No. 22 Vanderbilt Baseball hosted the Texas A&M Aggies for the second game of its home SEC series at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tennessee. In a closely contested game, the Commodores won 3-1, securing the series win against Texas A&M and earning their first SEC series win after losing two out of three games against No. 20 Auburn last weekend.
JD Thompson was Vanderbilt’s starting pitcher for the game, while Justin Lamkin took the mound to start the game for the Aggies. Both pitchers looked dominant on the mound as it became clear early on that the game would be a low-scoring pitcher’s duel. Thompson ended the game with 6.1 innings pitched and only 1 earned run. Lamkin posted 7 innings and 3 earned runs.
“There were two talented left-handed pitchers on the mound tonight so runs were expensive and really tough to come by,” Tim Corbin said. “But as the game got going Thompson kept on getting better and it helped the team.”
Offensively, both teams were relatively quiet. After Vanderbilt and Texas A&M each scored one run in the second inning, the starting pitchers dominated before Vanderbilt brought in two runs in the seventh inning to take the lead, and eventually the game.
Top 1: Vanderbilt 0, Texas A&M 0
Thompson started the game off by getting leadoff hitter Kaeden Kent to ground out before giving up singles to Wyatt Henseler and Jace LaViolette. Thompson eventually settled in, striking out Terrence Kiel II and getting Gavin Kash to ground out as well.
Bottom 1: Vanderbilt 0, Texas A&M 0
Lamkin took the mound and quickly went 1-2-3 through the top of Vanderbilt’s lineup to end the inning.
Top 2: Vanderbilt 0, Texas A&M 1
Thompson started the inning by striking out Ben Royo and getting Hayden Schott to ground out. Bear Harrison then came to the plate and smashed Thompson’s first pitch for a solo home run before Sam Erickson fouled out for the third out of the inning.
Bottom 2: Vanderbilt 1, Texas A&M 1
Riley Nelson hit a leadoff double to start the inning, followed by Colin Barczi who grounded out and Mac Rose who worked a full count for a walk. Braden Holcomb grounded out but brought in a run before Jonathan Vastine struck out to end the inning.
Top 3: Vanderbilt 1, Texas A&M 1
Thompson started the inning against the top of the order once again and went 1-2-3 with two groundouts and a flyout.
Bottom 3: Vanderbilt 1, Texas A&M 1
Lamkin continued to show his comfort on the mound by quickly getting two Vanderbilt batters to fly out and one to hit a line drive that was caught in right field.
Top 4: Vanderbilt 1, Texas A&M 1
Thompson started the inning with a strikeout before Kash hit a single into center field. Royo followed with a groundball that was fielded to second for an out then Schott hit a single up the middle to advance Royo. Thompson then got Harrison to fly out to leave the inning with no damage done, stranding two.
Bottom 4: Vanderbilt 1, Texas A&M 1
Brodie Johnston started the inning off for Vanderbilt and hit the first pitch he saw down the third base line for a single. Nelson then hit a fly ball, caught by the center fielder, before Barczi grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Top 5: Vanderbilt 1, Texas A&M 1
Two strikeouts by Thompson were followed by an error on a groundball by Johnston that allowed Henseler to get on base. Another strikeout by Thompson ended the inning.
Top 6: Vanderbilt 1, Texas A&M 1
Thompson struck out all three on the side to go 1-2-3 and continue an impressive pitching performance.
Bottom 6: Vanderbilt 1, Texas A&M 1
Vanderbilt’s bats continued to go silent as Larkin struck out one and forced two others to ground out.
Top 7: Vanderbilt 1, Texas A&M 1
Thompson came back on the mound and struck out Schott for his 10th strikeout before Tommy O’Rourke came into the game to relieve him. O’Rourke then struck out the next two batters to retire the side.
Bottom 7: Vanderbilt 3, Texas A&M 1
Larkin came back on the mound and got Johnston to ground out before Nelson hit a double down the third base line. Barczi then hit an RBI double into center field that gave Vanderbilt its first lead of the game. Larkin got Rose to ground out, but an RBI single up the middle by Holcomb brought in a third run. Vastine then hit a flyout to end the inning.
Top 8: Vanderbilt 3, Texas A&M 1
Miller Green took over on the mound and went 1-2-3 with a groundout and two strikeouts to bring Vanderbilt closer to a win.
Bottom 8: Vanderbilt 3, Texas A&M 1
After 7 innings, Larkin was finally replaced by Kaiden Wilson who got all three batters to ground out to end the inning.
Top 9: Vanderbilt 3, Texas A&M 1
Green stayed on the mound to close out the game for Vanderbilt. Green struck out Kiel and pinch hitter Sawyer Farr before walking Royo. Green then faced pinch hitter Blake Binderup who hit a single into center field but was out after attempting to stretch the single into a double which ended the game.
Vanderbilt will go for the series sweep against the Aggies on March 22 at 2:00 p.m. CDT.
