Vanderbilt’s Dominant Offense Knocks Oklahoma Out of SEC Tournament
The Commodores capitalized on eight hits and aggressive base running to easily win their SEC Tournament opener in Hoover.
HOOVER, Ala. — The Vanderbilt Commodores came out strong in their first SEC Tournament game, looking like a confident team riding a five-game winning streak. The 4-seeded Commodores defeated the 12-seeded Oklahoma Sooners 6-1, securing a spot in Saturday’s semifinal.
Vanderbilt’s starting pitcher, JD Thompson, set the tone early, striking out two batters in a nine-pitch, four-minute first inning. Thompson continued his dominant performance, tossing five innings and allowing just one run on two hits while racking up 11 strikeouts—almost double his strikeout total in his earlier loss to Oklahoma in April.
Though Thompson had some trouble with control, issuing three walks and hitting two batters, the Sooners couldn’t fully capitalize on the opportunities. Oklahoma managed to score their only run in the second inning, taking advantage of two walks and a passed ball to put runners in scoring position. Sooner centerfielder Jason Walk grounded out, but the play was enough to bring in Sam Christiansen for Oklahoma’s lone run.
Vanderbilt responded in the third inning. Johnathan Vastine led off with a single, and Jacob Humphrey reached on a throwing error. Mike Mancini then laid down a bunt, beating the throw to load the bases. Rustan Rigdon put the Commodores on the board with a groundout, driving in the first run of the game.
RJ Austin kept the rally alive with a two-run double to left field, scoring Mancini and Humphrey. He stole third base to keep the pressure on, and Riley Nelson followed with a double of his own to bring Austin home, giving the Commodores a 4-0 lead.
Oklahoma’s mistakes continued in the fourth, setting up another Vanderbilt run. After a two-out error and a hit batter, Austin delivered again, smashing a single to score another run, pushing the lead to 5-1.
In the seventh inning, Braden Holcomb added an insurance run, doubling to score Nelson from first. Holcomb advanced to third on the throw home, but the Commodores couldn’t get another hit to extend the inning.
Vanderbilt’s bullpen kept control of the game. Luke Guth relieved Thompson in the sixth and continued the shutout, striking out one batter and walking another but escaping unscathed. Levi Huesman took over in the seventh and cruised through his inning, but ran into some trouble in the eighth.
After hitting Christiansen, Huesman allowed him to advance to third on a groundout and wild pitch. With two men on base, Huesman was replaced by closer Sawyer Hawks. Hawks walked the bases loaded but struck out the next batter to escape the jam. He then struck out two more batters in the ninth, closing out the game without further drama.
The Commodores will now have a rest day on Friday before facing the Tennessee Volunteers in the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday, May 23, at 12 p.m. CT.
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