Vandy, Pecoraro blank Rebels
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Nashville, Tenn. –
Vanderbilt shutout No. 22 Ole Miss 3-0 Thursday night at Hawkins Field
behind starting pitcher T.J. Pecoraro. The sophomore
right-hander cruised through nine innings to become the first
Commodores (27-25, 14-14) pitcher since Richie Goodenow in 2010 to
pitch a complete game shutout. Pecoraro (1-4) allowed only three Rebels
(34-20, 14-14) to reach scoring position all night throwing first pitch
strikes to 27 of the 31 batters he faced and recorded seven one-pitch
outs. The defense picked up Pecoraro in the sixth inning
after Tanner Mathis led off the inning with a double. A sacrifice bunt
moved Mathis over to third and an error put runners on the corners with
one out. Matt Snyder lifted a fly ball into left field that Jack Lupo
caught for the second out then gunned down Mathis trying to score from
third to end the inning. Pecoraro cruised from there facing 10 batters
over the final three frames to complete his second straight game and
earn his first win of the season. The Vanderbilt offense
scratched out a run in the fourth off Ole Miss starter Bobby Wahl
before tacking on two more runs in the sixth. In the fourth the
Commodores plated a run without the benefit of a hit. Mike Yastrzemski
reached first on a one-out walk then stole second and looked to be
picked off second base before swiping third. Gomez knocked him in on a
groundout to shortstop for a one-run Vandy lead. Vince Conde led off
the sixth with a double off the left field wall before coming around to
score on an error by the shortstop. Tony Kemp reached on the error and
scored two batters later when Gomez singled through the left side. Gomez,
Conde and Conrad Gregor were the only three Commodores to record hits
in the win as the Dores set a season-low with three hits. Ole Miss was
limited to just five hits with Pecoraro issuing no walks. Wahl (6-2)
took the loss for the Rebels giving up three runs, two earned, on three
hits with five strikeouts. The shutout victory was the
fifth of the season for the Commodores with the win matching a
season-best three-game winning streak. Vandy returns to
action tomorrow night with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. Sam Selman
(8-3) gets the nod for the home team against Rebels’ right-hander Mike
Mayer (4-2).
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