No. 23 Vanderbilt Baseball (21-8, 4-5 SEC) bested Western Kentucky 5-4 to get back in the win column after a brutal sweep by Arkansas. The game went to extra innings after the Hilltoppers scored 3 runs in the eighth to tie the game up 4-4.
Austin Nye impressed yet again on the mound. His heater sat 92-93 and topped out at 94, helping him pick up 10 strikeouts in just 5.1 innings. The first-year is emerging as a midweek star for the Commodores, having only allowed two earned runs in 22.2 total innings this season.
RJ Austin stole headlines on the offensive side for the Commodores by driving home the game-winning run in the 10th inning. Brodie Johnston also turned heads with his sixth home run of the season that flew far out of the stadium confines.
“I thought his [Austin Nye’s] execution was really good, fastball execution in particular,” head coach Tim Corbin. “I know we do other pitches, but his fastball execution was good. [It] kept them off-base and gave us a great start into the sixth inning.”
Top 1: Vanderbilt 0, WKU 1
Western Kentucky’s first batter reached thanks to an error on a hard-hit ball by Riley Nelson, and the next batter drove him in with a double to the left-field gap. The next man up flew out to Rustan Rigdon in left, and Nye retired the next two to send Vanderbilt to the plate.
Bottom 1: Vanderbilt 0, WKU 1
Jacob Humphrey flew out to right, and Mac Rose did the same to start things off for the ‘Dores. Austin drilled one off the left-field wall and flew around the bases to reach second for Vanderbilt’s first hit of the day. Riley Nelson reached on balls, but Brodie Johnston struck out to strand Austin and Nelson.
Top 2: Vanderbilt 0, WKU 1
Johnston made a routine play to get the first out, Nye struck out the second batter with a heater and did the same for the third.
Bottom 2: Vanderbilt 3, WKU 1
Rigdon bunted for a base hit, and Jonathan Vastine singled with a line drive to left — but Chris Maldonado hit into a double play that nabbed Vastine and himself. Mancini drove Rigdon in with a single to level the game at 1-all. Humphrey bounced a triple off the left-center wall to score Mancini, and Humphrey scored the next play off a balk. Rose ended the inning with a pop-up to the catcher.
Top 3: Vanderbilt 3, WKU 1
The 3rd started off much like the 1st, with a grounder directed Nelson’s way—but the first baseman made the play this time around. Vastine made a smooth play to pick up the second out, and Nye retired the side with his fifth strikeout of the night.
Bottom 3: Vanderbilt 3, WKU 1
Austin grounded out to shortstop, Nelson flew out to deep center field and Johnston grounded out to third for a quick inning.
Top 4: Vanderbilt 3, WKU 1
Nye gave up a single to a grounder up the middle—but the runner got punched out at second by Rose the next at-bat thanks to an impressive tag by Vastine. Nye struck out the second batter, and the third grounded out to Vastine.
Bottom 4: Vanderbilt 3, WKU 1
Three straight fly-outs from Rigdon, Vastine and Maldonado constituted another three-up, three-down inning for the Commodores.
Top 5: Vanderbilt 3, WKU 1
Nye struck out the first two batters to pick up his eighth and ninth strikeouts of the game. The third batter reached first on a pop-up that dropped just between Austin and Humphrey, but Johnston caught a hard line drive his way to put Vanderbilt back on offense.
Bottom 5: Vanderbilt 3, WKU 1
Mancini reached on an error by the first baseman, but he got thrown out trying to steal second the next at-bat. Humphrey walked, but was thrown out at second after Rose hit into a fielder’s choice. A wild pitch advanced Rose to second, but Austin flew out to end the inning.
Top 6: Vanderbilt 3, WKU 1
The first man up singled, but the second man up struck out — Nye’s tenth punch out of the night. Nye was then pulled for Brennan Seiber, who struck out the first batter he faced. The next batter flew out to Austin, ending the top of the sixth.
Bottom 6: Vanderbilt 4, WKU 1
A comebacker from Nelson ricocheted off Western Kentucky’s pitcher, but the Hilltoppers still made the play at first. Johnston then sent a ball into near-orbit, clearing the left-center stands for his sixth homer of the season. Rigdon and Vastine struck out back-to-back to end the inning.
Top 7: Vanderbilt 4, WKU 1
Seiber walked the first batter, but compensated by striking out the next. A fielder’s choice notched the second out for Vanderbilt, and a Seiber strikeout retired the side.
Bottom 7: Vanderbilt 4, WKU 1
Maldonado took his base after eating a pitch to the shoulder, and a sacrifice bunt by Mancini advanced him to second. A sacrifice fly by Humphrey got Maldonado to third, but Rose grounded out to end the inning.
Top 8: Vanderbilt 4, WKU 4
Levi Huesman came in to relieve Seiber and struck out his first batter. However, the next two singled, and Huesman was promptly replaced by Tommy O’Rourke. The Stanford transfer’s stint was short-lived, as the first batter he faced drove in a run, and Miller Green came in to stop the bleeding. The bleeding continued, as a wild pitch from Green allowed a run to score. A walk on balls put runners on the corners, and a sacrifice fly pulled the game even. However, the runner on first got thrown out trying to take second to end the inning.
Bottom 8: Vanderbilt 4, WKU 4
The Commodores failed to answer in the eighth, as Austin grounded out, Nelson flew out and Johnston struck out.
Top 9: Vanderbilt 4, WKU 4
Alex Kranzler took the mound with the hopes of keeping the game level at 4-all. The first batter the sophomore faced reached first on a line-drive to the middle, took second on a wild pitch, then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Kranzler picked up a second out by forcing a ground out to third then struck out the next batter up to strand the runner at third and escape the inning.
Bottom 9: Vanderbilt 4, WKU 4
Rigdon struck out looking, Vastine struck out swinging and Maldonado grounded out to third for another three-up, three-down inning by Vanderbilt.
Top 10: Vanderbilt 4, WKU 4
Kranzler’s clutch play for Vanderbilt continued, as he struck one out and forced two groundouts to Vastine to give Vanderbilt another chance to seal the game.
Bottom 10: Vanderbilt 5, WKU 4
Mancini sent a deep shot to right-center, but Western Kentucky’s center fielder, Ryan Wideman, made a miraculous grab over the wall to rob Mancini of the walk-off home run. Humphrey advanced to second on an error and found himself on third after a single to right field by Rose. David Mendez, pinch-running for Rose, stole second to put two men in scoring position for the Commodores. RJ Austin walked it off with a single to score Humphrey.
The Commodores will now turn their attention to a road series in Gainesville against the Florida Gators from April 4-6.
