Vanderbilt Baseball played the second David Williams Fall Classic game on Tuesday evening. Team Black was able to even the best of three series at one game apiece with a 4-2 victory.
Early in the game, Team Black generated offense, putting four runs on the board in the first two innings. Home runs from RJ Austin and Brodie Johnson highlighted this early offense. However, team Gold did not go down without a fight as they rallied in the final innings to bring the game within two runs. Sawyer Hawks slammed the door on the Team Gold rally, entering with bases loaded and one out but escaping the jam unscathed. He continued to dominate in the seventh, sealing the victory for Team Black.
What they said
Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin had words of praise for Sawyer Hawks after the game.
“He’s pitching, not throwing. He’s throwing three different pitches for strikes, so that’s the difference, and that lends itself to confidence,” Corbin said.
When asked about Jonhston’s performance, Corbin was assertive about the freshman’s high confidence at the plate.
“I don’t think [Johnston] thinks too much about anything but success. I think [he] gets in the batter’s box and feels like something is going to happen every time,” Corbin said. “He’s not going to carry one at-bat into the next. He keeps it simple.”
Corbin also had words of praise for RJ Austin, particularly referencing his development over the last two years.
“He’s much more deliberate at the plate. He’s seeing the ball longer, and his moves are tighter,” Corbin said. “[Austin is] an older hitter that has pretty good presence, and he’s seeing the ball well.”
The game
Top 1: Black 0, Gold 0
Team Black sent out Alex Kranzler to start the game. The 6’3” right-hander retired Team Gold 1-2-3 to begin his night. Team Gold’s leadoff hitter Chris Maldonado popped up to left-center field, Mike Mancini grounded to first base and Rustan Rigdon struck out swinging.
Bottom 1: Black 1, Gold 0
Connor Fennell took to the mound to start the game for Team Gold. The Sophomore from Londonderry, N.H., kicked off his game by striking out freshman phenom Johnston. His fortune would end there as he surrendered a solo home run to the game’s next batter, Austin. The junior barreled a 3-1 pitch, which landed halfway up the left-center field bleachers. Fennell followed this by allowing a double down the left field line to Jayden Davis but was able to limit the damage to one run after retiring Connor Barczi to end the inning.
Top 2: Black 1, Gold 0
Kranzler returned to the mound for his second inning of work and continued to dominate. The sophomore from Norwood, N.J., once again retired team gold 1-2-3 in the frame, including two strikeouts to Jonathan Vastine and David Mendez, respectively.
Bottom 2: Black 4, Gold 0
Team Black’s bats stayed hot, scoring three more runs in the second inning. Leadoff hitter Braden Holcomb doubled down the left field line and later scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ryker Waite. Fennell had the opportunity to end the inning after RJ Hamilton laid down a two-out bunt; however, he bounced the throw to first, resulting in a single for Hamilton. He would come in to score immediately after the following batter, Johnston crushed a no-doubt homer over the left field wall. Austin extended the inning by recording a double but was left on base when Rogers struck out swinging.
Top 3: Black 4, Gold 0
Kranzler made quick work once again in the third. The righty punched out Koby Kropf to start the inning, then forced AJ DePaolo to ground out to second base. He surrendered his first base runner of the game after striking Will Hampton with a breaking ball off his knee but quickly retired the following batter, Maldonado, to end the frame.
Bottom 3: Black 4, Gold 0
Jacob Schulz took to the mound for Team Gold to begin the third inning. The Houston, Texas native retired the first batter he faced, Davis, on a line out to deep center field. The following batter, Barczi, reached on a fielding error by first baseman Maldonado and then proceeded to steal second base. Schulz surrendered a walk to the following batter and promptly followed it with a wild pitch, allowing the baserunners to advance to second and third base, respectively. He escaped the jam after Waite grounded out to second to end the inning.
Top 4: Black 4, Gold 0
Brennan Seiber relieved Kranzler to start the fourth inning. The 6’5” righty threw a scoreless inning, inducing two groundouts and one flyout. Rigdon got the sole hit of the inning via an infield single to first base.
Bottom 4: Black 4, Gold 0
Schulz returned to the mound to start the fourth inning, but his appearance would be short-lived. He got the hook after walking Team Black’s leadoff hitter, Hamilton, on four pitches. England Bryan came into the game and limited the damage. He got the first two outs of the inning with a strikeout and batter interference on a steal attempt of second by Hamilton. (Although Hamilton appeared safe at second, Team Black’s batter, Jonhston, was charged with interference.) The following batter, Austin, flew out to right field to end the inning.
Top 5: Black 4, Gold 0
Seiber returned to the mound for his second inning of work. The Newport Beach, Calif. native punched out Mendez to start the frame, then ran into trouble after allowing the following two batters to reach base. Kropf reached on a fielding error by first baseman Holcomb, and DePaolo reached on a hit-by-pitch. Seiber buckled down and escaped the inning without surrendering a run, capped off by a Maldonado ground out to third base.
Bottom 5: Black 4, Gold 0
Tristan Bristow entered the game for Team Gold to start the inning. The freshman from Helotes, Texas, was impressive in his debut as he posted a scoreless inning. He allowed a two-out single to Barczi but escaped the inning on a 0-2 strikeout by Holcomb.
Top 6: Black 4, Gold 2
Levi Huesman entered the game to start the sixth for Team Gold. He struck out Mancini to start the inning, then ran into major trouble, allowing the next five batters to reach base. Rigdon walked on four pitches, Rose singled and Vastine walked, leaving the bases loaded. The following batter, Mendez, ripped a single up the middle, scoring Team Gold’s first run of the game. Kropf followed by walking on four pitches, allowing another runner to cross the plate, and keeping the bases loaded. After Huesman’s apparent command struggles, Team Black turned to right-handed pitcher Sawyer Hawks to limit the damage, and he did just that, retiring the following two batters to end the inning.
Top 7: Black 4, Gold 2
Hawks returned to the mound in the seventh. The 6’4” senior from Lakeland, Fla., closed it out for Team Black with a 1-2-3 inning, capped off by a strikeout to Rigdon.
Vanderbilt Baseball will take the field for Game Three of the David Williams Fall Classic on Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. CDT.
