Vanderbilt rides Drake Fellows' slider, Jayson Gonzalez's homer to NCAA opening win

CLEMSON, S.C. — Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin said playing small ball in a dense humidity played a part in his team’s 2-0 win Friday.

St. John’s coach Ed Blankmeyer cited the wind as a cause for a couple of key plays.

But all amateur meteorology aside, it seemed every coach and player in Doug Kingsmore Stadium had to recognize Drake Fellows’ deceptive slider as the deciding factor in the opener of the Clemson Regional.

“His slider was just on today. It was really good,” said St. John’s slugger Josh Shaw, one of Fellows’ eight strikeout victims.

More:How Vanderbilt beat St. John's in NCAA baseball tournament opener

Best win of Drake Fellows’ career

Fellows (7-4) used a fastball that touched 94 mph to get ahead in the count and then a devastating late-diving slider on punch-out pitches. The combination gave the sophomore right-hander the most important victory of his career, considering the NCAA Regional stage.

Vanderbilt (32-25) will play the Clemson (46-14) at 6 p.m. Saturday on SEC Network.

More:Vanderbilt baseball coach Tim Corbin paid $2.3 million in 2016, per tax return

Fellows tossed 103 pitches over seven innings, allowed only three hits and no runs while striking out eight.

“And he was more effective as the game went on,” Corbin said of Fellows, who struck out the side in the seventh inning to finish his day. That especially was a welcomed sight because Fellows had given up 21 of his previous 30 earned runs in the fifth inning or later.

“That’s when I really found (the slider) in the later innings, about the fifth inning on,” Fellows said.

Clutch swings or lucky breaks?

Vanderbilt scored both runs on what Blankmeyer called “lucky” turns in the game.

In the first inning, freshman Philip Clarke, a former Christ Presbyterian Academy standout, cued a pitch off the bat for an RBI double down the left-field line. And in the fifth, freshman third baseman Jayson Gonzalez lifted a solo home run — his first since April 3 — just as the otherwise stagnant wind finally blew toward right field.

But Blankmeyer still admitted his team lost because of Fellows’ unflappable command.

“Bottom line is that at this time of the year, when power arms are pitching well, they’re going to be tough to hit,” Blankmeyer said. “I just thought they were in control.”

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Who pitches Saturday night?

Vanderbilt did what was needed to win game one. It got a strong performance from its starting pitcher and used only two innings of its bullpen. Plus, its freshman-laden lineup made a solid debut, as rookies accounted for five of the Commodores’ eight hits.

But there is a warning that lies in the opening win. Vanderbilt squeezed out just eight hits and two runs. That level of offense likely won’t cut it the remainder of the Regional against Clemson and perhaps Morehead State, two of the top four home-run hitting teams in college baseball.

Fortunately for Vanderbilt, it still has weekend starters Patrick Raby and Mason Hickman available to take the mound in the next two games. It is Raby’s turn in the rotation, but Corbin would not commit to naming a Saturday starter after Friday’s win.

It wasn’t clear if Corbin, a former Clemson assistant, was playing cat-and-mouse with his previous employer, or if he’s actually undecided on a starting pitcher.

“We’ve got a couple more starters,” Corbin said. “But I just think we want to match them up accordingly. It could be either/or, but I have not had time to think about it.”

Reach Adam Sparks at asparks@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.

CLEMSON REGIONAL

VANDERBILT (32-25) VS. CLEMSON (46-14)

When: 6 p.m. Saturday

TV/Radio: SEC Network/560 AM, 95.9 FM