Scott's blast helps Vanderbilt past MTSU

Vanderbilt’s Stephen Scott had a two-run homer, and four Commodore pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts, as VU beat Middle Tennessee State, 5-2 at Nashville's Hawkins Field on Tuesday night.

Center fielder Pat DeMarco led VU with two hits, and had an RBI.

Reliever Jake Eder picked up the win in relief of Mason Hickman, who went five innings and gave up two runs while striking out 10. Tyler Brown picked up his 12th save with a scoreless ninth.

The Commodores (42-10) completed a two-game sweep of the Blue Raiders this season. Vandy has won two in a row, and 15 of its last 16.

It was the last regular-season home game for VU this season.

MTSU starter Tyler Holcombe held VU scoreless the first three innings. But Scott bashed a two-run homer over the bleachers in right center, chasing Holcombe and staking VU to a two-run lead.

After MTSU tied it in the fifth, on a sacrifice fly by Aaron Antonini and a Brycen Thomas single, Vanderbilt second baseman Harrison Ray and shortstop Ethan Paul added two-out RBI doubles, and DeMarco, a run-scoring single, in the next two innings.

Vanderbilt heads to Kentucky for a three-game series starting on Thursday at 5:30 Central. VU, 20-7 in the Southeastern Conference, is a game ahead of Arkansas for the overall conference lead with three games to play for each team.

Eder was good

The sophomore lefty hasn’t pitched a lot lately, but VU brought him on in the sixth an he was good from the beginning.

Eder worked ahead in the count about half the time, made more difficult by doing so against the top of the order. But he was able to battle back.

With a man on third and nobody out in the seventh, he started behind on both Myles Christian and Antonini, and both times recovered to strike those hitters out. He then got ahead on Thomas before getting a line out to center.

Eder struck out four in two innings, allowing a single in addition to the double.

Ray came up big, again.

Ray had the key hit in VU’s win at Louisville last week, and did it again on Tuesday. Ray doubled inside third on the first pitch he saw from Carter Bair, scoring Scott from first with two outs in the sixth.

Ray also had the biggest hit in VU’s Friday night win over Missouri, a two-run double to about the same spot as part of a three-run third.

Ray just missed a grand slam in the seventh, one that looked from TV—which didn’t have the best angle—as if it may have been fair. Umpires reviewed the play but failed to overturn the call.

V4; Scott homer to right center scored Clarke. V, 2-0

M5: Antonini sacrifice fly to right scored Freeman Jr. V, 2-1

M5: Thomas single to center scored Christian. Tied-2

V6: Ray double to left scored Scott. V, 3-2

V7: Paul double to left scored Bleday. V, 4-2

V7: DeMarco single to left scored Paul. V, 5-2