Who said that you only need to use one pitcher in a shutout?
The Vanderbilt baseball team certainly proved this theory wrong on Wednesday, using five different hurlers to piece together a solid 4-0 victory over the Wright State Raiders.
Sophomore Chase Reid started the game off for the Commodores, pitching a flawless three innings and allowing two hits on only 31 pitches. One of those hits came on Reid's very first pitch of the game.
"I just went up there and tried to keep hitters off balance by making the right pitches," Reid said.
One day after scoring eight runs and defeating the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, Wright State seemed to have nothing left in the tank against the shutdown pitching and grinding at-bats of the Commodores.
"If you are going to hit like we did tonight you better pitch and play defense well," said coach Tim Corbin.
Indeed, Vanderbilt was perfect on defense, committing no errors, but could only muster six hits on the evening.
Sophomore first baseman Curt Casali helped propel Vanderbilt to an early first inning lead after he singled up the middle to drive in junior Brian Harris from second base, his first of two runs on the day.
Vanderbilt put the game away in the third thanks to Wright State mistakes in the field. Sophomore Steven Liddle drove in Harris on an error by the Raider centerfielder, while freshman Riley Reynolds was able to score on a wild pitch from pitcher Jordan Marker, who was facing his first batter after starter Michael Meintel had been pulled from the game.
The Commodore pitching picked up the slack from there, as Grayson Garvin and Drew Hayes each pitched for two innings while allowing one hit. Richie Goodenow followed with an inning of perfect relief while freshman sensation Sonny Gray came in to close out the game and earned his fifth save of the year, lowering his ERA to a staggering 0.60.
Things are looking bright for the young Commodore squad (16-8, 2-4 Southeastern Conference), who travels to Auburn tomorrow to take on a team that has been struggling as of late following an 11-game winning streak earlier in the year. As the victory over Wright State demonstrated, with solid pitching, the sky is the limit for Vanderbilt baseball in 2009.
