Set the Vanderbilt Commodores next to an ocean, and you can expect them to “Anchor Down.”
The Vandy athletic slogan (and hashtag) was on vivid display Friday night as the Commodores joined three other collegiate baseball powers in Los Angeles for the Dodgertown Classic, a great weekend series in which they will exchange opponents each day. Highlighting the opening night was a matchup between the #1 Commodores and the #4 UCLA Bruins, with the duel set to feature two of the top starting pitchers in the sport.
Round One went to Vandy’s Carson Fulmer (now 3-0), who shut out the Bruins into the seventh inning and turned it over to relief ace Philip Pfeifer to finish things off as the ‘Dores (11-2) blanked UCLA (11-2) 6-0. Fulmer went 6.1 frames and allowed just 3 hits, but needed his 9 strikeouts to offset 5 walks in lowering his season ERA to 0.63. Pfeifer, who has yet to allow an earned run this year, went the final 2.2 innings and retired all 8 batters he faced.
UCLA starter James Kaprielian (3-1) suffered his 1st defeat in 2015, surrendering 8 hits and 4 runs (3 earned) in 5.1 innings. Vanderbilt jumped on him quickly in the first as Bryan Reynolds opened the contest with a base on balls and moved to third on a Rhett Wiseman single. Dansby Swanson followed with an RBI single and another run scored on a throwing error when Zander Wiel hit into a fielder’s choice.
Wiseman belted a solo homer in the fifth to make it 3-0. Karl Ellison stroked an RBI double and Tyler Campbell added a sacrifice fly for a 5-0 Vandy advantage in the sixth. A bases-loaded walk to pinch-hitter Ro Coleman forced in the final run in the seventh. Ellison was 3-for-4 for the ‘Dores in the game, with Wiseman and Dansby each delivering two hits.
In the night’s other Dodgertown Classic encounter, Southern Cal (8-2) pushed across a run in the bottom of the twelfth on a squeeze bunt by Blake Lacey and outlasted #6 TCU (13-1) 7-6, knocking the Horned Frogs from the ranks of the unbeaten. Timmy Robinson led off the twelfth with a single and then stole second, eventually taking third on another single by Angelo Armenta. Lacey then laid down a bunt to the first base side to plate the winning tally.
Before that, TCU had rallied from a 6-2 deficit with a 4-run top of the ninth, keyed by a 2-run single by Keaton Jones (who had four hits) and a pair of Trojan throwing errors. That uprising offset a highly efficient start by USC’s Brent Wheatley, who went 6.1 innings and allowed only a pair of unearned runs.
The Trojans built their early advantage on a 2-run homer by A. J. Ramirez and a 2-run single by David Oppenheim. Dante Flores went 3-for-3 for USC.
In other action around the country Friday…
#2 Florida (12-2) received 8 shutout innings from Logan Shore (now 3-0), the first home run of the season from Christian Hicks, and RBI singles from Buddy Reed and Harrison Bader as the Gators toppled visiting Maine (4-10) 5-0… Wil Crowe (2-1) tossed 7 scoreless frames and Logan Koch slammed a 2-run homer in the second for the game’s only runs as #5 South Carolina (10-3) blanked Miami OH (2-6) 2-0… Playing at Minute Maid Park in the Houston College Classic, #7 LSU (13-1) won its 10th straight game by edging host Houston (8-6) 4-2 as Chris Chinea delivered a first-inning RBI single and Conner Hale followed with a 2-run bomb. Tiger lefty Jared Poche’ scattered 4 hits and 2 runs over 7.2 innings and Jesse Stallings posted his 6th save for the winners in front of 10,651 fans… Junior outfielder J. B. Moss broke a 1-1 deadlock with his 3rd HR of the year in the eighth inning as #14 Texas A&M (14-0) nipped Nebraska (6-5) in another Houston College Classic tussle…
Zac Gallen struck out 12 and pitched into the eighth frame as #11 North Carolina (9-3) opened ACC play by thwarting nearby rival Duke (10-2) 8-1. Leadoff hitter Skye Bolt went 3-for-5, scored 3 runs, and drove in 2 for the Tar Heels… Matt Diorio collected 3 hits and Jordan Savinon, Kyle Marsh, and Dylan Moore each drove in 2 tallies to lead #9 Central Florida (12-2) past Columbia (2-3) as Zach Rodgers gained the win with 7 innings of 5-hit work… John Clay Reeves smacked a 2-run double in the first and added 2 more safeties later as #10 Rice (9-6) kicked off Conference-USA league play with a 4-2 triumph over Charlotte (4-3). Kevin McCanna (2-1) took the win with 6.2 solid frames for the Owls… Matt Eureste walked, advanced on a sacrifice bunt, and came around to score on an infield throwing error as #8 Oregon (11-2) topped St. John’s (5-5) 4-3 in 12 innings…
