Vanderbilt Tied For First in SEC East After Sowers Strikes Out 12
in 7-4 Win Over No. 8 Auburn

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Jeremy Sowers tied a career high with 12 strikeouts and the Commodores scored four unearned runs in the fourth inning as Vanderbilt topped No. 8 Auburn 7-4 in the series opener, Friday, April 25 at Hawkins Field.

The victory moves Vanderbilt into a tie for first place in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division after Ole Miss defeated East-leading South Carolina 6-5. Florida entered the night in second place, but was rained out at home against Mississippi State. Tennessee also lost at LSU 17-4.

The win is Vanderbilt's seventh against a ranked SEC opponent in its last 10 games. The Commodores improve to 21-19 overall and 9-10 in the SEC. Auburn loses for the third time in its last four conference games to slip to 31-12 overall and 12-7 in league play.

Sowers tied his career high for strikeouts with 12 in 8.0 innings pitched. He also struck out a dozen batters against then-No. 17 Kansas (3/2/03) and last year against Iowa (3/2/02). The sophomore left-hander gave up four hits and a run in the first two innings before retiring nine of the next 10 batters he faced. He ended the night allowing eight hits, two runs (both earned) and two walks.

Vanderbilt took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Jonathan Douillard hit his first home run of the year, a two-run blast to center field, that also scored John Kaye.

The Commodores built their lead to 6-1 in the fourth, scoring four unearned runs. Kaye reached base after a fielding error by Auburn shortstop Chuck Jeroloman. Tony Mansolino then extended his career-best hit streak to 12 games when he doubled along the right-field line, sending Kaye to third base. Ryan Godfrey gave VU a 3-1 lead when he followed with a sacrifice fly to left field that brought in Kaye. Two batters later, Zach Simpson singled to right field to bring around Mansolino from second base to make the score 4-1. Ryan Klosterman then hit his third home run of the year, a two-run shot to left center field that plated Simpson and gave Vanderbilt a 6-1 lead.

Auburn trimmed the Commodore lead to 6-2 in the sixth when Tug Hulett singled and scored three batters later on a single by Karl Amonite. Hulett was 3-for-4 for the Tigers with a RBI and two runs scored. Amonite posted a game-high four hits on the night.

Vanderbilt pushed the lead to 7-2 in the eighth when Worth Scott singled in Cesar Nicolas from first base.

The Tigers tried to mount a comeback in the ninth when Commodore reliever Jensen Lewis replaced Sowers. The first three Auburn batters reached base when Sean Gamble took first on a fielding error by Mansolino at third base. Javon Moran was hit by a pitch. Hulett then followed with a run scoring single to left field that plated Gamble. On the play, however, Moran took a wide turn at second base and was thrown out from left field on his return to second. After Bobby Huddleston made the second out when he grounded out to short, the Tigers scored again. Josh Bell singled to left field and scored Hulett from third base to make the score 7-4. Amonite then singled through the right side of the infield to bring the tying run to the plate. However, Lewis struck out Scott Schade to end the game.

Vanderbilt goes for its first series win against Auburn since 1973 Saturday at 4 p.m. The game can be heard on WNSR 560 AM. The three-game SEC series finale is Sunday at 1 p.m. It will be televised live by Comcast Sports Southeast.