Vanderbilt baseball celebrates with dogpile following 2023 SEC title win
The Vanderbilt Commodores entered the SEC’s baseball tournament as the No. 4 seed and left Hoover, Alabama as champions, defeating Texas A&M 10-4 on Sunday in the SEC Tournament Championship.
The Commodores started the eighth inning with a narrow one-point lead over the Aggies. But Vandy’s bats got hot at just the right time, as a five-run scoring surge in the bottom of the eighth helped extend their lead and propel them to victory.
Vanderbilt closer Nick Maldonado was tasked with protecting the team’s big lead in the ninth inning and did just that, forcing a ground ball that shortstop Jonathan Vastine turned into a game-winning double play that led to a legendary, celebratory dog pile in Hoover Met Stadium.
Left fielder Troy LaNeve got the offense started early for Vanderbilt with a three-run home run in the second inning to give the Commodores an early 3-1 lead. An RJ Austin single in the fourth inning and an Enrique Bradfield sacrifice RBI would give the team their only other two runs of the game before their electric eighth inning offensive outburst.
Bradfield would come up big again for the Commodores starting off the inning with a double to center field. A series of singles and wild pitches from Texas A&M’s pitchers helped Vanderbilt keep the baserunners busy, until a Calvin Hewett double would send three runners home and put the nail in the coffin for the Aggies championship hopes.
Vandy’s offense was strong throughout the entire tournament, collecting an impressive 15 hits on Sunday along with five walks. The hit party matched a new SEC Tournament record, as the Commodores logged 10-plus hits in four straight SEC Tournament games on the way to their title win. Their 10-run performance followed their 11-run game versus Florida in the semifinals and marked the 18th double-digit scoring showing of the season (which all resulted in wins).
Freshman second baseman RJ Austin took home the SEC Tournament’s Most Valuable Player Award for his impressive showing in Hoover. Austin ended the week with seven hits and five RBIs, recording two singles, two runs, and two base on balls in the championship game.
Another freshman, designated hitter Chris Malanado, also made the SEC Baseball All-Tournament team, recording seven hits of his own throughout tournament play.
The Commodores now await their postseason seeding, as the Field of 64 will be announced Monday at noon ET on ESPN2 for the NCAA Tournament.