No. 11 Vanderbilt (31-11, 11-8) kicked off its series against Mississippi State (27-15, 10-9) with a solid 4-0 victory. Home runs from Jonathan Vastine and Alan Espinal led the way for the Commodores, with the defense playing nearly perfect behind Bryce Cunningham’s shutout complete game.
On the mound for the Commodores was the previously mentioned Cunningham, who was coming off a 7-strikeout performance against Florida. Cunningham produced another stellar performance, giving up only two hits and striking out four batters through a complete 9.0 innings.
“It was special. It was good from start to finish. It had to be, that’s [Mississippi State] a really good team,” head coach Tim Corbin said. “He [Cunningham] was very determined to finish and he’s worked very hard this year to put himself in that position to begin with.”
The VandyBoys started in stride defensively, Cunningham and Co. breezing through a 1-2-3 inning which included forcing Mississippi State’s star Dakota Jordan into an early strikeout. The Bulldogs’ RHP Khal Stephen faced a different fate, giving up a moonshot of a home run to Vastine on his first pitch. Two outs later, the Commodores would catch Stephens again, as this time Espinal would launch a home run to left field. Through just one inning, Vanderbilt led 2-0.
After getting through another three up and three down frame, Vanderbilt returned to the batter’s box eager to add to its lead. Following a Troy LaNeve groundout, Matthew Polk was able to slip a single into the right field gap, proceeding to steal second and then third after a wild pitch. Ultimately, Colin Barczi was able to drive Polk in with a groundout to second base.
For the third frame in a row, the Bulldogs remained hitless, struggling to get any quality contact off Cunningham. However, Stephens was able to settle down a bit for Mississippi State, finally holding Vanderbilt without a hit.
Mississippi State would get its first hit of the game with two outs on a high-bouncing single from Johnson, who was then joined on base by Hunter Hines after a walk. Both would be left stranded on base though as Connor Hujsak hits into a fielder’s choice at shortstop, ending the top of the fourth. The Commodores also found no luck in the bottom of the fourth, quickly going down in order.
The fifth inning was the same for both sides, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt uneventfully going three up and three down. Cunningham continued his brilliant outing into the sixth, once more retiring the Bulldogs in order with a pop-up and two lineouts. Through six frames, Cunningham was only at 79 pitches, giving up just one hit and one walk. The bats continued to run dry for the Commodores as Vastine and Davis Diaz struck out in another inning without a hit.
After four straight innings without a hit for either side, Hujsak was able to notch a double to left field before an error by Jayden Davis let Logan Kholer reach first. With runners on the corners and two outs, Cunningham pitched to an 0-2 count and then forced Amani Larry to ground out.
The VandyBoys were able to respond quickly as Davis worked a full count before clipping a single over the head of Hines at first base. He would advance after LaNeve grounded out to second and then reached third base behind a wild pitch. Afterward, Polk got on base with a walk but was left stranded when Barczi flew out deep to center.
Cunningham’s outing would continue in the eighth, velocity unwavering as he once again dominated the side retiring three more batters. Stephen’s night would finally end in the bottom of the eighth, as he was pulled after giving up a double to Braden Holcomb and causing Vastine to fly out. Cam Schuelke took over, facing RJ Austin with one out and a runner in scoring position. Jacob Humphrey came in to pinch run for Holcomb, immediately stealing third base. Austin ended up flying out to left field, but Humphrey immediately tagged up, beating the throw to home to push the Vanderbilt lead to 4-0.
Cunningham finished the night on the mound, walking one batter but earning three more outs to secure Vanderbilt’s 31st victory of the season.
“It was huge to keep everyone fresh and ready to go for the rest of the weekend,” Cunningham said.
The series will continue with game two tomorrow, Saturday, April 27 at 2 p.m. CDT at the Hawk.
