North Dakota State University secured a 5-2 win over Vanderbilt in college baseball on Sunday at Hawkins Field in Nashville. Zak Szabo earned the victory for the Bison, pitching 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief with five strikeouts and no walks. Szabo threw 41 strikes out of his 61 pitches, retiring Vanderbilt in order during the sixth and eighth innings. He struck out three of the first four batters he faced and allowed only a two-out double in the seventh inning and two singles in the ninth.
The Bison took an early lead when designated hitter Kyle Law hit an RBI single to bring home third baseman Caleb Corbin after a leadoff walk in the first inning. North Dakota State added runs in both the fourth and fifth innings on ground outs by catcher Bennett Freiter and right fielder Diego Trujillo.
Vanderbilt narrowed the gap to 3-2 in the fifth inning after Rustan Rigdon started with a bunt single and Mike Mancini hit a two-run homer to center field with two outs.
North Dakota State extended its lead with back-to-back RBI singles from Trujillo and first baseman Aiden Schenk in the seventh inning. Trujillo finished with two hits in five at-bats and drove in two runs. Corbin drew two walks and scored three times, while left fielder Colten Becker went 2-for-4, extending his hitting streak to ten games. Law reached base three times, going 1-for-2 with two walks, a sacrifice bunt, and scoring twice.
NDSU starter Jonah Walker pitched 4 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on five hits along with four walks and three strikeouts. Vanderbilt’s Nate Taylor took the loss after allowing three runs on four hits over four innings.
North Dakota State (now holding a record of 2-13) will play Nebraska next on Wednesday before beginning Summit League play against Omaha on Friday.
