NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Vanderbilt's Jake Eder stopped a ninth-inning collapse, as the Commodores survived a furious Indiana State rally to knock off the Sycamores, 8-5, in the winner's bracket game of the Nashville Regional before 3,636 at Hawkins Field on Sunday night.

After ISU scored four runs in the ninth off closer Tyler Brown, Eder stopped the bleeding with a strikeout of No. 3 hitter Jarrod Watkins, then, a game-ending double play that shortstop Ethan Paul, second baseman Harrison Ray and first baseman Julian Infante turned.

Starter Kumar Rocker went 6 2/3 innings, scattering seven hits, walking none and striking out eight while giving up one run, which was earned. He touched 97 with his fastball and his slider was outstanding.

Vanderbilt had just nine hits, and they came at key times. Four were in a four-run ninth that meant more than anyone realized at the time. Infante led the Commodores (51-11) with three hits and tied Paul for the team lead with two RBIs.

"It was just a hard-fought game, right to the end," VU coach Tim Corbin said. "We kind of knew that going in, knew that it didn't matter what the score was going to be. [ISU] certainly made it very interesting at the end, you have to give them credit, but I thought where we really established ourselves was on the mound tonight with Kumar."

The Commodores await the winner of Sunday’s elimination game between Indiana State (42-17) and Ohio State (36-26) , which is at 2 Central, at 8.

If Vanderbilt wins, it advances from the regional. If not, it’ll play again Monday night at 6 for another crack at the title.

VU hasn't named a starter, and probably won't until Sunday afternoon. It's expected to be one of two right-handers, either Patrick Raby or Mason Hickman.

ISU will start its normal No. 3 starter, Tyler Whitbread, in Sunday's first game.

The Commodores, the visiting team on their own field, had about as safe a lead as possible coming into the ninth. They led 8-1 and had Brown, who'd not given up a run--earned or otherwise--in his last 10 outings, which spanned anywhere from one to three innings each.

ISU's C.J. Huntley led off the ninth with a homer over the big wall in left, just his second of the year. He gave up a single, a walk, a single and another single in succession as the Sycamores scored two and had the bases loaded--still with nobody out.

Brown then got a much-needed ground ball from second baseman Jake Means to Paul, who'd been about as reliable in the field as Brown had been on the hill. But Paul threw past Infante at first, and two more scored.

With the tying run at the plate and (still) nobody out, Eder got Watkins looking on a 2-2 pitch, then, Paul redeemed himself by starting a game-ending double play.

Even before VU's four in the ninth, this one was more closely contested that the score indicated. The Sycamores trailed by two with one out and a man on second in the eighth, but Brown and Hugh Fisher each had a strikeout to escape the jam.

ISU shortstop Clay Dungan lined a 2-0 pitch to center for a single to lead off the bottom of the first, and Means snuck a grounder through short. A sacrifice bunt by second baseman Watkins moved each over a base, and then right fielder Roby Enriquez’s ground-out to short got a run in.

ISU starter Collin Liberatore befuddled VU early with his change-up, retiring the first five Commodore hitters—three on strikeouts.

But with two outs in the second, the right-hander began to fall behind in counts, and the game changed.

Left fielder Stephen Scott singled to center on a 1-0 pitch, and Ray walked on 3-1. DH Ty Duvall lined a single to right for a run on a 1-0 pitch, and then Infante rolled a double to the wall in left center to give VU a 3-1 advantage.

In the fourth, center fielder Pat DeMarco uncorked a double off the wall to score third baseman Austin Martin for a three-run advantage.

By that point, Rocker had settled in, by, as Huntley said, "pitching backwards" in getting several first-pitch strikes with his slider.

After getting a double play to end the third, he retired the next eighth hitters before giving up a one-out double to Watkins in the sixth and then an infield single to Enriquez.

Rocker then bore down and got DH Chris Ayers on two sliders and then a swing-and-miss on a fastball, all on the outer part of the plate, ending the threat and the inning at 88 pitches.

Rocker had an 0-2 count on Huntley before he lined a single to right-center to lead off the seventh. Catcher Max Wright bounced to Ray, but the ball fell out of Ray’s glove and everyone was safe.

Rocker struck first baseman Dane Tofteland out swinging, and got center fielder Luke Fegen looking with his 101st pitch.

That was his last. VU went to Fisher, who got a ground out to Infante from the tough-to-retire Dungan on the first pitch to get out of it.

Infante doubled off the wall in left—missing a homer by about a foot—for a double to lead off the ninth. Martin followed with a line-drive single to center. ISU had Tyler Ward intentionally walk right fielder J.J. Bleday, and then Paul laced a double to the gap in center for two runs.

Vandy added two more before Huntley homered to left to start the ninth. It was the first one Brown has surrendered this season.

What a journey it’s been for Martin, who went from Opening Day starter at third to third base, where he earned Southeastern Conference All-Defensive Team honors this season.

With two out in the second and a runner on third, Fegen dropped a great bunt down on third. Martin had to charge and bare-hand the ball and make a perfect throw to first with little time to waste—and that’s exactly what he did.

It saved a run, and was many fantastic plays the sophomore has made of late.

Infante made his first two errors this season on Friday. With Means on first, Watkins bounced a ball to Infante, who didn’t hesitate to fire to Paul at second. He took the return throw for an inning-ending, 3-6-3 double play.

Infante also made an unassisted put-out to end the seventh, saving Rocker from two potential earned runs after he departed.

"We played very good defense, with the exception of a couple of plays," Corbin said. "I thought we handled the ball well. ... Julian had as many RBIs on the defensive side tonight as he had on the offensive side. He saved a bunch of runs tonight."

"I think it defines my outings at times," Rocker added. "The glove plays they make are just ridiculous behind me."

Liberatore was tough when he got ahead in counts, which made what Ray did on Saturday important.

Ray, whose plate discipline has improved markedly in recent weeks, had a terrific approach on Saturday. He ran the count to 3-1 in his first at-bat, taking a two-out walk to keep the inning alive and set up Infante’s double.

In the third, Ray walked on a nine-pitch at-bat. VU didn’t score that inning, but the 14 pitches he saw in those two at-bats pushed Liberatore to 68 pitches at the end of four innings. He saw four pitches his next time up before flying to center.

Fisher pitched to four batters, and gave up a bloop single to center and also threw a wild pitch.

Other than that, he was hard to touch. Fisher was hitting 96 with his fastball and got cleanup hitter Enriquez chasing a slider out of the zone for the second out of the eighth.

Brown got Romero Harris swinging for the third out of the eighth, then, Eder came through in the biggest spot of his career in the ninth.

SU1: Enriquez ground-out to short scored Dungan. ISU, 1-0

V2: Duvall single to center scored Scott. Tied-1

V2: Infante double to left center scored Ray, Duvall. VU, 3-1

V4: DeMarco double off the wall in left scored Martin. VU, 4-1

V9: Paul double to left scored Infante, Martin. VU, 6-1

V9: Scott ground-out scored Bleday. VU, 7-1

V9: Ray single up the middle scored Paul. VU, 8-1

ISU9: Huntley homer off Brown. VU, 8-2

ISU9: Dungan single to right scored Wright. VU, 8-3

ISU9: Nowaskie, Hanna score on Paul's throwing error. VU, 8-5