubles by Brodie Johnston, Colin Barczi, and Jacob Humphrey, over the course of the seven inning game. Mike Mancini and RJ Austin also played significant roles as they each reached base four times.
“The guys in front of me have been seeing a bunch of pitches which is helping me a lot,” Mancini said. “And then when I’m up at the plate…I just stick to the approach.”
Top 1: Vanderbilt 0, Tennessee Tech 2
Nye retired the first two batters of the inning on just four pitches before surrendering a two-out single to Mack Whitcomb. Jorsixt Jimenez followed up the base hit with a walk and Riley Black drove both of them home with a double down the left field line to give Tennessee Tech the early lead. The freshman right-hander was able to escape further damage, however, by picking up a strikeout to close out the opening frame.
Bottom 1: Vanderbilt 4, Tennessee Tech 2
The VandyBoys wasted little time erasing the early deficit, scoring four runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Senior right-hander Lucas Vega hit two of the first three batters and issued a walk before Barczi laced a double into right-center field, clearing the bases. Two batters later, Humphrey pulled a double of his own down the left field line to extend the lead to two.
Top 2: Vanderbilt 4, Tennessee Tech 2
The Golden Eagles were unable to respond in the second as Nye struck out two and stranded a runner at second base to keep the lead intact.
Bottom 2: Vanderbilt 5, Tennessee Tech 2
Austin led off the inning with a walk and quickly swiped his sixth bag of the year, leading Tennessee Tech to turn to the bullpen. He came around to score on an error by relief pitcher Drew Mattox, who spiked the ball into the ground while attempting to pick off Nelson at first base.
Top 3: Vanderbilt 5, Tennessee Tech 2
Nye returned to face the first batter of the inning and induced a flyout before giving way to Brennan Seiber out of the bullpen. The sophomore right-hander hit the first batter he faced but responded by retiring each of the next two batters on a groundout and a strikeout.
Bottom 3: Vanderbilt 10, Tennessee Tech 2
The third Tennessee Tech pitcher of the day, Jared Herzog, ran into similar problems as his predecessors, issuing four consecutive walks to and leaving the game with just one out, one run in and the bases still loaded. Right-hander Logan Moller entered the game in hopes of escaping the jam but found little success as Rustan Rigdon drew yet another walk and Riley Nelson singled to bring home the second and third runs of the inning respectively. Johnston followed with a two-RBI double down the left field line, bringing the Commodore total to ten and the lead to eight after just three innings.
Top 4: Vanderbilt 10, Tennessee Tech 2
Seiber made quick work of the Golden Eagles in the fourth, facing the minimum despite walking a batter thanks to a ground ball double play.
Bottom 4: Vanderbilt 14, Tennessee Tech 2
The runs just kept coming for Vanderbilt in the bottom half of the inning, as a trio of singles from Mancini, Jonathan Vastine, and Austin saw the lead grow to double digits before an out had been recorded. Sacrifice flies from Nelson and Mac Rose added further padding to the cushion
Top 5: Vanderbilt 14, Tennessee Tech 2
Dayton transfer Connor Fennell took the mound and looked sharp in his first inning of work, striking out the side on just 15 pitches.
Bottom 5: Vanderbilt 16, Tennessee Tech 2
Despite turning to the bench thanks to a comfortable lead, the Commodores had no trouble continuing to bring runs across. A pair of walks and a single loaded the bases for sophomore David Mendez, who drilled a two-RBI base hit to center field in his second at-bat with the team.
Top 6: Vanderbilt 16, Tennessee Tech 2
Corbin turned to his third reliever in the sixth, handing the ball to sophomore Luke Guth. The right-hander recorded one strikeout while allowing one walk in a scoreless inning of work.
Bottom 6: Vanderbilt 16, Tennessee Tech 2
Vanderbilt was finally held scoreless as the lineup went down in order in the team’s final at-bat of the game.
Top 7: Vanderbilt 16, Tennessee Tech 3
Graduate transfer Tommy O’Rourke entered the game to close things out for Vanderbilt and did exactly that. He allowed one run thanks to a pair of walks but escaped without further damage.
The VandyBoys will be back in action Feb. 28 at 7:00 CST to take on UCLA for the first of three games at the Southern California College Baseball Classic.