David Hill fired 7 scoreless innings as San Diego (5-6) won its third straight game against ranked competition by surprising #15 Mississippi State (13-2) in Starkville by a 2-1 count. Anthony McIver recorded his 2nd save by getting the final out with the tying run on third base… #17 Arizona State (8-4) received 3 frames of scoreless relief from senior Darren Gillies and the 5th save of the season from Ryan Burr to offset a grand slam homer by Eric Hutting as the Sun Devils slipped past Long Beach State (8-5) 6-4… Illinois (10-2-1) surprised #21 Oklahoma State (7-5) 6-2 as shortstop Adam Walton drove in 3 runs with a triple and a 2-run homer… Cal State Fullerton (7-5), behind a 5-hit, 14-strikeout performance by Thomas Eshelman, shut out #13 Texas Tech (10-2) 4-0…
Andrew Calica broke up a scoreless game with an RBI single in the fifth to key a 2-run rally and Dillon Tate (3-1) made it stand up by fanning 10 over 7 frames as #23 UC Santa Barbara (10-3) blanked Sacramento State (6-5) 2-0… Christian Dicks hammered a grand slam and had 5 RBIs and Esteban Puerta went 3-for-5 and drove in 3 as #24 Florida Atlantic (12-2) walloped Rutgers (1-7) 18-5… Gonzaga (6-7) upset #25 Tulane (11-3) 2-0 as Brandon Bailey (3-1) scattered 3 hits over 8 frames and rightfielder Justin Jacobs broke up a scoreless duel with a 2-run single in the top of the ninth…
BYU (5-10) swept a doubleheader from Hartford (3-6) 8-6 and 20-4 as shortstop Hayden Nielsen drove in 8 runs on the day… Jimmy Herget (4-0) struck out 12 over 8 shutout innings as South Florida (7-6-1) blanked Seton Hall (1-6) 1-0, with the game’s lone tally scoring on a bases-loaded balk in the second… Jacob Cronenworth‘s 3-run HR led Michigan (8-5) past UMBC (1-3) 8-1 in the Coastal Carolina Invitational at Myrtle Beach, SC… Mike Compton threw a 2-hit shutout as Florida State (11-3) posted a 7-0 ACC decision over Boston College (5-7), with Taylor Walls driving in 2 runs and scoring twice…
Kyle Wood singled, doubled, homered, drove in 4 runs, and walked twice to lead Purdue (5-7) over Oklahoma (10-6) 6-3… In another game at the Houston College Classic, Hawaii (6-8) edged Baylor (6-6) 2-1 on a pair of RBI singles by Alex Sawelson… Auburn (11-3) defeated Xavier (4-7) 7-2 as Cody Nulph went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs and Blake Logan drove in 3 more with a double… Casey Schroeder slugged 3 home runs and drove in 6 as Coastal Carolina (9-4) blasted Akron (5-5) 17-9 in the Coastal Carolina Invitational… Oregon State (10-3) edged Fresno State (7-6) 2-1 in 11 innings when K. J. Harrison slammed a walkoff homer, rewarding a 10-frame, 10-K, 3-hit pitching performance by Andrew Moore…
Nevada (12-1) got 3 hits from Ryan Howell and 2 RBIs from Christian Stolo to move to a 4-0 record in the Mountain West with a 5-4 victory over UNLV (6-6)… Stanford (9-6) topped #18 Texas (8-6) 5-3 as Quinn Brodey went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs… Junior Brian Celsi ripped 2 home runs and tied the school record with 8 RBIs in a game as Cal (10-3) walloped Chicago State (2-9) 21-3… Taylor Guilbeau (2-1) tossed 8 strong innings of 6-hit ball and Thomas Burrows struck out the side in the ninth as Alabama (8-5) downed Lipscomb (7-3) 5-1… An RBI single by Bobby Wernes broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth and paced Arkansas (8-2) to a 2-1 triumph over Loyola Marymount (8-5)… And in a pair of upsets involving SEC teams, Longwood (5-6) surprised Georgia (8-5) 7-3 as Michael Osinski drove in 2 runs with a 2-for-3 day, while Milwaukee (6-3) took care of Missouri (10-2) 7-4 when Sam Koenig singled, doubled, homered, and knocked in 3 runs.
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