Rocker leads Vandy past Vols in Game One

Vanderbilt right-hander Kumar Rocker threw seven shutout innings as Vanderbilt downed Tennessee, 5-0 on Friday night in Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.

Rocker allowed just two hits, waling one and hitting one while running his record to 8-1.

Third baseman Jayson Gonzalez and shortstop Carter Young hit solo home runs for Vanderbilt (27-5, 10-3 Southeastern Conference), which grabbed a second-inning lead and never let it go.

Nick Maldonado pitched the final two innings without allowing a runner.

The Commodores, who entered the evening tied with Tennessee and Arkansas at the top of the league standings, moved a game ahead of the Vols. The Razorbacks play Texas A&M later on Friday evening.

Tennessee right-hander Chad Dallas was sharp most of the night, firing 66 of his 98 pitches for strikes. Dallas struck out seven and walked no one, but gave up those costly home runs to Gonzalez and Young.

Vanderbilt struck in the top of the second when Knoxville native Parker Noland doubled to deep left with two outs, then, Isaiah Thomas hit a rocket off the shin of Logan Steenstra before he had time to get his glove down. The ball ricocheted into right field as Noland scored the game’s first run.

Gonzalez took a Dallas fastball out the opposite way to right to start the third, extending the lead to two.

In the sixth, Young lifted one out to right for a 3-0 lead.

Vandy got two in the eighth. Enrique Bradfield Jr. beat out a grounder in front of second to start the inning took second on an errant pickoff throw from Will Mabrey, stole third and then came home on the same play when catcher Connor Pavolony's throw went into left field.

Dominic Keegan added an infield single off Connor Housley and came around to score on C.J. Rodriguez's single.

The teams play again at 3 Central on Saturday, with Jack Leiter pitching for Vanderbilt. The game will be shown on the SEC Network.

Vandy has won its last 16 SEC road games, and its last 21 games away from home vs. SEC teams.

On Friday, we saw the Rocker we were accustomed to seeing. He was effective at times with each of his fastball, slider and cutter and the Vols never were able to get any momentum against the Commodore All-American.

Rocker put concerns about last week’s start to rest quickly, getting a 1-2-3 first with a pair of strikeouts. Rocker started the second with a strikeout that got through Rodriguez’s legs and allowed Drew Gilbert to reach, but three fly outs got him out of that.

In the third, Rocker hit Steenstra and then walked Liam Spence both with one out, but then started dialing up his fastball velocity to 95-6 to get a strikeout of Max Ferguson before Jake Rucker flied to Bradfield in center to end that.

Rocker didn’t allow a hit until Steenstra bounced a ball between short and third with two outs in the fifth, and a fly ball to deep right got him out of that inning with a shutout.

The Vols started hitting the ball hard in the middle innings, with some long fly balls to the warning track or just shy of it, but had nothing to show for it.

Rocker came off his only loss of the season; he allowed six runs in five innings against Georgia.

Vanderbilt spent most of the last two weekends without its starting corner outfielders, Cooper Davis (left) and Thomas (right). Both started on Friday evening.

Thomas hit seventh and Davis, eighth. Each went 1 for 4.

A team source confirmed that starting second baseman Tate Kolwyck is also on the 30-man roster for the weekend. Kolwyck has been out for weeks with a hamate injury.

As for what pitchers made the trip, the school has not yet answered a request regarding the team's 30-man roster for the weekend. Vanderbilt did not have Ethan Smith available last weekend, and Sam Hliboki left Saturday's game with an injury.