HOOVER, Ala. – Vanderbilt scored four runs over the final four innings as it completed a 7-6 comeback win over Mizzou baseball in 10 innings on Wednesday afternoon (May 20) in game six of the 2015 SEC Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. Mizzou junior righty Peter Fairbanks (St. Louis, Mo.) struck out 10 batters over 5.2 innings and left the game with a 6-2 lead. After Fairbanks left the game, Vanderbilt clubbed three homers and scored four times, including a Rhett Wiseman walk-off homer in the 10th to complete the comeback.
The loss drops the Tigers to the elimination portion of the bracket and they will play Alabama tomorrow morning at 9:30 p.m. on SEC Network. Mizzou falls to 30-27 on the season while Vanderbilt improves to 40-17.
Mizzou got on the board in the first as Brett Peel (St. Charles, Mo.) and Jake Ring (Ingleside, Ill.) drew back-to-back walks off of Vandy starter Tyler Ferguson to open the game. They then pulled off the double steal in front of a Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) single through the right side. That scored Peel, but Ring was gunned at the plate.
Freshman catcher Brett Bond (St. Louis, Mo.) then delivered a big two-out hit to plate Howard, giving Mizzou a 2-0 lead after the top of the first. It was Bond’s seventh two-out RBI this season, the fifth-most on the team. Vanderbilt got those runs back on a two-run homer by SS Dansby Swanson.
Fairbanks settled in following the Swanson homer, striking out the side in the second and third innings while mowing through the Vandy lineup. Mizzou’s offense responded to Fairbanks’ phenomenal pitching in the top of the fifth inning. Peel led off the frame with a single to get things going. Ring and Howard then singled to give Mizzou three straight hits and a run. Josh Lester (Columbus, Ga.) then hit a sacrifice fly to center to give Mizzou a 4-2 lead. Bond delivered another RBI single to put Mizzou on top 5-2 and Shane Benes (Town & Country, Mo.) hit into an RBI fielder’s choice to give Mizzou a 6-2 lead. In all, Mizzou scored four runs on five hits in the frame, sending eight men to the plate.
Fairbanks then came back out in the bottom of the fifth and retired the side in order, picking up two more strikeouts to push his total to 10 through five innings. He ran into some trouble in the sixth inning, as Vandy put runners on the corners with two out. That gave way to reliever Andrew Schwaab (St. Charles, Mo.) and he promptly struck out Bryan Reynolds on a 2-2 slider.
Schwaab then gave up a two-run homer to Jeren Kendall in the seventh as Vandy cut the lead to 6-4. He then retired the next three batters he faced to send the game to the eighth inning. Swanson homered off of Scwaab in the eighth to cut it to 6-5. Breckin Williams (Oronogo, Mo.) came on in the ninth inning and after getting the first two batters, he walked pinch hitter Nolan Rogers. Penn Murfee then pinch hit and fell behind Williams, 0-2, but lined a single into centerfield and Ring misplayed the ball, allowing Rogers to score and tie the game.
Wiseman then homered with one out in the 10th, just over the outstretch glove of Ring in CF to seal the win.
Mizzou will play Alabama in an elimination game Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.
— MU Sports Information —