Rocker, Vandy top Missouri in opener
Kumar Rocker picked up his sixth win in as many starts in 2021,. as Vanderbilt beat Missouri, 10-2, at Taylor Stadium on Thursday night in Columbia, Mo.
Rocker (6-0) went six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) while striking out five and walking two. He threw 58 of his 92 pitches for strikes on a night when the zone wasn't large.
Third baseman Jayson Gonzalez and catcher C.J. Rodriguez added home runs for Vanderbilt in the sixth inning, while Isaiah Thomas added a solo blast in the seventh.
Vanderbilt (17-3, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) had 16 hits, and every starter had at least one. Rodriguez led Vanderbilt in hits and RBIs with three each.
Sam Hliboki pitched three scoreless innings to pick up his first save.
The Commodores had 11 hits and scored six runs (all earned) off Tiger starter Spencer Miles, who struck out two and walked two.
Vandy trailed 1-0 early thanks to an unearned run due to first baseman Dominic Keegan's throwing error, but rallied to score the game's next eight runs.
Keegan and Carter Young, who each had two hits, both had two-out singles to plate Vandy's first two runs.
The 'Dores erupted for four in the sixth. Gonzalez led off the inning with a home run, and Rodriguez hit his one way out to left with two outs in the inning.
Rocker wasn't as dominant as he was in last week's eight-inning, 14-strikeout game vs. South Carolina, but he was good enough. The right-hander faced six hitters in each of the second and the sixth, but otherwise saw no more than four in any other frame.
The teams play Game Two of the series at 7 Central on Friday night.
Scoring summary
UM 2: McDaniel scored on Keegan’s throwing error. UM, 1-0
VU 3; Young single scored Davis. Tied-1
VU 3: Keegan single scored Gonzalez. VU, 2-1
VU 4: Gonzalez ground-out scored Noland. VU, 3-1
VU 4: Bradfield single scored Thomas. VU, 4-1
VU 6: Gonzalez home run. VU, 5-1
VU 6: Rodriguez home run to left scored Young, Keegan. VU, 8-1
UM 6: Mann double past first scored Day. VU, 8-2
VU 7: Thomas home run to right-center. VU, 9-2
VU 8: Davis walk scored Keegan. VU, 10-2