The Bodda Getta

AUBURN – Vanderbilt got five runs in the first 2 1/3 innings Friday night at Plainsman Park, and that was more than enough for dominating left-hander Kevin Ziomek.

Ziomek took a no-hitter into the seventh and the Commodores held on to win the first game of the three-game series 5-2. The Tigers got a run in the eighth and another in the ninth and threatened to score more.

Auburn’s pitchers had a remarkable night as well, retiring the last 20 Vanderbilt batters.

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Greetings from Plainsman Park, where the weather is perfect for baseball. Even with the students on spring break, I would have expected a better crowd.

Here are the lineups:

VANDERBILT

Tony Kemp 2B, Jack Lupa LF,. Conrag Gregor 1B, Connor Harrell CF, Mike Yastrzemski RF, Vince Conde 3B, Rhett Wiseman DH, Joel McKeithan SS, Chris Harvey C, Kevin Ziomek LHP (4-0, 0.87, 31 IP, 12 H, 3 ER, 46 SO, 7 BB).

AUBURN

Jackson Burgreen RF, Dan Glevenyak SS, Ryan Tella CF, Patrick Savage DH, Cullen Wacker LF, Garrett Cooper 1B, Damek Tomscha 3B, Blake Austin C, Jordan Ebert 2B, LHP Daniel Koger (0-0, 2.42 ERA, 22.1 IP, 16 H, 6 ER, 15 SO, 6 BB).

TOP OF FIRST INNING

* Kemp lines out to first.

* Lupo pops out to first on a 3-2 pitch.

* Gregor drives a 1-2 pitch over the right field fence for his first home run of the year. Pitch was up in the zone and he made Koger pay. Vanderbilt leads 1-0.

* Harrell walks on five pitches. Not a good sign.

* Koger falls behind 3-0 against Yaz, and that brings HC John Pawlowski out of the dugout.

* Yaz drives a 3-2 pitch into the left-center gap for a double, scoring Harrell. It's 2-0, and that's a big lead with Ziomek on the mound.\

* Conde grounds out to second. Inning over.

* Koger threw 31 pitches in the first inning. Not a good start, especially after retiring the first two hitters.

2-2-0-1

BOTTOM OF FIRST

* Burgreen grounds out to second on a 3-1 pitch.

* Glevenyak strikes out swinging on three pitches.

* Tella is called out on strikes. Inning over. Ziomek is extremely impressive.

0-0-0-0

TOP OF SECOND

* Wiseman walks.

* McKeithan grounds hard to third, where Tomscha makes a terrific stop and gets Wiseman at second. Big-time play.

* Austin picks McKeithan off first.

* Harvey flies out to left. Inning over.

0-0-0-0

BOTTOM OF SECOND

* Savage grounds out to shortstop.

* Wacker rips a drive to deep center, but Harrell runs it down with his back to the infield.

* Cooper rips a drive to deep right-center but Harrell runs it down. Auburn had three good swings that inning with nothing to show for it.

0-0-0-0

TOP OF THIRD

* Kemp flies out to left.

* Lupo sizzles a single to left.

* Gregor singles to right

* Harrell launches his fifth home run over the centerfield fence. Not Koger's night, and not Auburn's night. It's 5-0.

* Yaz flies out to center.

* Conde grounds out to second. Damage done. Commodores up 5-0.

BOTTOM OF THIRD

* Tomscha strikes out swinging after narrowly missing an extra base hit to left.

* Austin grounds out to second on the first pitch.

* Ebert grounds out to shortstop on the first pitch.

0-0-0-0

TOP OF FOURTH

* Wiseman grounds out hard to first.

* McKeithan flies out to right.

* Harvey flies out to left. Easy inning for Koger.

0-0-0-0

BOTTOM OF FOURTH

* Burgreen flies out to left.

* Glevenyak strikes out swinging on a 3-2 pitch.

* Tella grounds out to third. Inning over,

* Through four innings, Auburn has not had a baserunner.

TOP OF FIFTH

* Kemp flies out to left.

* Lupo lines out to left.

* Gregor grounds out to shortstop.

* Koger has retired eighth straight since giving up a three-run homer.

0-0-0-0

BOTTOM OF FIFTH

* Savage grounds out to shortstop on a 3-2 pitch after getting ahead 3-0.

* Wacker grounds out deep to shortstop.

* Cooper flies out to center. That's five perfect innings for Ziomek.

0-0-0-0

TOP OF SIXTH

* Harrell flies out to left.

* Yaz flies out to center.

* Conde strikes out swinging.

* Koger has been outta sight since giving up the home run. He's retired 11 straight. That's important even if the Tigers don't come back because it preserves the bullpen going forward.

BOTTOM OF SIXTH

* Tomscha flies out to right.

* Austin walks on four pitches. So much for the perfect game.

* Ebert flies out to right.

* Burgreen lines out hard to third. Inning over. The no-hitter goes on.

0-0-0-1

TOP OF SEVENTH

* Jay Wade is on to pitch for Auburn.

* Wiseman very high foul popup falls between Austin and Tomschak.

* Wiseman pops out to first.

* McKeithan flies out to right.

* Harvey out on a terrific catch by Burgreen in right.

* Auburn pitchers have retired 14 straight Vandy hitters.

BOTTOM OF SEVENTH

* Glevenyak flies out to right.

* Tella lines a single to center. The no-hitter is gone.

* Savage flies out to right.

* Wacker flies out to right.

0-1-0-1

TOP OF EIGHTH

* Kemp flies out to left.

* Lupo grounds out to shortstop.

* Gregor grounds out to second.

* Auburn pitchers have now retired 17 consecutive Vanderbilt batters.

0-0-0-0

BOTTOM OF EIGHTH

* Cooper walks,

* Tomscha lines out to center.

* Austin hits a rocket on the ground to second for what looked to be an easy double play, but the throw back to first goes awry. Austin is safe.

* A balk sends Austin to second.

* Ebert drives a single to center and Austin scores from second. It's 5-1.

* Kody Ortman bats for Burgreen.

* Ortman smokes a single through second base. Runners on fist and second. Two outs. Sam Gilliken runs for Ortman.

* Glevenyak bounces back to the pitcher. Inning over. That was probably Auburn's chance.

1-2-0-2

TOP OF NINTH

* Will Kendall on to pitch.

* Harrell called out on strikes.

* Yaz strikes out swinging on a 3-2 pitch.

* Conde flies out to left.

* Auburn pitchers retired the last 20 batters the faced. Even in a probable losing effort, that's a remarkable feat by Daniel Koger, Jay Wade and Will Kendall.

BOTTOM OF NINTH

* Tella called out on strikes.

* Savage singles to center.

* Wacker singles to right and Savage goes to third on an error on the right fielder.

* Right-hander Brian Miller on to pitch for Vanderbilt. Ziomek had pitched back-to-back complete games.

* Cooper flies out deep to center. Sacrifice fly. It's 5-2.

* Tomscha strikes out swinging and the game is over.

* Good effort by the Tigers.