Vanderbilt’s Walker Grisanti and Ethan Paul hit clutch home runs, leading Vanderbilt to a 3-2 win over Georgia at Foley Field in Athens, Ga., on Friday night.
The Commodores (24-6, 7-3 Southeastern Conference) moved into a first-place tie with Georgia (25-6, 7-3) in the SEC East.
With one out in the ninth and Vandy down 2-1, Grisanti unloaded on the first pitch he saw from Aaron Schunk and launched a high, no-doubt home run to right to tie the game.
Right-hander Zach King, who’d thrown a scoreless eighth to keep VU in it, gave up a pair of ninth-inning runners, but struck out Cam Shepherd looking to end the threat.
After VU’s Tyler Brown stranded a pair in a scoreless top of the 10th, Paul hammered another Schunk breaking ball out to right, giving VU its first lead of the evening.
Brown gave up a one-out double in the ninth, but got a strikeout and a fly-out to end the game. He picked up his first victory of the season.
Starters Drake Fellows (Vanderbilt) and Emerson Hancock (Georgia) each went seven innings. Fellows struck out six, and Hancock, eight.
After Fellows gave up a hit and plunked a batter in the third, L.J. Talley singled through second to plate the game’s first run. John Cable added another two-out RBI hit.
Ty Duvall’s two-out single to center in the sixth tied the game.
Saturday’s Game 1 starts at 1 Central. Patrick Raby will start for the Commodores. Georgia will start lefty C.J. Smith.
Notes
Pat DeMarco, Vanderbilt’s starting center fielder, missed his 10th straight game due to injury.
Duvall was the de facto “DH,” though was technically a pinch-hitter after hitting for Raby the first time through the order.
VU has now won eight series openers in eight tries.
Third baseman Austin Martin’s 12-game hitting streak was snapped.
The Commodores had just seven hits on the evening, but made them count. It's the second time this week VU sent a game into extra innings with a ninth-inning home run; the 'Dores had ones from Martin and J.J. Bleday to beat Western Kentucky on Tuesday.
Scoring summary
G3: Talley single through second scored Shepherd. G, 1-0
G3: Cable single to center scored Talley. G, 2-0
V6; Duvall single scored Clarke. G, 2-1
V9: Grisanti home run to right. Tied-2
V11: Paul home run to right. V, 3-2
