NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Benny Casillas, Khadim Diaw and Dylan Dennis all had clutch hits and the Lions baseball team defeated No. 7 Vanderbilt 5-2 on Sunday afternoon at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn. 

 

The Lions fell behind in the fourth inning before the offense woke up. 

 

Robbie Ayers got the start at designated hitter in the matinee and singled to open up the fifth. Connor Blough followed up when he got plunked with a 1-1 fastball to put runners at first and second. Dennis sacrificed the runners to second and third before Cole Roberts walked to load the bases. Casillas stepped up and drove a 1-0 pitch high off the wall in left field to score a pair. Diaw would follow with an RBI groundout to stake the Lions to a 3-1 lead. 

 

After the Commodores got one back in the bottom half of the fifth, the Lions would continue to add on.  

 

In the top of the seventh, Roberts was hit by a pitch with one out. A batter later, Casillas would ground out to first, advancing Roberts to second. Diaw would lace an 0-1 pitch right back up the middle to score an insurance run.  

 

LMU would put another run up in the eighth. Devan Ornelas singled in his first at bat of the game after coming in as a defensive substitution. Ayers would follow up with a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt to advance Ornelas to second. Dennis would come up with two outs and line a first pitch over the second baseman's head to plate Ornelas.  

 

The ninth inning was a rollercoaster.  

 

The Lions scored four runs and recorded only a single hit. Diaw was issued a one-out walk, followed by a Sam Biller single through the right side. Diaw, running on the pitch, advanced all the way to third. Diego Baqueiro followed up with a walk to load the bases. Ornelas and Ayers would work back-to-back walks to score a pair before Baqueiro scampered home on a wild pitch. Connor Blough bounced out to first to plate another and the Lions took a 9-2 lead to the bottom of the ninth. 

 

The Lions allowed four runs in the ninth but held on for the victory to salvage a win in the series against a top 10 opponent.  

 

The Lions got solid performances out of both pitchers today.  
 
Owen Hackman got the start and went six strong innings. He allowed two earned runs on six hits, walked a pair and struck out five.  

 

Merrick Baldo took the ball in the seventh and fired three innings to record his third save. Baldo allowed two earned runs on four hits and struck out four.  

 

The Lions were hard-luck losers in the previous two games in the series, losing 2-1 on Friday before falling 2-0 on Saturday. They look to take the momentum from Sunday's victory into Monday night when they host UC Santa Barbara in the first of a pair of midweek matchups with the Gauchos. First pitch at Page Stadium is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (PT). 

 

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