Vanderbilt Pitchers Outduel Rebels to Win SEC Baseball Tournament Title

The Ole Miss Rebels had trouble at the plate, only managing four hits on the afternoon, but in the fifth inning, things got interesting. Vanderbilt starting pitcher Austin Nye opened the inning forcing a strikeout and pop-out for two quick outs but then walked Hayden Federico and hit Luke Cheng to give the Rebels two free passes.

Vanderbilt brought Miller Green in from the bullpen looking for the third out of the frame, instead, Mitchell Sanford singled through the infield to get the Rebels within one run. The Commodores went straight to reliever Luke Guth with runners on the corners. Guth forced a pop fly to end the inning and stifle Ole Miss's comeback.

Nye finished his outing with 4.2 innings of work with five strikeouts, allowing one run on two hits with two walks and one hit batter.

The Commodores didn't waste time responding in their own half of the fifth inning. Senior right fielder Jacob Humphrey led off the inning with his fourth home run of the season. Humphrey's solo shot barely cleared the right-field fence and stayed just inside the foul pole, falling into the welcoming arms of the Vanderbilt relievers in the bullpen.

Ole Miss took one more stab at a comeback in the ninth inning as centerfielder Isaac Humphrey hit a one-out solo home run into the Commodores bullpen, but that was the final note in an efficiently played championship game.

Despite giving up the solo home run, Vanderbilt closer Sawyer Hawks earned the save with 2 innings pitched, striking out two batters. Hawks stumbled into two two-out walks, putting the go-ahead run on first but forced Brayden Randle into a pop-out to end the game.

The victory extends Vanderbilt's winning streak to eight games and gives the program a strong argument for the No. 1 overall seed in next week's NCAA Tournament.