Hickman leads Vandy past Belmont

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Right-handed pitcher Mason Hickman picked a great time to have a career day.

The sophomore threw six innings, striking out a career-high 12 while walking two and scattering three singles, helping the Commodores (16-5) snap a two-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over Belmont at First Tennessee Park.

Left fielder Stephen Scott had a solo home run and scored three times.

Four Commodore pitchers combined to strike out 15 Belmont hitters. Right-hander Tyler Brown had one of those, pitching the ninth for his fourth save.

Hickman, who used a fastball that sat in the mid-80s, and a mid-to-high 60s breaking ball according to the scoreboard gun. That may have been a bit slow, since Hickman usually sits three or four miles an hour faster than that.

However fast it was, it befuddled Belmont (10-10) from start to finish. He racked up his 10th strikeout when he got designated hitter Tommy Crider looking for the second out of the fifth, establishing a new career high.

The night didn’t appear to start well for VU at first.

After Philip Clarke and Austin Martin just missed home runs to right for the game’s first two outs, Hickman walked Zach Erhart on a 3-2 pitch, then, Grayson Taylor dropped a single into center on a hit-and-run to give the Bruins runners at the corners with nobody out.

But Hickman recovered to strike out the next three, including Severance on a breaking ball away.

In the bottom half, Scott did what Clarke and Martin failed to do, crushing one out into the right-field bleachers.

Scott raced home on a two-out passed ball in the sixth, making it 2-0.

Hugh Fisher came on for the seventh, and ran into minor trouble with a one-out walk.

But defense bailed him out. Second baseman Harrison Ray made a nice, falling grab of a pop foul in shallow right, and shortstop Ethan Paul snared a grounder heading up the middle, flipping to Ray just in time for the third out.

Lefty Zach King, too, ran into eighth-inning trouble, walking Erhart, the leadoff man, and then Chandler Adkins with one out. But a fly ball to center, followed by a 3-2 swinging strikeout of Hagan Severance, ended that.

In the ninth, Scott led off with an infield pop-up that at least three Belmont players had a chance at, but all failed to field. It landed on the pitcher's mound and stuck there like a dart, with Scott arriving at second without a play soon afterwards.

A wild pitch advanced him a base, and then Paul's line-drive single to right scored a run.

Ray made a spectacular play in the ninth, diving at least a third of the way between the back of the infield dirt and the warning track to rob Logan Jarvis of a hit for the second out.

V2: Scott home run to right. V, 1-0

V6: Scott scored on passed ball. V, 2-0

V9: Paul single to right scored Scott. V, 3-0

Kiambu Fentress started in center, his first start of the season.

It’s the first time in Pat DeMarco’s career that he hasn’t started.

Left fielder Cooper Davis sat for just the second game this season.

Scott started in left for the first time since since Opening Day.