Vanderbilt Commodores

Live Blog: No. 11 Vanderbilt at No. 15 Tennessee, Game 2

Follow along here for live updates, reactions and analysis of Saturday's game between the Commodores and Volunteers.
Taylor Hodges|
Vanderbilt's Rustan Rigdon (19) tags Tennessee's Hunter Ensley (9) out at second base during a college baseball game between Tennessee and Vanderbilt at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on May 9, 2025.
Vanderbilt's Rustan Rigdon (19) tags Tennessee's Hunter Ensley (9) out at second base during a college baseball game between Tennessee and Vanderbilt at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on May 9, 2025. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Follow along here for live updates, reaction and analysis of Friday afternoon's series opening game between the Commodores and Volunteers.

ICYMI: Vanderbilt Offense Stifled in Opening Game Against Tennessee

FINAL: No. 11 Vanderbilt 10, No. 15 Tennessee 6

(Most recent updates at the top.)

9th Inning

B9: Ethan McElvain comes in to finish off the Volunteers, getting a three up, three down inning to end the game and set up a series-deciding Sunday finale. Vanderbilt 10, Tennessee 6

T9: Tennessee catches a second Vanderbilt runner trying to steal second base to end the inning. Vanderbilt has eight stolen bases in the game. Vanderbilt 10, Tennessee 6

8th Inning

B8: Vanderbilt's outfielders are like vacuum cleaners today. RJ Austin has made some key catches, but Jacob Humphrey has his second highlight reel-worthy catch in right field. Vanderbilt 10, Tennessee 6

T8: Tennessee finally catches a Vanderbilt runner stealing (just barely) and a RJ Austin strikeout ends the inning. Vanderbilt 10, Tennessee 6

SIDE NOTE: Missouri has won its second SEC game of the season, 4-1 against Texas A&M, which is two more than I thought the Tigers would get.

7th Inning

B7: Holy cow that was a bomb. Gavin Kilen knew it was gone as soon as he hit Sawyer Hawks' pitch and so did everyone else. Two pitches later, Andrew Fischer does the same thing to straight-away center field. But Vanderbilt's elite fielding turns a hard-hit ground ball into an inning-ending double play.

Talk about a momentum-shifting inning, though, as the Volunteers have a much more realistic chance of coming back. Vanderbilt 10, Tennessee 6

T7: Vanderbilt had scored at least one run in the last four innings, but is held scoreless (and hitless) for the first time since the second inning. Vanderbilt 10, Tennessee 4

6th Inning

B6: Luke Guth comes into the game and gets a three up, three down inning for Vanderbilt on the mound. Vanderbilt 10, Tennessee 4

T6: This is an important game for both teams, from bragging rights to SEC and NCAA Tournament seeding. So, expect both teams to pull out all the stops. For example, Tennessee is bringing in its fourth pitcher of the game, Dylan Loy.

Loy gets a strikeout, but loads the bases with a walk and is relieved by AJ Russell.

RJ Austin hits Russell's first pitch into shallow left field to score two runs, Riley Nelson hits his third pitch into right field to score Rigdon, Brodie Johnston hits his sixth pitch for a RBI fielder's choice (Austin scored from second a throwing error).

The Commodores' offense definitely showed up today. Vanderbilt 10, Tennessee 4

5th Inning

B5: Cody Bowker has done a good job, but isn't going to make it past the fifth inning. A walk after giving up a double two batters earlier forces the pitching change and Miller Green will come in from the bullpen.

Dalton Bargo gets a two-out RBI single in Green's first at-bat and with runners at the corners, Dean Curley hits a similar ball up the middle to score another run and we have a ballgame again. Vanderbilt 6, Tennessee 4

T5: Braden Holcomb is having himself a great day. He had a two-run home run earlier and now has added a two-out RBI single that scored Riley Nelson, who had gotten to third base on a balk. Vanderbilt 6, Tennessee 2

4th Inning

B4: Cody Bowker maintains the Commodores' lead and has five strikeouts, one walk, and four hits allowed through four innings. Vanderbilt 5, Tennessee 2

T4: Gotta love it when a batter beats a shift by hitting the ball in the middle of the shift, which is what Riley Nelson does to leadoff the inning and it pays off big time. Braden Holcomb hit a 377-foot home run to right center field, giving Vanderbilt a two-run lead.

