Vanderbilt shortstop Ethan Paul had three hits, including a home run, and winning pitcher Drake Fellows pitched seven innings of four-run ball, as Vanderbilt beat Alabama, 7-4, at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Friday night.
Paul and right fielder J.J. Bleday had solo home runs. Catcher Philip Clarke added three hits as the Commodores (29-9, 10-6 Southeastern Conference) out-hit the Crimson Tide, 14-6.
Vanderbilt remains unbeaten in the first game of weekend series. So does Fellows, who improves to 8-0.
Tyler Brown pitched a perfect ninth for his team-leading eighth save.
Bleday, the game’s second hitter, yanked an 0-1 pitch well out to right for the game’s first run, his 17th blast of the season, off Alabama starter Sam Finnerty.
Alabama’s Joe Breaux answered with a two-run shot, just out to right in the second.
But Vandy took the lead for good in the fifth.
Designated hitter Ty Duvall led off with an opposite-field double high off the 320-foot wall in left. With one out, third baseman Austin Martin singled off the mound and into center to give Vandy a lead.
With two outs and Martin still on first, Paul flared a ball to medium left. Left fielder Keith Holcombe dove in the rain and came up short as the ball landed a few feet inside the line. It got behind him as Martin scored easily and Paul cruised into second.
Clarke then laced a single through second for a three-run lead.
But UA (24-15) made it interesting in the bottom of the frame.
With two out in the fifth and a man on first, Fellows couldn’t come up with a soft come-backer to his left from DH T.J. Reeves. Second baseman Morgan McCullough then doubled just inside the line to right to get Alabama within a run.
As as been their habit, the Commodores struck back.
Left fielder Stephen Scott took third on Duvall’s one-out single in the sixth. With two outs and right-handed side-armer Chase Lee on, Martin punched a grounder to McCullough, who dove to his left and threw low to first on what would have been a close play.
VU lefty Hugh Fisher, on in relief of Fellows in the eighth, walked the first hitter on four pitches, but settled down to retire the side in order. Paul then led off the ninth by, with the help of a strong wind, poking one just over the wall in left.
The teams play again Saturday night at 8 Central. The game will be televised by the SEC Network.
Key takeaways
VU added to its NCAA Tournament résumé just a hair.
No, beating Alabama isn’t the biggest feather in VU’s cap this season. But it’s a road win, and that’s one of the few things that the Commodores (4-4 on the road) don’t have in spades on their résumé.
It’s also a top-50 RPI win, at least for now, as Alabama checks in at No. 45 after tonight, according to WarrenNolan.com.
As of 9:45 Friday evening, VU’s 14-7 mark against top-50 RPI teams gives the Commodores the most top-50 RPI wins in the country.
VU also rose a spot to No. 2 in the RPI.
Fellows pitched a little better than his line
The junior gave up nine base runners in seven innings, and generally did a good job of scattering them as Alabama send more than four hitters to the plate just once. Fellows faced five hitters in the second and six in the firth, but unfortunately for him, the Crimson Tide scored two in each frame.
Fellows, who went just four innings in the season opener against Virginia, has now gone at least 5 2/3 innings eight starts in a row.
Vanderbilt took a slight lead in the war of bullpen attrition
The Crimson Tide pitching staff entered Friday with an SEC ERA of 6.30. Finnerty (95 pitches), UA’s best starter, is obviously done for the weekend. It’s not a bullpen gifted with elite arms, and VU got through the night with a win while making two of Alabama’s best relievers, Brock Guffey (21 pitches) and Deacon Medders (28) exert themselves a bit, while Lee threw 16.
As for Vandy, Brown threw just 11 pitches, which should leave him available for more work.
The Pat DeMarco watch is on.
Vandy’s center fielder hasn’t played since March 17 due to a leg injury. But unlike last weekend, DeMarco made the 27-man roster, though he didn’t appear on Friday.
With Cooper Davis left in Nashville due to a leg injury, freshman Isaiah Thomas again started in center. It wasn’t a good night for Thomas, who was 0 for 5 with three strikeouts, though he did line hard to center once.
Scoring summary
V1: Bleday home run to right off Finnerty. V, 1-0
A2: Breaux home run to right of Fellows scored Williamson. A, 2-1
V3: Ray sacrifice fly to center scored Paul. Tied-2
V5: Martin single to center scored Duvall. V, 3-2
V5: Paul double to left scored Martin. V, 4-2
V5: Clarke single through second scored Martin. V, 5-2
A5: McCullough double to right off Fellows scored Hawk, Reeves. V, 5-4
V6: Martin single to second scored Scott. V, 6-4
V9: Paul homer to left. V, 7-4
