No. 16 Vanderbilt Opens SEC Action with Loss to No. 25 Auburn

SEC baseball kicks off with a bang — Vanderbilt stumbles against Auburn despite Jonathan Vastine’s early homer.

Vanderbilt Commodores catcher Mac Rose (16) talks with Head Coach Tim Corbin during their game against the Air Force Falcons at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. The Commodores beat the Falcons 3-1. | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For two and a half months we have seen the SEC’s men’s basketball teams battle one another in spectacular fashion and how thin the margin of error is in the conference standings.

That sentiment will continue to apply to the SEC baseball teams as they begin conference play this weekend. For No. 16 Vanderbilt, that start didn’t get off a to a great start against No. 25 Auburn.

Vanderbilt and Auburn held each other scoreless in the first two innings and the Commodores’ No. 9 hitter, Jonathan Vastine, was the one to end the scoring drought.

Vastine smashed a two-run home run to left field beyond the Plainsman Park outer wall, but Vanderbilt’s 2-0 lead wouldn’t last long.

The Tigers pushed across five runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The first of those runs came on a JD Thompson bases loaded, wild pitch. Thompson would give up a walk to the next batter, loading the bases again and a one-sided mound visit from Vanderbilt pitching coach Scott Brown.

Dutton does a job. 💪

M6 | Auburn 5, Vandy 2 pic.twitter.com/KpD8FKaPWg

— Auburn Baseball (@AuburnBaseball) March 15, 2025

Unfortunately, the mound visit didn’t have the impact Vanderbilt hoped for. In the ensuing at-bat, Cooper McMurray hit a sacrifice fly for Auburn. Deric Fabian followed with a two-run double and Chase Fralick added another run on a single to give the Tigers more than enough breathing room.

A loss never truly “helps” a team and it certainly won’t help the Commodores after falling Friday night. But baseball is different than basketball and the weekend could still end up being a successful one for Vanderbilt.

The Commodores will face off against Auburn in two more games this weekend, beginning with game two on Saturday. First-pitch for that game was moved up earlier in the day to 11 a.m. with the threat of severe weather in Alabama on Saturday evening.