Vanderbilt Eliminates Missouri From SEC Tournament Behind Raby's Shutdown Pitching

Vanderbilt baseball advanced to the elite eight of the SEC Tournament behind a dominant performance from freshman pitcher Patrick Raby. The Commodores defeated Missouri 7-0 in the first game of the conference bracket on Tuesday.

Raby threw six shutout innings and allowed only four baserunners against an overmatched Tiger squad. Mizzou ace Tanner Houck matched him step for step before running into trouble in the sixth inning. A leadoff walk and a Jeren Kendall single put runners on the corners for Bryan Reynolds, and Vandy's veteran leader delivered with a two-run double down the right field line.

A pair of errors by Missouri third baseman Brian Sharp helped the Commodores make it 4-0 to close out the inning. Julian Infante added two more by crushing the first pitch he saw as a pinch hitter to parts unknown.

A Kyle Smith single a few batters later capped off the scoring at 7-0.

The Commodores advanced to face No. 3 seed (and No. 1-ranked) Texas A&M at 9:30 a.m. CST on Wednesday. Head coach Tim Corbin told the media he'll start left hander John Kilichowski against the Aggies.

Tim Corbin told us @1025TheGame that it will be @JJkilich who gets the start tomorrow. Another key P for @VandyBaseball if he can heat up.

— Willy Daunic (@WillyD1025) May 24, 2016