Vanderbilt evens up the series with Mizzou in extra innings

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Eight unanswered runs over the course of six innings lifted Vanderbilt to a series-tying win at Taylor Stadium, as Commodores took down the Tigers 11-8 in 11 innings, on Saturday.

Head coach Kerrick Jackson's team actually held an 8-3 lead headed into the sixth inning, thanks to some timely hitting from Camdenton alum Kam Durnin, second baseman Blaize Ward and first baseman Jase Woita. However, after Durnin scored the team's eighth run on a Vanderbilt wild pitch, the offense went stagnant.

Through the next seven innings, Mizzou went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

All the while, the Commodores were slowly chipping away at the Tigers' lead. In the sixth inning, the Vandy boys got just the jolt they needed with a Logan Johnstone solo home run to cut the deficit to four runs. Vanderbilt put up three runs in that frame to get within two runs of MU.

It didn't take long after that for Vanderbilt to tie up the ball game. In seventh, Johnstone plated a run courtesy of a sacrifice grounder and then, in the eighth, Rustan Rigdon knocked his sixth homer of the year the fence in center field to put everyone at eight runs apiece.

It took until the 11th inning for that tie to be broken, but Vanderbilt's Ryker Waite called game with a solo shot to get his squad up one run. Then, a few batters later, Johnstone capped off his four-RBI outing by putting a little insurance on it for Vandy, going up 11-8.

Coach Jackson's team had no response ready in the bottom of the 11th, as a pair of strikeouts from Commodore closer Wyatt Nadeau ended the ball game for Vandy.

Up next - Mizzou will look to secure the series win in its final home game of the 2026 campaign. The Tigers' senior day bout against the Commodores will get going at 1 p.m. on Sunday.