Feb. 26, 2011

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

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CBI Live
Bats Boost Vanderbilt Past Stanford

By Jimmy Jones

Special to CollegeBaseballInsider.com

(photos by Jimmy Jones) 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Pitching took center stage in the opening game of the series, but it was the hitters that shined on Saturday as Vanderbilt and Stanford combined for 30 hits and 15 runs in front of a large sun-drenched crowd at Hawkins Field.

The two squads took turns spraying line drives all over the stadium, but it was a slow, bounding fielder’s choice by Anthony Gomez off of Cardinal reliever A.J. Vanegas in the eighth inning that scored Mike Yastrzemski that gave the third-ranked Commodores an 8-7, come-from-behind win to clinch the series.

It was the freshman All-American’s second game-winning RBI in as many games.

The 10th-ranked Cardinal (3-3) touched Commodores starter Taylor Hill for five runs in three-plus innings, taking advantage of three first-inning walks to bat around and take an early 3-0 lead. Ben Clowe had an RBI single for the visitors.

Vanderbilt scored single runs in the first and second innings and two in the third to take a 4-3 advantage off of Stanford starter Dean McArdle (right), who lasted just 1.1 innings. Freshman Conrad Gregor’s home run, his first hit as a collegian, and Aaron Westlake’s (pictured above) line drive over the right-center wall were the big blows for the home team.

The Cardinal battled back in the fifth as shortstop Kenny Diekroeger (left) drove in two runs off freshman Kevin Ziomek to give Stanford a 7-4 lead in the fifth. Diekroeger finished with four hits, a career high, and three RBI on the day.

Vanderbilt shortstop Jason Esposito’s two-run RBI double off of the third-base bag tied the score at 7 after Cardinal second baseman Eric Smith’s second error of the day extended the sixth inning.

Vanderbilt produced a season-best eight runs on a season-high 13 hits and were led by Westlake, who went 3 for 3 with two RBI. Gregor and Curt Casali each had two hits for the Commodores.

Stanford logged a season-high 17 hits in the loss. Jake Stewart went 3 for 5 with two runs, and Tyler Gaffney added two hits and two RBI.

The two teams combined to strand 24 base runners in the contest. Scott Snodgress took the loss in 1.1 innings of work for Stanford.

Mark Lamm (2-0) pitched two shutout innings for the win. Navery Moore got his second save of the series with a perfect ninth.

The Commodores and Cardinal wrap up their three-game series Sunday afternoon with the first pitch moved up to 12:30 p.m. at Hawkins Field. Left-hander Grayson Garvin (1-0) will be on the hill for Vanderbilt. Stanford’s starter is to be announced.