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Vanderbilt bombs its way to Omaha

Austin Martin celebrates a home run in VU's super regional title-clinching win over Duke.
Austin Martin celebrates a home run in VU's super regional title-clinching win over Duke. (Brent Carden)

It took a while, but Vanderbilt's seniors finally get that trip to Omaha.

The Commodores got five home runs, smashing Duke by a 13-2 score in the final game of the Nashville Super Regional at Hawkins Field on Sunday afternoon.

VU first-inning homers from third baseman Austin Martin and center fielder Pat DeMarco to open a 4-0 lead they never relinquished.

VU scored in each of the first five frames. Martin added another homer in the second, while first baseman Julian Infante and left fielder Stephen Scott had solo shots.

Starter Mason Hickman went four innings and gave up two runs before yielding way to Patrick Raby, Zach King and Tyler Brown, who combined to shut out the Blue Devils from there.

VU (54-11) will play Louisville in the College World Series, which starts next weekend.

It's Vanderbilt's first appearance in the College World Series since 2015. It'll be the first trip to Omaha for any player on this roster.

Vandy won the three-game series after Duke's 18-5 drubbing on Friday night. VU led 12-2 in the sixth on Sunday, but had to wait though a weather delay of over 2 1/2 hours to finish this one off. Brown pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, including a game-ending strikeout of Joey Loperfido to end it.

The 'Dores started slowly throughout the NCAA Tournament, but not Sunday. Martin ripped starter Bill Chillari’s second pitch of the game out to left-center for a 1-0 lead.

Two hitters later, DeMarco took a knee-high fastball that caught too much plate and jacked it way out over the big wall in left.

After Chillari walked catcher Ty Duvall to start the second, Duke went to right-hander Jack Carey, who threw 29 pitches on Saturday night.

Carey got Infante to pop to first. But after an 11-pitch at bat, Martin took Carey deep to make it 6-0.

Duke got one back in the third when Ensworth High graduate Rudy Maxwell homered to left to lead off.

But Duvall answered with a two-out double to center off Carey to score Scott. After fouling off a pair of two-strike pitches, Infante ripped a double off the glove of third baseman Erikson Nichols for an 8-1 lead.

Duke went to lefty Matt Dockman, who walked Martin before right fielder J.J. Bleday--for once, not staring at four outfielders--ripped a single to right for another.

Hickman ran into trouble in the fourth, giving up a solo homer to catcher Michael Rothenberg and walking a pair of Blue Devils before striking out R.J. Schreck to keep the lead at 9-2.

Dockman hung a breaking ball to Scott, who launched one high and just out to right for the 10th run.

Infante muscled a one-out solo shot just out to right in the fifth, while shortstop Ethan Paul added a two-out RBI double to deep right-center.

Raby gets his chance

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With Hickman at 91 pitches through four, VU went to Patrick Raby for the fifth. The right-hander, who'd been replaced in the weekend rotation by Hickman, gave up a leadoff infield single to start his stint but retired the next six in a row, four on strikeouts.

After a rain delay of over 2 1/2 hours, Raby came out for the seventh and walked the first two before being replaced by King.

Scoring summary

V1: Martin homer to left-center off Chillari. V, 1-0

V1: DeMarco homer to left off Chillari scored Paul, Clarke. V, 4-0

V2: Martin homer to left off Carey scored Duvall. V, 6-0

D3: Maxwell homer to left off Hickman. V, 6-1

V3: Duvall double off Carey scored Scott. V, 7-1

V3: Infante single off Carey scored Duvall. V, 8-1

V3: Bleday single to right off Dockman scored Infante. V, 9-1

D4: Rothenberg homer to right off Hickman. V, 9-2

V4: Scott homer to right off Dockman. V, 10-2

V5: Infante homer to right off Dockman. V, 11-2

V5: Paul double to right center off Dockman. V, 12-2

V8: DeMarco scored on Davis’s wild pitch. V, 13-2

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