Vanderbilt Baseball (21-15, 7-7 SEC) took on No. 16 Oklahoma (23-8, 6-8 SEC) for the series finale April 11. The Commodores took the first game of the series on Thursday night 10-5 after a two-homer night from Mike Mancini and a stellar seven-inning starting appearance from Connor Fennell. The ’Dores fell just short on Friday, though, when the Sooners came out with the 11-13 win. With each team having one win headed into Saturday, the finale would determine the winner. Both teams badly needed a series win, and the play did not disappoint.
Freshman Wyatt Nadeau made his first Game 3 start for the Commodores after head coach Tim Corbin moved him from the Game 2 slot. The Maine native was flashing some leather early, topping out at 96 mph in the first inning. Ultimately, Nadeau finished with a final line of 4 innings pitched, 5 hits, 4 runs 5 walks and 5 strikeouts on 83 pitches, before being replaced with Miller Green in the fifth inning.
Vanderbilt trailed Oklahoma until the bottom of the fifth when Brodie Johnston sent a fastball right back up the middle and over the batter’s eye to even the score 5-5. The two teams remained knotted at five each until the eighth inning when the Sooners added one run to their total. The Commodores were not done yet, after blanking Oklahoma in the top of the ninth they looked to walk it off in the bottom of the inning. The attempt came short, though, when the Commodores failed to score Waite who was in scoring position. Ultimately falling to the Sooners 5-6.
“If you can take a pitch in an at-bat, oftentimes there’s a lot to do with count leverage, and count leverage gives you a better opportunity to get on base. But we didn’t have that,” Corbin said. “That was, I think, the issues. We just didn’t really have a good command for our bats, because that [there was] a lot of empty outcomes.”
Top 1: Vanderbilt 0, Oklahoma 0
Nadeau started his game with a strikeout of Jason Walk before walking Jaxson Willits on a 3-1 count. The freshman then walked the next batter, Trey Gambill to put an Oklahoma runner in scoring position early. Nadeau recovered, striking out Brendan Brock before forcing Camden Johnson to hit an off-speed pitch back up the middle, where Ryker Waite fielded it and tagged second for the force play out.
Bottom 1: Vanderbilt 0, Oklahoma 0
Kadyn Leon got the start for Oklahoma and quickly got his first out by striking out Mancini. He then tallied another punch out when he caught Johnston looking on a 3-2 pitch that Johnston thought was ball four. The Commodores ended the quick inning on a long hit fly ball from Logan Johnstone that Walk easily tracked down.
Top 2: Vanderbilt 0, Oklahoma 0
Nadeau made quick work of the Sooners in the second, forcing them to go three-up-three-down in the inning while collecting 3 strikeouts, two swinging and one looking.
Bottom 2: Vanderbilt 0, Oklahoma 0
Vanderbilt failed to get any offense going in the second inning with Holcomb fouling out, while Goodin and Waite struck out.
Top 3: Vanderbilt 0, Oklahoma 3
Nadeau started the inning by showing off his athleticism, making a diving catch on a foul ball to grab the first out of the inning. However, he then promptly gave up a solo homer to Walk to put the Sooners up 0-1. After walking Willits and throwing a first-pitch ball to Gambill, pitching coach made a mound visit to his freshman righty. Gambill was then able to hit a double that got past a diving attempt from Logan Johnstone in right field, advancing Willits to third. Another hit, this time, from Brock brought Willits and Gambill home, but added a second out to the scoreboard when Brock was tagged out at second.
Bottom 3: Vanderbilt 2, Oklahoma 3
The Commodores gained some base runners when Rustan Rigdon and Carter Johnstone drew walks to put runners on first and second with no outs. After Korbin Reynolds worked a 2-0 count, Leon was visited on the mound by the coaching staff but remained in the game. Two pitches later, Reynolds was hit by a pitch, which was upheld by review and that made the bases loaded with Mancini up to bat. Mancini hit into a double play but was able to score Rigdon to make the score 1-3, and the inning concluded when Johnston fouled out.
Top 4: Vanderbilt 2, Oklahoma 4
The Commodores got a quick out when the Deiten LaChance popped up to second base, but then Nadeau walked Nolan Stevens, who then advanced to third on a single through the right side from Dayton Tockey. Branch singled to deep left field, advancing Tocket to second, who was tagged out at third due to a pinpoint throw from Holcomb in left field, but scored Stevens. An errant throw to first from Nadeau to check the runner brought Branch to second and then Nadeau walked Walk. Willits was jammed and hit a high fly to third base, which Johnston put away for the end of the half-inning.
