Vanderbilt Baseball (26-18, 10-10 SEC) took the field on Sunday, April 26, to take on No. 4 Texas in a very important rubber match. The series was tied up at 1-1 after the Longhorns took Game 1, 11-4, on Friday night before Vanderbilt shut them out in Game 2, 6-0. The Commodores couldn’t quite muster up the momentum late in Sunday’s game to take the series, though, eventually falling 4-3 in extras.
Wyatt Nadeau took the mound for the Commodores in Game 3, looking to provide some length for a depleted bullpen. He did just that, going six innings while surrendering just four hits and two earned runs against a very potent Texas offense. Texas’s Luke Harrison took the mound for the Longhorns to start the game, efficiently going 4.1 innings before the bullpen took over.
Vanderbilt put up two runs in the third inning, eventually tying up the game in the eighth at three apiece and forcing the game into extra innings. The game-deciding run would be an unearned one, where Faulkner walked a Longhorn batter with the bases loaded to put Texas ahead 4-3 in the 10th inning, a deficit the Black and Gold were unable to surmount in the bottom of the inning.
“[The game was] competitive,” Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin said. “No one was giving an inch, really, particularly in the eighth inning. We kind of gave a couple bases away and it kind of bit us at the end…We really competed and battled. You can’t fault effort at all.”
Top 1: Vanderbilt 0, Texas 0
Nadeau went three up, three down as Texas’s Aiden Robbins flied out to right before Carson Tinney and Anthony Pack Jr. grounded and flied out, respectively.
Bottom 1: Vanderbilt 0, Texas 0
Vanderbilt’s Mike Mancini began the inning by striking out looking, but Brodie Johnston followed this up with a double to right field that hit off the wall. Braden Holcomb couldn’t send him home, though, striking out to put two outs on the scoreboard. Colin Barczi then grounded out to end the inning, leaving Johnston on base.
Top 2: Vanderbilt 0, Texas 0
Nadeau earned a ground out before hitting Ethan Mendoza with a pitch to send him to first. Ashton Larson then grounded into a double play, ending the inning as things remained scoreless at the Hawk.
Bottom 2: Vanderbilt 0, Texas 0
Luke Harrison had another successful inning, striking out Tommy Goodin and Rustan Rigdon to start the inning before Ryker Waite grounded out.
Top 3: Vanderbilt 0, Texas 0
The Longhorns’ offense continued to struggle, as Temo Becerra and Josh Livingston flied and grounded out, respectively, to start the inning. Nadeau walked Jayden Duplantier but followed it up with a strikeout of Robbins.
Bottom 3: Vanderbilt 2, Texas 0
Harrison hit Korbin Reynolds with a pitch to start the inning, as the Commodores were immediately threatening with a man on first. Will Hampton hit a chopper up the middle of the field which got him out at first on a fielder’s choice, advancing Reynolds into scoring position at second. Mancini struck out before Johnston hit a double to left field, but Reynolds fell on the third base line, keeping him at third base. With men on second and third and two outs, Holcomb ripped a double into the left field gap, sending two runners home. Vanderbilt had taken a 2-0 lead in the third inning.
Top 4: Vanderbilt 2, Texas 2
Tinney flied out to right to start the inning, before Pack Jr. hit a double up the left field line. Adrian Rodriguez then laced a double to the right field gap, sending a run home for the Longhorns. Mendoza then singled up the middle, sending Rodriguez home to tie up the game at 2-apiece. Larson grounded into a double play to end the frame.
Bottom 4: Vanderbilt 2, Texas 2
Vanderbilt went three up, three down, as Goodin and Rigdon grounded out before Waite struck out.
Top 5: Vanderbilt 2, Texas 2
Nadeau earned two key outs to start the fifth, retiring Becerra and Livingston. Duplantier then singled, but Robbins grounded out to end the inning. Nadeau had surrendered just four hits and two earned runs through five frames.
Bottom 5: Vanderbilt 2, Texas 2
Reynolds started the inning for the Commodores and struck out swinging on a full count before Hampton reached for the first time in the game on a fly ball that dropped in front of the Longhorns’ centerfielder. Mancini then drew a walk, prompting a Texas pitching change. Entering the game was Brett Crossland, a freshman right-hander. Crossland forced Johnston to fly out and caught Holcomb swinging to end the inning.
Top 6: Vanderbilt 2, Texas 2
Nadeau returned to the mound for the Commodores in the fifth inning, and quickly retired the side in order while adding another strikeout to bring his game total to three.