Mike Mancini adds a run after a Jonathan Vastine gets on base with a two-out infield single, and Jacob Humphrey is hit by a pitch. That forces Tennessee into a pitching change after just 3.2 innings. Brandon Arvidson is the new pitcher for Tennessee and escapes the inning with a strikeout and runners at second and third base.

Side note: There has been some rain coming down at the stadium, but not enough to stop play. Vanderbilt 5, Tennessee 2

3rd Inning

B3: Cody Bowker looking solid on the mound for Vanderbilt. Just had his first three up, three down inning and has four strikeouts in the game. Tennessee 2, Vanderbilt 2

T3: Vanderbilt is 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts, including two steals of third base. Just like in the first inning, Jacob Humphrey steals third and scores the tying run on a Rustan Rigdon groundout. Tennessee 2, Vanderbilt 2

2nd Inning

B2: Fairly quick inning from Bowker. Took him four pitches to get the first two outs before giving up a single and then a fly out to end the inning. Tennessee 2, Vanderbilt 1

T2: I wrote about how Marcus Phillips may not be as good as Liam Doyle, but he's still good enough to cause problems for Vanderbilt at the plate.

It's still early, but Phillips struck out the first two batters he faced and got a groundout to end the inning. Tennessee 2, Vanderbilt 1

1st Inning

B1: Tennessee's Hunter Ensley is having himself a fantastic series. He had three highlight reel catches to rob Vanderbilt of runs last night and today, he hits a one-out, two-run home run (Cody Bowker walked the second batter faced) in his first at-bat.

So, maybe it's not the uniforms. Tennessee 2, Vanderbilt 1

T1: Is it the uniforms? Vanderbilt wore the white with black pin stripes last night and we know how that game went. Today, they're wearing the amazing black with gold pin stripes uniform (I'm still looking for a better looking baseball uniform) and already got one run (via an impressive stolen-base-trip around the bases by Rustan Rigdon and RJ Austin got an RBI groundout). Vanderbilt 1, Tennessee 0

Pregame

Taylor Hodges here once again for Vanderbilt-Tennessee's second game of their weekend series. I remember watching Marcus Phillips pitch for Tennessee against Ole Miss earlier this season and thought he looked good. But the Rebels were able to force him out of the game in the fourth inning and went on to win 10-8. Can the Commodores duplicate that today? We'll find out soon enough. First pitch is coming up soon.

Vanderbilt Commodores Starting Lineup

  1. Rustan Rigdon, 2B
  2. RJ Austin, CF
  3. Riley Nelson, 1B
  4. Brodie Johnston, 3B
  5. Braden Holcomb, LF
  6. Mac Rose, C
  7. Jonathan Vastine, SS
  8. Jacob Humphrey, RF
  9. Mike Mancini, DH

Tennessee Volunteers Starting Lineup

  1. Gavin Kilen, SS
  2. Andrew Fischer, 1B
  3. Hunter Ensley, CF
  4. Dalton Bargo, LF
  5. Dean Curley, 2B
  6. Reese Chapman, RF
  7. Manny Marin, 3B
  8. Cannon Peebles, C
  9. Chris Newstrom, DH

Pitching Matchup

RHP Cody Bowker (2-4, 4.50 ERA, 54 IP, 73 SO, 24 BB, 27 ER, .216 b/avg.) vs. RHP Marcus Phillips (3-3, 3.02 ERA, 59.2 IP, 72 SO, 23 BB, 20 ER, .211 b/avg.)

How to Watch: No. 11 Vanderbilt at No. 15 Tennessee

TV: ESPN2

Radio: Live Radio

Stats: Live Stats

Vanderbilt Commodores On SI:

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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