Vandy wins a wild one in Sunday's first game

Vanderbilt blew a big lead late, tied the game again, then let it go once again, got it back, and then had Ole Miss serve it right back up in a crazy, 8-7, eight-inning win over the No. 5 Rebels on a chilly Sunday afternoon in the first of two seven-inning games.

The Commodores, trailing by a run entering the eighth, got a home run from Ethan Paul to tie, then, Pat DeMarco raced home on Garrett Holston's wild pitch to win int.

Philip Clarke had a pair of RBI doubles, and tied Connor Kaiser with a team-leading two hits. Paul led Vandy with three runs scored.

Jackson Gillis (3-0), who pitched a perfect seventh after allowing an inherited run to score, picked up the victory.

The teams play again at 4 Central on ESPNU.

The Rebels, who scored four in the seventh to take a one-run lead, had a defensive mis-play to allow Vandy to tie it in the bottom of the inning.

After Ole Miss went up a run in the top of the eighth, Vandy's Paul led off the eighth off Ole Miss closer Dallas Woolfolk, who had six saves and a 1.38 ERA coming in.

But Ole Miss's righty went to 3-1 on Paul, then came back with two strikes. Paul then swung at ball four, a fastball at the top of his shoulders.

But it was right over the middle of the plate, there was a wind blowing to right, and Paul quickly turned on it and hammered it six rows deep into the bleachers in right to tie.

Vandy's Pat DeMarco then grounded a single through third and took second on Clarke's ground-out against Holston. With one out, Kaiser looped a single to left, but DeMarco held at third.

After Julian Infante struck out, Holston uncorked a wild pitch with Ty Duvall at the dish to end the game.

The game was scheduled to go seven innings, but a wild seventh forced extras.

The Commodores had just broken open a tie game to take a three-run lead in the bottom of the sixth, but allowed the Rebels to tie in their half of the seventh.

Lefty Zach King, on to start the inning, gave up solid singles to Cole Zabowsky and Will Golsan to start the inning. Zing then hit Tyler Keenan with a pitch to load the bases.

King's relief, Tyler Brown, hit Chase Cockrell with his first pitch to cut the lead to two.

Ole Miss's Jacob Adams hit a ground ball to the right side to score a run, and Grae Kessinger's sacrifice fly to right tied it.

Vandy nearly got out of the inning with a tie when Ryan Olenek grounded to Harrison Ray at third. But Ray pulled off the ball at the last second to give way to shortstop Kaiser, who had a difficult play to make to get the speedy Olenek at first.

He nearly made it, throwing a strike to Infante at first. But Olenek was ruled safe at first, instant replay showed that he beat the throw by inches, and the Rebels had a 6-5 lead.

And with two out in the bottom of the inning, the Rebels nearly had a win in hand. Austin Martin hit a slow chopper to Adams at second. It was a tough play, but had Adams fielded it cleanly, it was probably the third out.

Instead, it slipped by Adams into the outfield, and Stephen Scott, who'd been hit by a pitch and stole second, scored to tie the game.

The Rebels came right back when Thomas Dillard doubled off Brown to start the eighth. Gillis came on to get a ground-out and two fly-outs, but the go-ahead run scored on the second, a sacrifice fly from Golsan to right.

The Commodores had other chances to win in the seventh. Duvall just missed a home run to right, and Martin was thrown out sliding past the bag after was was initially a successful steal of home to end the seventh.

Clarke had a pair of two-out doubles, the second one coming off the wall in left to put Vandy up two in the sixth.

Commodore starter Patrick Raby went six innings, giving up two runs (both earned), and struck out three. Olenek homered off Raby to tie the game at two in the sixth.

Cooper Davis started in left.

VU 4: Clarke doubled down the right-field line, scoring Paul. VU, 1-0

VU 4: Clarke scored on throwing error by Kessinger. VU, 2-0

MS 5: Keenan doubled to left-center to score Golsan. VU, 2-1

MS 6: Olenek homered to left-center. Tied-2

VU 6: Clarke doubled off the wall in left to score Paul, Martin. VU, 4-2

VU 6: Kaiser single to center scored Clarke. VU, 5-2

MS 7: Zabowski scored when King hit Cockrell with a pitch. VU, 5-3

MS 7: Golsan scored on Adams's ground-out. VU, 5-4

MS 7: Servideo scored on Kessinger's fly ball to right. Tied-5

MS 7: Olenek infield single scored Spears. MS, 6-5

VU 7: Martin's infield single scored Scott. Tied-7

MS 8: Golsan sacrifice fly to right scored Dillard. MS, 7-6

VU 8: Paul homer to right off Woolfolk. Tied-7

VU 8: Holston's wild pitch scored DeMarco. VU, 8-7