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Selman leads Dores by Raiders
Lefty fans career-high nine in fourth straight win
Nashville, Tenn. -
Vanderbilt junior lefty Sam Selman rode a four-run early cushion to
cruise to his fourth straight win, pitching the Commodores to a 5-1
victory over Middle Tennessee.
The Commodores, now 17-20
overall, scored four of their runs in the first inning, chasing Blue
Raider starter Cody Tollison without getting an out.
It marked
Vanderbilt's fourth straight win in non-Southeastern Conference play,
and was the Commodores' fourth victory in its last five games overall.
Middle Tennessee State falls to 21-16 with the loss.
Selman
has been remarkable for the Commodores since becoming a weekday starter
nearly a month ago. In the role, the left-hander is 4-0 and sports an
impressive 0.42 ERA over 21.2 innings.
Selman also set a new
career high with nine strikeouts, matching the Commodores' team high
set early in the year by sophomore Kevin Ziomek. Selman scattered seven
hits over 5.2 innings allowing one run.
Freshman Brian Miller
performed well in relief of Selman. Miller posted four strikeouts and
allowed just one hit in 3.1 innings to earn his fourth save.
The
Commodores jumped on Middle Tennessee State early. With Tollison
struggling with control, the first six Commodore batters reached base.
Junior Mike Yastrzemski gave Vanderbilt its first runs, scoring Tony
Kemp and Anthony Gomez with a bases-loaded single to right field. The
Commodores added a another run when Chris Harvey's bloop single to
right plated Conrad Gregor. Vanderbilt scored a fourth run in the first
inning when Yastrzemski scored on a double play.
The
Commodores posted an insurance run in the eighth inning when Gregor's
sacrifice fly scored sophomore shortstop Joel McKeithan.
The
Commodores, 6-9 in Southeastern Conference play, return to SEC action
this Friday in Tuscaloosa, Ala., with a three-game series against
Alabama.
After playing one of the nation's toughest
early-season schedules, Vanderbilt has moved to within three games of
.500 with the win over MTSU. It is the closest to .500 the Commodores
have been since the fifth game of the year.
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