Vanderbilt University’s baseball team secured a series sweep against Marist with an 8-1 victory on Sunday at Hawkins Field. The win marks the Commodores’ fifth consecutive triumph this season.
The team’s streak of four straight run-rule wins ended, but Vanderbilt continued its strong offensive performance, scoring eight runs on eight hits in the latest game. In their first five home games, the Commodores have outscored opponents 65-11 and are hitting .427 as a team with 13 home runs.
On the pitching side, Vanderbilt’s staff has maintained a 2.13 ERA and recorded 49 strikeouts over 38 innings during the winning streak. Nate Taylor started Sunday’s game, allowing just one hit and one unearned run over four innings while striking out six in his debut at Hawkins Field.
Jacob Faulkner contributed three innings of scoreless relief, giving up only one hit. Wyatt Nadeau closed out the final two innings without allowing a run and struck out four consecutive batters after entering the game.
Marist took an early lead in the second inning on a passed ball, but Vanderbilt responded with eight unanswered runs. Brodie Johnston tied the game with a two-out single in the third inning, bringing in Chris Maldonado. Mike Mancini followed with another two-out single to drive in Ryker Waite and give Vanderbilt a 2-1 advantage.
The Commodores extended their lead to 4-1 in the fifth inning thanks to another passed ball and a sacrifice fly. Ryker Waite added an RBI triple in the sixth to make it 5-1.
Braden Holcomb hit his fourth home run of the season—a two-run shot—in the seventh inning. The team has now homered in all eight games so far this year. Carter Johnstone capped off Vanderbilt’s scoring with an RBI double later that inning for an 8-1 lead.
Vanderbilt will play one more home game against Evansville on Tuesday before traveling west for next weekend’s Live Like Lou Las Vegas College Classic.