Top 5: Vanderbilt 2, Oklahoma 5
Left-hander Miller Green took over on the mound for the Commodores, replacing Nadeau. Gambill walked before stealing second. Green would get his fist out when he caught Brock looking and a second when Johnson grounded out to third and advanced Gambill to third. Gambill ultimately scored on a double from LaChance before the half inning came to a close when Stevens grounded out to shortstop.
Bottom 5: Vanderbilt 5, Oklahoma 5
Smithburg returned to the mound for another inning of work for the Sooners. The redshirt sophomore got his inning started by forcing Rigdon to fly out before Carter Johnstone singled to center field. Reynolds struck out swinging but the ’Dores put a runner in scoring position after Mancini was hit by a pitch and Carter Johnstone advanced to second. Oklahoma made a pitching change with Johnston up to bat, replacing Smithburg with Isaac Williams, a right-hander. But Johnston sent a 1-1 fastball all the way to the batter’s eye and evened the score to five apiece. Logan Johnstone walked on a 3-1 count, spelling the end of the afternoon for Williams, who was replaced by right-hander Mason Bixby. Holcomb, the next batter up for the VandyBoys struck out swinging on a 3-2 count to end the inning.
Top 6: Vanderbilt 5, Oklahoma 5
Nate Schlote entered the game for the Commodores, taking over on the mound for Green and promptly made quick work of the side, forcing the Sooners to line out, fly out, and ground out, respectively.
Bottom 6: Vanderbilt 5, Oklahoma 5
Bixby returned to the mound and got two quick strikeouts of Goodin and Waite before walking Rigdon on a 3-2 count. Rigdon was promptly caught stealing second when he over-slid the bag, thereby ending the inning.
Top 7: Vanderbilt 5, Oklahoma 5
Schlote returned for another inning of work in the seventh and forced the first batter, Willits, to fly out to center, followed by striking out Gambill looking. Brock got the first hit off Schlote of the afternoon, a single back up the middle and then stole two more bases to put him at third with two outs. The Commodores were able to get out of the inning unscathed when LaChance hit a fly ball to right, which Carter Johnstone put away for the third out.
Bottom 7: Vanderbilt 5, Oklahoma 5
Vanderbilt went three up, three down in the top of the seventh when Carter Johnstone struck out swinging, Reynolds popped up to first base and Mancini struck out looking.
Top 8: Vanderbilt 5, Oklahoma 6
Schlote started the inning by making Stevens, the designated hitter, pop up to shortstop before walking Tockey. The Sooners opted to put in a pinch runner for Tockey, Dasan Harris, who advanced to second on an errant check-throw from Schlote to first base. Then, Branch delivered, hitting a hard grounder down the third base line and scoring Harris. Branch was later caught stealing second on a throw from Reynolds and then Walk advanced on balls, once again. Walk stole second and that marked the end of the night for Schlote. Replacing the freshman was Tyler Baird who got the ’Dores out of the half inning when Logan Johnstone made a sliding catch in right field on a quickly dropping pop fly.
Bottom 8: Vanderbilt 5, Oklahoma 6
Johnston got the offense rolling for the Commodores on a single down the left field line but that is all the Commodores would get. Logan Johnstone hit a fly ball to third base for the first out and then Holcomb and Goodin tallied outs two and three on a strikeout and groundout, respectively.
Top 9: Vanderbilt 5, Oklahoma 6
Vanderbilt got it’s first out when Rigdon made a diving catch to put away a line drive from Gambill. The Sooners then put a runner on when Baird walked Brock — who would later advance to second on a steal. Baird collected the second out for the Commodores when he struck out Johnson and then the half inning came to a close when LaChance grounded out to third base.
Bottom 9: Vanderbilt 5, Oklahoma 6
Waite started the rally off by drawing a walk, which was followed by a sacrifice bunt from Rigdon to put Waite — the game tying run — in scoring position. Corbin then opted to put in Mac Whitcomb as a pinch hitter for Carter Johnstone, who struck out swinging. The ‘Dores then put in another pinch hitter, Maldonado, for Reynolds. Maldonado hit a high fly that was put away by the Sooners to take the series.
Vanderbilt will next take on Lipscomb just down the road at Jim Dugan Field in Nashville, Tennessee April 14 at 6 p.m. CDT before traveling north for a conference series against Kentucky in Lexington.
