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Vanderbilt was rolling on offense and dealing on the pitcher’s mound. And Tennessee had no response for either. The result? A 10-0 run-rule victory for the Commodores in Hoover on Saturday.
The win sends Vanderbilt (41-16) to the SEC Tournament championship game for the second time in 3 seasons. The ‘Dores will face either LSU or Ole Miss. Tennessee (43-16) will look to find out its NCAA Tournament fate.
Vandy scored runs in each of the first 3 innings to set the stage for its eighth run-rule victory in SEC Tournament history. Rustan Rigdon scored in the first and then hit a 2-RBI single in the second to cap a 4-run frame. The ‘Dores scored 2 more in the bottom of the third and 3 in the bottom of the sixth.
The bats weren’t erupting, balls weren’t flying out of the park, Vandy was just smart and sound. Thirteen singles produced the 10 runs. Vandy struck out only 4 times at the plate and drew 2 walks. Every single Commodore in the lineup finished with at least 1 hit. Rigdon went 3-for-3 with 2 runs and 2 RBI.
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Tennessee’s pitching let it down on a dismal day. Tegan Kuhns drew the start, but he lasted only 1.1 innings before handing off to Dylan Loy. Four outs later, Loy handed off to Tanner Franklin. Tennessee burned through pitchers in 7 innings. Kuhns was saddled with the loss, his fourth of the year.
The Vols also had 2 errors and a handful of wild pitches. They finished with 4 hits and stranded 7 baserunners, including runners on the corners in the top of the seventh to officially bring the game to a close.
Cody Bowker earned his third win of the season while Connor Fennell picked up his second save for Vanderbilt. Bowker fanned 9 Tennessee batters in 4 innings of work while allowing just 3 hits. Fennell gave up just 1 hit in his 3 innings while striking out 2.
Sunday’s title game is set for 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Vanderbilt did not play LSU during the regular season. It went 1-2 against Ole Miss.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
