Left fielder Cooper Davis drove in three runs with two hits, leading Vanderbilt to a 7-4 win over Texas A&M at Blue Bell Park in College Station, Texas, on Friday night in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Davis drove in two on one play with a sixth-inning suicide squeeze, the biggest play in a four-run inning.
Starter Drake Fellows walked six and hit a man in 5 2/3 innings of work, but was tough to hit. The junior gave up two runs (both earned) and improved to 4-0.
Right-hander Tyler Brown threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out four for his fifth save.
On a 1-2 count, with VU clinging to a one-run lead in the sixth, Davis dropped down a suicide squeeze down third. First baseman Julian Infante scored easily scored. While pitcher Joseph Menefee fielded it and looked to first, second baseman Harrison Ray, who never stopped running from second, charged home.
Menefee spotted him and threw home. Ray was ruled out, but the play went to review and was overturned.
Second baseman Bryce Blaum’s throwing error later in the inning made it a four-run advantage.
Pat DeMarco’s two-out single to left in the first scored the game’s first run.
But Fellows had no control of his fastball in the bottom half of the inning, walking the bases loaded with one out before giving up a run-scoring ground-out. The junior added a fourth walk, but got a strikeout to end the first, keeping the contest tied.
Infante walked with one out, and Ray hit an opposite-field, ground-rule double to right to put two in scoring position for Davis’s bunt.
A&M got two off Hugh Fisher in the seventh to pull within a run, and had catcher Mikey Hoerner at third with one out later in the inning. VU went to Brown, who struck out the next two to keep the lead at one.
Ray lined a one-out single in the eighth before Davis doubled to left to score Ray from first.
Notes
VU ranks ninth in the RPI as of 10:35 Central on Friday night.
Right fielder J.J. Bleday’s infield single in the fifth extended his consecutive on-base streak to 46 games.
DeMarco extended his hitting streak to eight.
Austin Martin made his first start at third this season, with Ray manning second. It was his first appearance after serving a four-game suspension for unspecified reasons.
Scoring summary
V1: DeMarco single to left scored Martin. V, 1-0
T1: Frizzell ground-out scored Foster. Tied-1
V4: Clarke scored on Doxakis wild pitch. V, 2-1
V6: Davis bunt single scored Infante, Ray. V, 4-1
V6: Davis scored on throwing error. V, 5-1
V6: Condel single to left off Fellows scored Blake. V, 5-2
T7: Hoehner double to center off Fisher scored Wingate, Shewmake. V, 5-4
V8: Davis double to left scored Ray. V, 6-4
V9: Clarke single to left scored Scott. V, 7-4
