Vandy bombs Vols on Sunday to take series
Vanderbilt's Dominic Keegan, Carter Young and Parker Noland all homered as the Commodores beat Tennessee, 10-4, at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sunday afternoon.
Young had two hits and led Vandy with three runs batted in. He tied Enrique Bradfield Jr. for the team lead with three runs scored; Bradfield stole four bases as he and Jack Bulger each reached base four times.
Reliever Chris McElwain (2-0) allowed two runs over four innings to pick up the victory. Nick Maldonado retired all five hitters he saw to finish.
Vandy handed the Vols their first series loss of the year. The Commodores (28-6, 11-4 Southeastern Conference) will enter the second half of league play with a one-game lead over Tennessee and South Carolina in the SEC East standings.
Keegan connected on a solo shot to give Vandy a 1-0 lead in the first.
After starter Patrick Reilly allowed two home runs in the bottom of the inning, Vanderbilt tied it in the second when Bradfield bounced a two-out single up the middle, stole second and third and came home when Young lofted a single over short. Keegan singled with two outs to see the inning alive and then Bulger drove in a run with an infield single, though Vandy left the bases loaded that inning.
Vandy chased starter Blake Tidwell when Isaiah Thomas singled to lead off the fourth. With two outs, Bradfield singled off lefty Kirby Connell for a 4-2 lead. Young, a switch-hitter who turned around to face the lefty, hammered one out to left for a 6-2 advantage.
In the fifth, another lefty did damage off Connell with Noland lifted a breaking ball out to dead center, scoring Bulger, who’d singled.
In the sixth, Jayson Gonzalez ripped an apparent double down first but didn’t touch the bag and was ruled out on appeal.
But Bradfield walked, stole second and third and then came home on a fly ball to shallow center when shortstop Liam Spence’s throw home was offline.
Young, who’d walked and stole second, then came home for Vandy’s 10th run on a Bulger single.
McElvain gave up his second homer of the day in the seventh—that one, to Jackson Greer—but as with the one he allowed to Evan Russell in the fourth, that was a solo shot.
It didn't start well for Vandy, as Max Ferguson and Jake Rucker homered off Reilly with one out in the first. But the freshman settled down and gave the 'Dores three innings without allowing another run before giving way to McElvain to start the fourth.
Vanderbilt, which had a 16-game SEC road winning streak snapped in a Saturday loss to the Vols, returns home for four games. The 'Dores play Austin Peay on Tuesday before a three-game series with Mississippi State starting Friday.