NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Vanderbilt catcher Ty Duvall hit a sixth-inning grand slam to break open a one-run game, helping the Commodores to a 12-1 win over Indiana State to win the Nashville Regional on Sunday evening, before a crowd of 3,626 at Hawkins Field.
First baseman Julian Infante blasted a pair of solo shots, and DH Philip Clarke added another. Center fielder Pat DeMarco added three hits, two runs and two RBIs.
Pitcher Mason Hickman threw seven innings, allowing one run while striking out nine, walking two and giving up three hits. He threw 94 pitches.
Lefty Zach King threw a pair of perfect innings to finish.
Vanderbilt (52-10) advances to the Nashville Super Regional, where it will meet Duke, the surprise winner of the Morgantown Regional as a 3-seed.
Infante was named regional MVP, and was joined by VU third baseman Austin Martin and pitchers Kumar Rocker and Drake Fellows.
Super Regional schedules will be announced at 7 a.m. Central on Tuesday morning.
The Commodores trailed 1-0 heading into the fourth, and held a precarious 2-1 lead going to the sixth. Duvall then drove a 1-1 pitch from ISU closer Tyler Grauer several rows deep into the right-field bleachers.
"I felt very good when [Duvall] got to the plate off [Grauer]," coach Tim Corbin said. "Duvie's handled lefties pretty well."
Hickman was sharp out of the gate, mixing three pitches for a perfect two-strikeout, eight-pitch first inning.
But with one out in the second, right fielder Roby Enriquez blasted a homer into the bleachers in right.
Hickman struggled to throw strikes in the third and uncharacteristically walked No. 8 hitter Dane Tofteland and third Jake Means, but got second baseman Jarrod Watkins looking to end the inning.
The Commodores had three reach base in the third, but didn’t score. Finally, Clarke homered well out to right on a 1-0 pitch to tie in the fourth.
After Guerrero struck Duvall out to start the fifth, Infante launched one several rows deep into the bleachers in left for Vandy’s first lead of the night.
With two out in the sixth, DeMarco chopped a ball softly down third and took second as Means’s throw got into the camera well. The Sycamores intentionally walked left fielder Stephen Scott to get to second baseman Harrison Ray.
Guerrero went to 2-0 on Ray, including a wild pitch that advanced runners a base, before ISU went to closer Tyler Grauer, who threw 65 pitches Friday, in mid-count.
Two balls later, Ray stood on first. Duvall took a 1-1 pitch and drove it a few rows into the bleachers in right for a 6-1 lead.
Infante followed with a blast over the big wall in left.
By that time, Hickman had settled in. The Sycamores didn't get more than two runners on in any inning all evening.
"What he did really well was, he was not only utilizing both sides of the plate, but he was using the top and the bottom of the zone, kind of when he wanted,: ISU coach Mitch Hannahs said. "And I think that really helped him.
"His ability to throw the fastball to the top of the strike zone, and tunnel his breaking ball off of it, was really effective. I don't know his spin rate, but I know the ball was really getting on our hitters and I haven't seen that for probably two or three weeks, where we had someone mow us down like that."
"It was just small adjustments throughout the game that allowed me to find the zone a little more, get into a rhythm, get into a pace, that sort of thing," Hickman said.
The crowd cheered loudly when Infante was awarded Nashville Regional MVP afterwards. Infante struggled at the plate through his junior year, and for parts of this season, but launched three home runs in the regional.
"He's the best teammate I think I've ever had," Duvall said. "He's gotten through some ups and downs but he doesn't change. He comes into the clubhouse the same every single day, and you're so happy to see a guy like that get success."
Corbin said the decision to start Hickman, instead of normal weekend starter Patrick Raby,, was made easier by the fact that Raby tweaked his back earlier in the week.
It's the third year in a row the Commodores have won a regional, and the first they've won at Hawkins Field since 2015. VU will make its sixth appearance in a super regional in seven years.
Notes
Infante’s second homer was his 11th of the year, and the team’s 87th, setting a school record.
All three VU games of the Nashville Regional sold out.
Zach King hit 98 on the stadium gun at least twice, and was hitting 96 and 97 with the others, in the eighth.
Scoring summary
ISU2: Enriquez homer to right. ISU, 1-0
V4: Clarke home run to right. Tied-1
V5: Infante homer to left-center. VU, 2-1
V6: Duvall grand slam scored DeMarco, Scott and Ray. VU, 6-1
V6: Infante homer to left. VU, 7-1
V7: Clarke triple to left scored Bleday. VU, 8-1
V7: DeMarco single to left scored Clarke. VU, 9-1
V7: Ray sacrifice fly to right scored DeMarco. VU, 10-1
V8: DeMarco single scored Paul. VU, 11-1
V8: Clarke scored on Tofteland's error. VU, 12-1