Bottom 6: Vanderbilt 2, Texas 2
Barczi started the inning by drawing a walk before Goodin struck out swinging and Rigdon grounded out to second — advancing Barczi to second. Waite was hit by a pitch to put another Commodore on base before Reynolds flew out to centerfield to end the inning.
Top 7: Vanderbilt 2, Texas 2
Jacob Schulz entered the game, replacing Nadeau and ending the starter’s appearance. The final line from Nadeau was 6 innings pitched, 4 hits, 2 earned runs, 3 strikeouts and 1 walk on 82 pitches. Schulz started his appearance by making Mendoza fly out to right field and Presley Courville, a pinch hitter, struck out swinging. Becerra walked on a 3-1 count and the Commodores made another pitching change, bringing in Alex Kranzler.
Kranzler worked Borba, another pinch hitter, into a 3-2 count before hitting him with a pitch. The Commodores got out of the inning unscathed, though, when Duplantier hit into a fielders choice out at second.
Bottom 7: Vanderbilt 2, Texas 2
The Longhorns made another pitching change to start the inning, replacing Crossland with left-hander Haiden Leffew. The junior forced the Vanderbilt side, Hampton, Mancini and Johnston, to come back empty-handed.
Top 8: Vanderbilt 2, Texas 3
Kranzler returned to the mound for the eighth, starting his inning by allowing Robbins to single to center field. After Robbins advanced to second on a wild pitch, the ‘Dores went to the bullpen replacing Kranzler with Miller Green. Robbins advanced on yet another wild pitch and Pack Jr. walked and then advanced to second on a pitch that got away from Reynolds. The Black and Gold intentionally walked Rodriguez to load the bases before bringing in Brennan Seiber from the bullpen.
Mendoza hit a high fly ball, which was put away by Rigdon in center field, but not before Robbins was able to tag up and score to put the Longhorns ahead. Vanderbilt got out of the inning when the next hitter, Callum Early, hit a ground ball to the shortstop.
Bottom 8: Vanderbilt 3, Texas 3
Holcomb led off for the Commodores in the eighth and was jammed up, resulting in a dribbler back to the pitcher for an out. Barczi followed with a strikeout and Goodin with a walk. He was promptly replaced with a pinch runner, Cade Sears. Rigdon stepped up to the plate and smacked the first pitch he saw down the right field line into the corner — a standup double that scored Sears and evened the score.
Texas opted for an intentional walk of their own, electing to put Waite on base. Reynolds made strong contact with the first pitch he saw but it went right to the shortstop, ending the inning.
Top 9: Vanderbilt 3, Texas 3
Seiber returned to the mound for the ninth inning, and got a quick out when Becerra flew out to right field. The Commodores made a pitching change after the out, bringing in Luke Guth — his second appearance in as many days. Guth walked the first batter, Borba, but recovered with a big out when he caught Duplantier swinging on a 0-2 count. He then worked Robbins up to a 2-2 count before striking him out swinging.
Bottom 9: Vanderbilt 3, Texas 3
Leading off the Commodores was Hampton, who quickly found himself battling a 0-2 count but ultimately struck out. Mancini then grounded out on a sliding play by the Longhorns’ second baseman. Johnston made something happen with a pop-up that found the gap in right field between the shortstop and outfielder, bringing Holcomb up to bat. The junior hit a liner just above the second baseman and into centerfield, advancing Johnston to third. Holcomb stole second on the first pitch to Barczi, who hit a pop-up to send the game to extras.
Top 10: Vanderbilt 3, Texas 4
Tyler Baird took over on the mound for the Commodores in extras. The freshman hit the first batter he faced, Tinney, who also advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Baird walked Pack Jr. on a 3-1 count and the Commodores made a pitching change, bringing in graduate student Jacob Faulkner, who quickly got two outs by forcing Rodriguez and Mendoza to pop up. However, he hit Early to load the bases and then walked Becerra to bring in a run and ended the inning when he struck out Borba.
Bottom 10: Vanderbilt 3, Texas 4
Max Jensen, a pitch hitter, struck out swinging before Rigdon singled to second base and Waite was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second, who advanced to third and second on a balk from Sam Cozart. Reynolds struck out swinging, bringing Hampton to the plate, who struck out, bringing the game to an end.
Vanderbilt will host Middle Tennessee for a midweek matchup before traveling to Tuscaloosa for a weekend series against Alabama.
