Duke routs Vanderbilt 18-5 to open Nashville Super Regional
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Kyle Gallagher hit a three-run home run and had four RBIs as the Duke Blue Devils routed Vanderbilt 18-5 in a game that ended early Saturday morning to take the opener of the Nashville Super Regional.
The Blue Devils (35-25) also snapped a 12-game winning streak by Vanderbilt, the nation’s No. 2 overall seed to move a win from its first College World Series berth since 1961.
The Commodores (52-11) have lost five super regionals when dropping the opener. They had never allowed this many runs in this round.
Duke and Vanderbilt waited out a 3-hour, 10-minute weather delay before finally starting Friday night, and the Blue Devils handled the wait better as they handed Drake Fellows (12-1) his first loss.
Erikson Nicols also had four RBIs, including a two-run single in the second for Duke. Austin Martin tied it with a two-run single in the bottom of the second.
Gallagher’s homer put Duke up 6-2. Duke turned the game into a rout adding 10 in the eighth highlighted by three batters hit by pitches and a pair of runs walked in with the bases loaded.
Ben Gross (8-4) struck out five in 5 1/3 for the win.
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