NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Vanderbilt got great starting pitching from Devin Futrell, a home run from Enrique Bradfield Jr. and some help from South Carolina as the Commodores beat the Gamecocks, 6-4 to take the series at Hawkins Field on Sunday afternoon.
Bradfield scored twice for Vanderbilt (29-7, 13-2 Southeastern Conference) while Futrell went 5 2/3 innings, allowed two runs and fanned seven.
"Devin is just a good mixer and he can pitch," Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin said afterwards. "He's not going to throw the ball in the middle part of the plate, he can command several pitches and he competes."
The Commodores maintained their overall first-place lead in the SEC, moving two games ahead of Florida.
The Gamecocks had just tied it in the top of the sixth one Vandy got five straight men on with two outs. An RJ Schreck walk scored the go-ahead and then Jack Bulger's ground ball to third got through Talmade LeCroy to score Bradfield and Davis Diaz.
In the eighth, Ryan Ginther gave up a two-out double to Ethan Petry that scored Dylan Brewer with two out. The Gamecocks had powerful Cole Messina at the plate, but Ginther got a foul pop-up to first on a 92-mile-an-hour fastball to keep the lead at two.
Bradfield then swatted Wesley Sweatt's first pitch out to the alley in right for a 6-3 advantage, which Carolina got back when LeCroy hit a long homer to left with one out in the ninth.
After Ginther fanned Cole Hornung on a 93-mile-an-hour fastball, Michael Braswell made it interesting with a long, wind-aided fly ball to right. But Screck made a running grab just in front of the wall to end it.
Futrell struck out the side in the first around Petry's no-doubt home run over the big wall in left, which came on a change-up. Futrell threw that pitch eight times in an 18-pitch first inning.
After a 1-2-3 first, Vandy's Bulger and Parker Noland doubled to produce a run and then Vastine stroked a single through first for the go-ahead run.
"Today, the innings that we did score, everything was done with two outs," Corbin said.
That's where the score stayed until the sixth, when Brewer bunted the first pitch for a single and Braylen Wimmer slammed an opposite-field double to right with nobody out. Petry added a sacrifice fly to shallow left on an 0-2 pitch to tie it.
After an intentional pass to Messina, Vanderbilt went to lefty Ginther, who got former Commodore Gavin Casas to bounce into a 6-3 double play on two pitches.
The Commodores left the bases loaded in the second and third, and two on in the sixth.
Corbin said that Greysen Carter, who pitched yesterday and exited the game a few pitches after a trainer examined his arm, probably won't miss much--if any--time.
"He was evaluated right after and it felt better today," Corbin said. "We probably could have rolled him out there again but we didn't. We were just cautious."
Corbin was asked whether Carter Holton is 100% and answered, "Yes, he is." Holton, Vandy's normal Friday starter, allowed four runs and didn't make it out of the first on Saturday after skipping last week's start against Missouri with arm soreness.
The Commodores face Indiana State at Hawkins Field on Tuesday at 6.
