HOOVER, Ala. – Vanderbilt was hardly winded heading into the Southeastern Conference baseball tournament’s title game. That one, though, was anything but a breeze.
Philip Clarke’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the top-seeded Commodores an 11-10 comeback victory over seventh-seeded Ole Miss on Sunday at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, securing the program’s first conference tourney title since 2007.
The Commodores (49-10) surged into the NCAA regionals as a potential No. 1 overall seed, having won nine straight games and 22 of 23. They came into the title game with three tournament wins by a combined score of 25-5 but had to rally from an early 9-1 deficit against Ole Miss.
The only other close one for the Commodores this year in Hoover was a 1-0 win over fourth-seeded Mississippi State in the third round.
“We’ve had a lot of games where we score early this year, and to be in that situation was something new for us,” Clarke said. “To see us come back from that, that gives us a ton of confidence. It’s really good to have moving forward.”
The Rebels (37-25) were seeking their second straight tournament championship and appeared well on their way after a six-run first inning. They had to play six games in six days after failing to get a bye for Tuesday’s opening round, having lost six straight before winning their regular-season finale.
Vandy surged back with five runs in the fourth, including Pat DeMarco’s three-run homer. That inning made it 9-8, and the Commodores tied it in the sixth on Harrison Ray’s RBI double.
Ole Miss reliever Austin Miller (5-3) struck out six consecutive batters but was pulled after walking the bases loaded with two outs in the ninth. Clarke delivered Ryan Olenek’s first pitch into right-center field for the game-winning run, scoring Austin Martin.
Tyler Brown (3-1) pitched three scoreless innings to earn the win for Vandy, allowing two hits.
Clarke went 3-for-6 with three RBIs.
ACC: North Carolina 10, Georgia Tech 2
DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina’s parade of pitchers kept trying to outdo one another. The hitters kept swinging for the fences.
It added up to another Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament championship for the Tar Heels.
Fifth-seeded North Carolina (42-17) hit four home runs – including a pair during a four-run sixth inning – and its pitchers combined on a four-hitter against second-seeded Georgia Tech (41-17) in the ACC title game at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Aaron Sabato and Ashton McGee each hit a two-run homer during that big inning, Michael Busch added a solo homer in the seventh and Brandon Martorano hit a three-run shot in the ninth.
After losing three of their final five regular-season games, the Tar Heels found their groove with a 4-0 run at the league tournament, which they won for the seventh time.
“When we made mistakes, they made us pay,” said Yellow Jackets coach Danny Hall, whose program was going for its 10th league tourney title.