HOOVER, Ala. – Vanderbilt pitching core struck out 17 and beat Oklahoma 6-1 on Thursday night at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, advancing to face Tennessee in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
The No. 4 seed Commodores, led by head coach Tim Corbin and ranked No. 9 in the country by D1Baseball.com in the week of May 19, will now play the defending national champion and No. 8 seed Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, May 24 at 1 p.m. EDT on SEC Network.
Oklahoma, in its first year in the Southeastern Conference under head coach Skip Johnson, dropped to 35-20 overall with a 16-17 conference record. The Sooners, with an RPI of 26, will await their postseason fate on Selection Monday, May 26 at noon EDT on ESPN2.
Vanderbilt’s pitching staff dominated the night. Starter JD Thompson and relievers Luke Guth, Levi Huesman, and Sawyer Hawks combined to allow just two hits and one earned run across nine innings, with 17 total strikeouts and only three walks.
Thompson moved to 5-5 on the season after striking out nine over five innings, allowing two hits, one earned run, and three walks on 92 pitches—58 for strikes.
The Commodores opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning, when second baseman Rustan Rigdon grounded out to shortstop Jaxon Willits, bringing Jonathan Vastine home for a 1-0 lead.
One batter later, center fielder RJ Austin lined a two-run double down the left field line, scoring right fielder Jacob Humphrey and designated hitter Mike Mancini to stretch the lead to 3-0.
⚡️ @RjAustin14 pic.twitter.com/YElJixgqso
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) May 23, 2025
First baseman Riley Nelson followed with a double down the right field line, scoring Austin to make it 4-0.
Nelson scores Austin for the fourth run of the inning. pic.twitter.com/REeHX6OImy
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) May 23, 2025
Oklahoma answered in the top of the fourth when Jason Walk grounded out to third base, scoring Sam Christiansen to cut the deficit to 4-1.
Vanderbilt responded in the bottom of the inning as Austin reached on an infield single to short, plating Vastine again to make it 5-1.
+1⃣
RJ picks up his third RBI of the game. pic.twitter.com/XQjFLSh5XN
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) May 23, 2025
Braden Holcomb capped the scoring in the seventh with a double to left field, driving in Nelson for a 6-1 advantage.
Holcomb with the swing and Nelson with the wheels. pic.twitter.com/HazxIkttsR
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) May 23, 2025
Oklahoma left 10 men on base and committed three errors in the loss. Starting pitcher Cade Crossland dropped to 4-5 on the year, and he was followed by relievers Gavyn Jones, Jason Bodin, and Reid Hensley. The Sooners’ staff combined to allow eight hits, four earned runs, two walks, and four strikeouts.
Vanderbilt enters Saturday’s game leading the nation in strikeouts per nine innings at 11.9 and ranking fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 3.28.
Postgame reactions
JD Thompson said the key was pounding the strike zone early and trusting his curveball. “I’m not scared to pitch in traffic,” he added. “I know how to take care of it.”
Thompson, who struck out nine over five innings, said the plan against Oklahoma was to avoid free passes and let Vanderbilt’s defense handle the rest.
RJ Austin said the team has been locked in since the players-only meeting last weekend. “We knew what we had to do,” he said. “Now it’s about getting better every day.”
Austin, who drove in three runs and extended his hitting streak to seven games, said his approach was simple: “Go up there with a clear mind, find a good pitch, and compete.”
Head coach Tim Corbin praised his staff’s consistency and noted catcher Mac got the start after Colin was sidelined with food poisoning. “Mac stepped in and did a nice job,” Corbin said.
Corbin said the team isn’t looking ahead. “We’re not worried about next week. We’re here to win this tournament,” he said. “Every day matters.”
On the program’s identity, Corbin said, “This didn’t happen overnight. Culture is built over time. You don’t turn a cruise ship on a dime.”
2025 SEC Baseball Tournament Schedule
All Game Start Times Are Eastern Daylight Time
*Second Game Of Each Session Will Begin Approximately 30 Minutes After The Conclusion Of First Game
Tuesday-Sunday, May 20-25
Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Hoover, Ala.
Tuesday, May 20 – First Round
Game 1: No. 9 Alabama 4, No. 16 Missouri 1 – Final
*Game 2: No. 12 Oklahoma 5, No. 13 Kentucky 1 – Final
Game 3: No. 10 Florida 11, No. 15 South Carolina 3 – Final
Wednesday, May 21 – Second Round
Game 4: No. 14 Texas A&M 9, No. 11 Mississippi State 0 – Final – First Round
Game 5: No. 8 Tennessee 15, No. 9 Alabama 10 – Final
*Game 6: No. 12 Oklahoma 3, No. 5 Georgia 2 – Final
Game 7: No. 10 Florida 1, No. 7 Ole Miss 3 – Final
Thursday, May 22 – Quarterfinals
Game 8: No. 14 Texas A&M 3, No. 6 Auburn 2 – Final – Second Round
*Game 9: No. 8 Tennessee 7, vs. No. 1 Texas 5 – F/12
*Game 10: No. 12 Oklahoma vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt – 7 p.m. – SECN
Friday, May 23 – Quarterfinals
Game 11: No. 7 Ole Miss vs. No. 2 Arkansas – 4 p.m. – SECN
*Game 12: No. 14 Texas A&M vs. No. 3 LSU – 7 p.m. – SECN
Saturday, May 24 – Semifinals
Game 13: No. 8 Tennessee vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt – 1 p.m. – SECN
*Game 14: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – 4 p.m.- SECN
Sunday, May 25 – Championship Game
Game 15: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14 – 3 p.m. – ESPN2
SEC MLBPipeline.com Top 150 Draft Prospects
No. 7 – OF – Jace LaViolette – Texas A&M
No. 8 – RHP – Kyson Witherspoon – Oklahoma
No. 9 – LHP – Kade Anderson – Louisiana State
No. 10 – LHP – Liam Doyle – Tennessee
No. 16 – 2B – Gavin Kilen – Tennessee
No. 20 – OF/C – Ike Irish – Auburn
No. 24 – SS – Wehiwa Aloy – Arkansas
No. 28 – OF – Max Belyeu – Texas
No. 33 – RHP – Riley Quick – Alabama
No. 35 – 1B/3B – Andrew Fischer – Tennessee
No. 36 – OF/3B – Ethan Petry – South Carolina
No. 44 – LHP – Zach Root – Arkansas
No. 54 – SS/3B – Dean Curley – Tennessee
No. 55 – RHP – A.J. Russell – Tennessee
No. 60 – OF – Charles Davalan – Arkansas
No. 66 – 2B – Daniel Dickinson – Louisiana State
No. 69 – RHP – Marcus Phillips – Tennessee
No. 72 – LHP – J.D. Thompson – Vanderbilt
No. 78 – RHP – Chase Shores – Louisiana State
No. 79 – LHP- Jared Spencer – Texas
No. 90 – 1B – Jared Jones – Louisiana State
No. 99 – LHP – Justin Lamkin – Texas A&M
No. 100 – OF – RJ Austin – Vanderbilt
No. 101 – C – Easton Carmichael – Oklahoma
No. 102 – LHP – Pico Kohn – Mississippi State
No. 113 – RHP – Nate Snead – Tennessee
No. 116 – RHP – Mason Morris – Mississippi
No. 117 – SS – Jalin Morris – Texas
No. 123 – OF/1B – Tre Phelps – Georgia
No. 131 – SS – Colby Shelton – Florida
No. 133 – RHP – Malachi Witherspoon – Oklahoma
No. 141 – 3B – Brent Iredale – Arkansas
