NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt finished off a three-game sweep over Kentucky with a 5-3 win in the finale Saturday at Hawkins Field.
The Commodores trailed 3-0 before Colin Barczi tied the game in the sixth and RJ Austin put the Dores ahead in the seventh.
A pair of solo home runs in the top of the third opened a 2-0 lead for the Wildcats.
Kentucky added a run on a single in the top of the fourth to lead by three, but Connor Fennell took over on the mound in the top of the fifth and shutout the Wildcats over the final five innings, allowing just one hit.
Fennell and starting pitcher Cody Bowker combined for 11 strikeouts in the win.
Vanderbilt’s offense came alive in the bottom of the sixth. Mike Mancini worked a leadoff walk and Rustan Rigdon singled to center. After Austin was hit by a pitch, Riley Nelson got the Dores on the board with an RBI groundout.
With two outs, Kentucky intentionally walked Braden Holcomb, loading the bases. Barczi then tied the game with a rope to right-center field, scoring Rigdon and Austin.
Another walk led off the bottom of the seventh, this time with Jacob Humphrey reaching base. Rigdon earned a one-out walk to bring Austin to the plate with runners on first and second.
With both runners in motion, Austin belted a line drive into the corner in left field as Humphrey scored easily from second and Rigdon came all the way around from first to give Vanderbilt a 5-3 lead on the double by Austin.
Fennell shut the door with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth as Vanderbilt completed the sweep over Kentucky and improved to 19-11 in SEC action.
The Commodores, who were picked seventh in the preseason SEC poll, earned the No. 4 seed at next week’s SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama. Vanderbilt will play Thursday and will have to wait until the second round on Wednesday to learn the opponent.
Vanderbilt, ranked No. 9 in the latest D1Baseball poll, will enter the SEC Tournament with a 12-4 record in the last 16 SEC contests. The Dores won four of their final five conference series.
