NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Vanderbilt's RJ Screck hit a two-run home run in the fifth off Kentucky's Darren Williams, giving the Commodores their first lead en route to a 6-4 win at Hawkins Field on Friday night.
Schreck reached base three times and drove in three runs. Jack Bulger added two hits and knocked in two.
Patrick Reilly relieved starter Carter Holton in the fourth, and struck out 10 over 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball to get the win.
"He changed the momentum of the game," Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin said.
The Commodores (30-11, 14-5 Southeastern Conference) edged a half-game ahead of South Carolina for first place in the league's overall standings after Auburn beat the Gamecocks in Columbia on Friday.
"I didn't think anything was coming easy," Corbin said. "That game was very slow the first four innings.”
Kentucky (30-11, 11-8) left 13 men on base and had at least one man on in every inning but the ninth, when Nick Maldonado struck out the side in order.
With Vanderbilt trailing 3-2 in the fourth, Enrique Bradfield Jr. walked, stole second and came home when Davis Diaz singled up the middle. Screck then hammered a home run to right, giving the Commodores their first lead.
Schreck added a bases-loaded walk off Jackson Nove in the sixth to make it 6-3.
As was the case two weeks ago against South Carolina, Reilly had the cutter-and-mid-90s fastball combo going, and the 'Cats couldn't square him up. Reilly allowed a run-scoring single to Ryan Church that cut the lead to 6-4 and then walked his third hitter of the night, turning the lineup over to leadoff man Jackson Gray.
But Reilly fanned Gray on three pitches--a cutter, followed by two fastballs--and that was that.
"They're very competitive, that's a very, very, very good lineup," Reilly said. "The biggest thing was first-pitch strikes and then two-strike execution."
Maldonado got the 'Cats on 11 pitches in the ninth.
The Wildcats made Holton work early, taking and fouling off pitches and bunting often, and Vandy’s lefty didn’t respond well against a strike zone that wasn’t unfair, but certainly not generous.
He exited with two outs in the fourth, leaving the bases loaded for Reilly after his 102nd pitch. Vandy’s junior right-hander struck out Devin Burkes with a high fastball to end the fourth, leaving Holton charged with three runs—and certainly it could have been worse given the eight Kentucky left on in the first four innings.
Holton especially struggled in the third, walking two and hitting a batters. After going 2-0 to Devin Burkes with two out, Holton recovered to get the count full but a flare over second base scored the game’s first two runs.
"He just couldn't get to the strike zone enough," Corbin said. "There were some close pitches, but they weren't strikes."
"He might have been sped up a couple of times in pitching, the quicker rhythm," Corbin added.
But Vandy loaded the bases with one out for Bulger in the bottom of the inning, and he slapped one through second to tie the game.
Finally, Schreck gave Vanderbilt the lead in the fifth, driving home Diaz with a rocket a few rows into the bleachers in right. Umpires issued a warning to the Vanderbilt dugout after Schreck reached home.
"He didn't flip the bat, he just carried the bat too far to first base and he's got to do a better job of that," Corbin said.
Vanderbilt out-hit Kentucky, 9-6, but Corbin didn't seem thrilled with the 'Dores hitting approach.
"It was okay. We've got to be more aggressive earlier in the count," he said. "Gotta get the ball going forward. Too many times in front of ourselves with two strikes and guys on base rather than putting the ball in play earlier that what we did. It was just okay, not good enough."
The teams play again on Saturday at 2 Central. Hunter Owen is scheduled to pitch for the first time in two weeks.
"We were going to use him last week, we just couldn't' find a window to use him," Corbin said. "His arm feels good and he's thrown a lot over the last two weeks."
