Texas outlasts Vanderbilt, beats Commodores in 10 innings to take series
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
It took 10 innings, but No. 4 Texas defeated Vanderbilt, 4-3, in the rubber match of a three-game series in Nashville.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the 10th, Commodores right-hander Jacob Faulkner walked in what turned out to be the winning run. The VandyBoys made it interesting in the bottom of the frame as they had runners on second and third with one out. But Sam Cozart slammed the door with back-to-back strikeouts as the No. 4 Longhorns bounced back from a Friday loss to take the remaining two games of the weekend set.
Vandy pulled ahead in the third inning, taking a 2-0 lead behind a Braden Holcomb two-out double. But Texas answered back with two of its own in the top of the fourth. After Anthony Pack Jr. reached on a double with one out, he scored on Adrian Rodriguez’s double before Rodriguez came home on Ethan Mendoza’s game-tying RBI single.
In the top of the eighth, the Longhorns took a 3-2 lead on Mendoza’s sacrifice fly. Rustan Rigdon’s two-out double in the bottom half, though, made it a 3-3 ballgame.
Vandy had a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth on back-to-back two-out hits. But with runners on second and third, Colin Barczi flied out to send it to extra innings. That set the stage for the Longhorns’ winning run as the Commodores failed to cash in once more in the last of the 10th.
With the win, Texas stayed in the hunt for the top seed in the SEC Tournament with just a few weeks to go in the regular season. It returns home to face Sma Houston State on Tuesday. Vanderbilt’s midweek game, also on Tuesday, is against Middle Tennessee State.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
