A lengthy rain delay may have been just what Vanderbilt needed on Thursday night.
The Commodores, fresh off blowing a nine-run lead and down to their last five outs, regrouped after a pause that lasted over an hour and a half, coming up with three extra-base hits and a pair of key singles from there to down Kentucky by a 16-10 score at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington, Ky..
Catcher Philip Clarke’s two-RBI triple put Vandy back up with two outs in the eighth, and big hits by left fielder Stephen Scott, second baseman Harrison Ray, designated hitter Ty Duvall and third baseman Austin Martin in the ninth gave VU some insurance runs.
Martin led VU with four hits. Scott had two homers and a double, while Duvall also had three hits.
Ray, Clarke and right fielder J.J. Bleday had two hits each, while Clarke and Scott led VU with four RBIs each.
Lefty Zach King, who threw a perfect eighth and a scoreless ninth, finished things off for VU (43-10, 21-7 Southeastern Conference), which improved to 14-0 in Game 1s this season.
The Commodores need just one win in the remaining two games to clinch at least a tie for the overall SEC regular-season title. Arkansas, which won at Texas A&M, remains a game behind VU.
Thanks to two Scott homers, Vandy built a 9-0 lead through three innings. It blew it four innings later thanks to plenty of free passes, a fly ball lost in the lights and a well-placed, two-out, bases-loaded bloop single.
But after a long rain delay, Clarke tripled off the wall in center to put the ‘Dores back up for good in the eighth.
Starting pitcher Drake Fellows (10-0) gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings, losing his chance to win when the bullpen blew it.
Kentucky strung together three hits in the fourth to score two, adding a homer to lead off the sixth. Fellows then walked two and with two out, got a routine pop-up to DeMarco that should have ended it.
But Demarco lost it in the lights and two runs scored.That was the beginning of a temporary disaster.
Vandy lefty A.J. Franklin then walked the first hitter he saw but got a pop-up to get out of the jam.
With VU clinging to a four-run lead in the sixth, Franklin gave up a leadoff double to Elliott Curtis. and then walked the next two. He went to 1-0 on Ryan Shinn before being pulled for Hugh Fisher.
Fisher got a foul out, a sacrifice fly to right before walking second baseman Zeke Lewis. The sophomore got up 0-2 on Alex Rodriguez, but hit him with a pitch to get the Wildcats within two.
Ryan Johnson then snuck a two-out, bases-loaded pop-up between three Commodore fielders in left center with two out, trying the game. Johnson then got hung up in a run-down between first and second, but stayed alive long enough for Shinn to score the go-ahead run.
With one out in the top of the eighth, Kentucky’s Grant Macchiochi hit Martin with a pitch and Bleday singled him to third. The Wildcats went to reliever Daniel Harper, but umpires suspended the game before he could throw a pitch to second baseman Ethan Paul.
Upon resumption, Paul popped foul to third. But Clarke tripled off the top of the wall in center, putting Vandy back up a run.
Vandy went to the struggling King for the eighth. The junior struck out Cam Hill, retired Curtis on a spectacular diving stab and throw by Ray, and then a more routine grounder to Ray to end the inning.
Scott hammered a double into the right-field corner to start the ninth. After showing bunt earlier in the at-bat, Ray grounded one past first for an RBI double. Duvall singled him in, with Martin singling to left to get him.
Paul then hit a looping liner to second baseman Lewis that got by him, then by right fielder Jaren Shelby for two more.
Fisher was awarded the win.
The teams play Game 2 on Friday, beginning at 5:30 Central. Kumar Rocker will be VU's starting pitcher.
Scoring summary
V1: Clarke single up the middle scored Martin. V, 1-0
V1: DeMarco single to right scored Paul. V, 2-0
V1: Scott homer to right scored DeMarco, Clarke. V, 5-0
V2: Clarke ground-out scored Infante. V, 6-0
V2: DeMarco single to center scored Martin. V, 7-0
V3: Scott homer to right. V, 8-0
V3: Duvall single through right side scored Ray. V, 9-0
K4: Shelby Jr. double off Fellows scored Shinn. V, 9-1
K4: Lewis ground-out scored Reed. V, 9-2
K6: Kessler homer to right off Fellows. V, 9-3
K6: Rodriguez double to center scored Lewis, Shinn. V, 9-5
K7: Shelby sacrifice fly off Fisher scored Curtis. V, 9-6
K7: Rodriguez hit by Fisher’s pitch, scoring Kessler. V, 9-7
K7: Johnson single to left center off Fisher, scoring Rodriguez, Lewis and Shinn. K, 10-9
V8: Clarke double to center scored Martin, Bleday. V, 11-10
V9: Ray double past first scored Scott. V, 12-10
V9: Duvall single scored Ray. V, 13-10
V9: Martin single scored Fentress. V, 14-10
V9: Martin scored on errors by Lewis and Shelby. V, 16-10
