May 30, 2009

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Gray fans 10 as Vanderbilt eliminates Indiana

By Jimmy Jones

Special to CollegeBaseballInsider.com
 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Freshman Sonny Gray (right) struck out 10 in a career-high eight innings to lead the Vanderbilt Commodores to a 10-0 win over Big Ten champion Indiana to survive another day in the Louisville Regional at Jim Patterson Stadium.
 
Gray (5-1) was in control from start to finish, scattering seven hits while issuing just one base on balls and pitching out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth with two strikeouts and a popup to strand the runners with no damage done. He now has 21 strikeouts in his last two starts.
 
"He did a great job," Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin said. "Not many kids can pitch out of a bases-loaded no-out jam, which he did. I thought that was very, very impressive."
 
"Now I see what teams in the other dugout had to deal with all year," Hoosier coach Tracy Smith said. "When you face that type of pitching performance, your margin of error is very small.
 
"When he starts throwing the breaking ball consistently with his velocity it makes it very, very tough."
 
VU got on the board early when their All-SEC shortstop Brian Harris led off the game with a towering home run over the left field fence. The Dores made it a deuce on a triple by Jonathan White, who continues to swing a hot bat, and an RBI grounder by Curt Casali.
 
The Commodores put the game effectively out of reach with a five-run fifth on RBI hits by White, Steven Liddle and Aaron Westlake.
 
Liddle and Riley Reynolds (left) led the VU offense with three hits each with White accounting for two. Liddle leads the Commodores with 27 multi-hit games this season.
 
White extended his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games. He has two extra-base hits in the tournament.
 
Hoosier leftfielder Kip Schutz was 3 for 3 at the plate and Vince Gonzalez contributed two hits in as many trips.
 
Taylor Hill finished the game for Vanderbilt with a scoreless ninth. He allowed two hits and struck out one.
 
Matt Bayshore (7-5) (right) picked up the loss in 4.1 innings of work. He gave up eight, seven earned, on eight hits.
 
VU now awaits the loser of the MTSU-Louisville game on Sunday.

(photos by Jimmy Jones)