Schultz leads Vandy's shutout of Austin Peay
NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Starting pitcher Thomas Schultz struck out four over six innings, leading Vanderbilt to a 7-0 shutout of Austin Peay at Hawkins Field on Tuesday evening.
Second baseman Parker Noland was 1 for 3 with three RBIs, including a two-RBI double in the first that gave Vanderbilt its first two runs.
Freshmen Donye Evans, Nelson Berkwich and Hunter Owen each threw an inning, combining to allow just three runners against five strikeouts. The Governors had just three hits, all singles.
The Commodores (29-6, 11-4 Southeastern Conference) have now won 25 straight midweek games, avenging a 2019 loss to the Governors (12-22), who were the last team to beat Vandy in a mid-week game.
Schultz (4-2) was sharp from start to finish, facing just 22 batters and allowing just one runner to second base, and none beyond. He didn't allow more than one runner in any inning, and got help from Noland and third baseman Jayson Gonzalez, who helped start an inning-ending double play in the fourth.
The Governors didn't get another runner past first until the ninth, when Jeremy Wagner got to third with two outs against Owen.
Vanderbilt scattered 10 hits, and Noland's hit was the only one that scored a run. Noland, Isaiah Thomas and Dominic Keegan each had RBI ground-outs in the fourth, first and sixth respectively, while Enrique Bradfield Jr. scored on a throwing error in the sixth.
Vandy seized the lead early when Carter Young doubled off the wall in right, Keegan had an infield single, Jack Bulger walked and then Noland ripped an opposite-field double off the big wall in left. Thomas's ground-out scored the inning's third run.
All runs came off losing pitcher Drew McIllwain (0-2).
Schultz sat 90-92 on the stadium gun in the first, and bumped that up to 93-94 by the third before tipping around to 90-91 again in the fifth and sixth. He also mixed a slider and change-up effectively throughout his outing and allowed little hard contact on the night.
The game featured the return of former starting second baseman Tate Kolwyck, who hadn't played since March 21 due to a hamate injury. Kolwyck entered the game in the ninth as a defensive replacement for Noland, and turned the only chance he had into a 4-3 putout at first.
The Commodores host Mississippi State (27-8, 10-5) at Hawkins Field in a three-game series beginning at 6:30 on Friday.