Vanderbilt's Jack Leiter is back, and from the looks of things Saturday, maybe as good as ever.

Leiter (8-2) threw six innings and struck out 13, and six Commodores hit home runs as Vanderbilt bombed Ole Miss, 13-2, at Swayze Field on Saturday afternoon.

Isaiah Thomas hit two home runs for Vanderbilt, and Dominic Keegan, Spencer Jones, Troy LaNeve, Parker Noland and Carter Young also homered for the 'Dores, who evened the series at a game apiece.

Right-hander Chris McElvain finished the last three innings, allowing one run with four strikeouts to get his second save. Leiter (8-2) picked up the win.

Vanderbilt (36-11, 17-8) evened the series at a game apiece, and remains a half-game back of Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division standings. The Vols beat Arkansas earlier in the day and pulled even with Arkansas for the overall lead.

Vanderbilt out-hit the Rebels, 13-5, and left just five on vs. Ole Miss's 10.

However. as is part for the course with Vanderbilts offense, the Commodores struggled the first time through the order against Rebel starter Derek Diamond. Diamond faced the minimum through the first three innings, excepting a Thomas blast to left-center, which just snuck over the wall to give Vandy a 1-0 lead.

But the dam burst in the fourth, when Keegan lofted a homer just out to left-center to score Young, who'd walked.

Four batters later, Jones launchd a no-doubter just to the right of the batter's eye in center, scoring Noland and giving Vandy a 5-0 advantage.

LaNeve added a solo homer in the fifth, that one also barely clearing the wall, but to right-center, that one, off right-hander Tyler Myers.

Noland added a three-run homer to left in the seventh, that one also off Myers.

Young hit one out to left off Brandon Johnson in the eighth, and Thomas did the same in the ninth.

Ole Miss got solo runs off Leiter in the sixth and McElwain in the eighth.

With the entire Commodore fan base holding its breath over Leiter's return--the school didn't announce he'd pitch until Thursday night--Leiter gave cause for concern to open the game with his control, which way off early.

Leiter was nowhere close on his first four pitches to Jacob Gonzalez to start the game. A double play on the next pitch got him out of that, A double play helped get him out of that, along with a strikeout on an 83-mile-an-hour breaking pitch to Kevin Graham in which catcher C.J. Rodrguez registered the put-out at first. Leiter then hit Hayden Dunhurst with a 2-0 pitch to start the second before Justin Bench flied to right.

And then everything suddenly started to click.

Next came a strikeout of T.J. McCants on an 80-mile-an-hour pitch, followed by his fanning Hayden Leatherwood on a 95-mile-an-hour fastball.

In the third and fourth innings, Leiter started dominating with his breaking pitches as the Rebels swung over the top of one after another, a few of which were spiked. He registered four strikeouts with that offering over those innings.

And then in the fifth, command of that pitch started to wane. So after loading the bases with two walks and a single, Leiter went back to the fastball to fan Dunhurst and get Bench to pop up, both on pitches that hit 95.

Leiter then spiked a breaking ball to strike out McCants, but Rodriguez couldn't handle it, McCants reached first and the Rebels had their first run. But then Leiter got a strikeout of Leatherwood on his last pitch of the game--that one hit 96--to escape.

The right-hander threw 56 of his 91 pitches for strikes.

Leiter didn't pitch against Alabama, with Vandy leaving him off its 30-man roster to get its ace some rest. He'd allowed eight home runs combined in the three starts before that.

Vandy smacked a season-high seven home runs in Oxford on Saturday, which would have been the talk of the day if not for Leiter's return. Thomas's two gave him three for the weekend.

The 'Dores have now hit 71 home runs this season, with Young (14) leading the way.

Keegan (10) and Thomas (11) registered their first double-digit home-run seasons as college players on Saturday, while Jones smashed his first SEC home run.

In league play, Vanderbilt has now out-homered opponents, 40-34. Young's nine lead the way, with Thomas second at six.

Auburn led the league with conference home runs at 40 heading into Saturday. The Tigers added six more in a loss to Texas A&M on Saturday.