Hunter Owen threw seven innings and allowed just two runners, leading Vanderbilt to a 4-1 win over Alabama at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Friday night.

Owen struck out nine and threw 67 strikes out of 93 pitches. He allowed a home run to Caden Rose in the sixth.

Ryan Ginther pitched a scoreless eighth and Nick Maldonado a perfect ninth.

Vanderbilt's Parker Noland homered, while Enrique Bradfield Jr. had two hits and scored a run.

The Commodores (34-12, 17-6 Southeastern Conference) ended the night a half-game in the SEC's overall standings behind LSU (37-8, 16-5).

After a four-inning start last week, Owen had everything working on Friday. The biggest reason was command of a curve which at times has looked like his best pitch.

Last week, Owen didn't have feel for that pitch and threw it just once. On Friday, that pitch, paired with a fastball that sat around 93 and a mid-80s slider were key.

The game lasted just 2:05.

Noland started the scoring with a solo shot to right off Garrett McMillan that barely cleared the 320-foot wall in right.

In the third, Alan Espinal walked and Bradfield had an infield single and then Davis Diaz whacked double past third to make it 2-0.

Diaz and RJ Screck had back-to-back sacrifice flies to deep center in the fifth, scoring Espinal and Bradfield to make it 4-0.

Alabama's Colby Shelton singled to right just out of Screck's reach in the fifth to break up a perfect game with two outs. But Owen punched Ed Johnson out on a 93-mile-an-hour fastball to end that inning.

The Crimson Tide, playing just after coach Brad Bohanan was fired amidst a gambling scandal, beat Vanderbilt 11-2 on Friday. The Commodores made a pair of lineup changes, inserting Espinal for Jack Bulger at catcher and TJ McKenzie for Matthew Polk in left.

Saturday's deciding game starts at 2.