NASHVILLE (Interstat) — Connor Fennell struck out seven over 6 1/3 innings and the Vanderbilt Commodores defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks 9-1 on a Thursday afternoon at Ken Dugan Field at Stephen Lee Marsh Stadium.

Fennell allowed four hits and one earned run while walking none in his 6 1/3-inning start, earning the win for Vanderbilt, which improved to 30-23 overall and 14-15 in Southeastern Conference play. Alex Kranzler struck out four over 2 2/3 perfect innings of relief, allowing no hits and no runs.

South Carolina dropped to 22-32 and 6-23 in the SEC with its eighth straight loss. The Gamecocks managed only four hits in the game, all singles, and struck out 15 times.

The decisive moment of the game came in the bottom of the second inning. With the score tied 0-0, Vanderbilt sent 10 batters to the plate and scored four runs on four hits, capitalizing on a costly error by South Carolina left fielder Kennedy Jones, whose fielding miscue allowed two additional runs to score.

Luke Johnston and Braden Holcomb led off the inning with back-to-back singles. After Tommy Goodin walked to load the bases, Rustan Rigdon doubled to left-center, driving in Johnston and Holcomb for a 2-0 Vanderbilt lead. Chris Maldonado then walked, but a strikeout followed.

Ryker Waite then singled to left, scoring Rigdon and Goodin. Waite advanced to second on the play when the left fielder’s error allowed Maldonado to advance to third. South Carolina changed pitchers, bringing in Brandon Stone, who walked Jacob Mancini before getting a double-play grounder to end the inning. Vanderbilt led 4-0.

South Carolina’s lone run came in the top of the second. After Ethan Randolph singled, he was erased on a fielder’s choice bunt. But Kennedy Evans struck out, and then Ethan Lizama singled down the right-field line to score pinch runner Beau Bak from second.

The Commodores answered by tacking on five more runs over the next three innings. In the fifth, a two-out rally began when Calvin Johnston singled. After a fielder’s choice and a throwing error by the second baseman, Holcomb singled to score Johnston, making it 5-1. Goodin followed with an RBI single, and after a walk, Parker Marlatt relieved Stone. Mason Reynolds greeted him with an RBI single to push the lead to 7-1. Waite then lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Goodin for an 8-1 advantage.

Vanderbilt added its final run in the seventh. Josh Gunther took the mound for South Carolina and allowed a single to Rigdon, who stole second. Maldonado doubled down the left-field line to score Rigdon for the 9-1 margin.

Parker Marlatt of South Carolina struck out three over two perfect innings. Josh Gunther struck out one over two innings while allowing one earned run. Brandon Stone allowed two earned runs over 2 2/3 innings with one strikeout.

At the plate, Vanderbilt’s Tommy Goodin went 3 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Braden Holcomb was 2 for 5 with an RBI and two runs. Ryker Waite went 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Rustan Rigdon was 2 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs. Chris Maldonado added a double and an RBI.

For South Carolina, Ethan Lizama had two of the team’s four hits and drove in the Gamecocks’ only run. Ethan Randolph singled, and Kennedy Evans singled. The Gamecocks left eight runners on base.

The series continues Friday and Saturday at the same venue.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Vanderbilt 4, South Carolina 1 before the game, and Interstat’s ELO system gave Vanderbilt a 70.00 percent probability of winning.