The score of the box
CHAPEL HILL, NC – Vanderbilt’s baseball won an 8-5 victory over North Carolina on Friday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium in an exhibition game in the fall.
After falling to an early 2-0 deficit, Vanderbilt scored seven unanswered points to gain control and gain momentum. The Tar Heels added three runs in the eighth to make things interesting, but the Commodores added insurance late with a run in the ninth to claim the 8-5 victory.
Offensively, Vanderbilt was led by senior Dominic Keegan who managed a 3v3 outing with two runs scored. The duo of Parker Noland and Tate Kolwyck finished tied for the team lead in RBI with three apiece while each contributing two hits.
Carter Holton started for Vanderbilt by working three innings. The first-year southpaw allowed two earned runs on three hits while walking a batter and striking out five.
Patrick Reilly was the first arm to come out of the bullpen covering three frames without a shot. Reilly walked away and hit two strikeouts.
The sophomore trio of Miles Garrett, Donye Evans and Grayson Moore covered the final three images highlighted by 1.1 scoreless images of Moore recovering the save.
North Carolina scored first in Friday’s exhibition using a two-man rally to tackle a pair of runs at the top of the first. The rally began with a march before a two-out RBI double to left field crossed the first inning of the game to put the Tar Heels in the scoring column.
The inning continued with a hit to put the runners in first and second before a middle single slotted the second point off frame to give North Carolina a 2-0 lead after an inning. game.
Vanderbilt hit back with a point in the next half to reduce the deficit to 2-1. The duo of Keegan and Spencer Jones had back-to-back goals with one goal before Kolwyck lined up an RBI single down the left side to put the Commodores on the board.
Vandy got a fourth place in third to take the lead. With a down, Davis Diaz and Enrique Bradfield Jr. recorded back-to-back singles to put the runners in the corners. In the next strike at batting, Noland sent a ball into deep left field for a three-point shot to put the Dores in front.
The frame continued with three straight singles from Keegan, Jones and Kolwyck, which resulted in another run scored to give the Commodores a 5-2 lead to head to the bottom third.
Vanderbilt had single counts in the fifth and sixth to extend his lead. The sixth inning started with a walk on a walk to Noland before Keegan doubled down through center right to place the runners in second and third. A hitter later, Jones brought one with an RBI Groundout at first base to make it a 6-2 game.
With a down in the seventh, Diaz shot a four-length goal followed by a Bradfield single to put the runners in the corners. A relapse by the North Carolina pitcher allowed Diaz to cross and bring the score to 7-2.
The Tar Heels scored three runs in the eighth to reduce the lead to two, but Vanderbilt hit back with a run in the ninth to make the score 8-5, the eventual final.
The Commodores return to action on Saturday for a game with Richmond at the USA Baseball Training Complex. The first step is set at 9:00 am CT.
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