NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Interstat) — Tommy Goodin broke out of a brief slump in emphatic fashion, launching a three-run homer in the first inning to immediately erase an early deficit and propel the Vanderbilt Commodores to an 11-1 victory over the Xavier Musketeers in a nonconference baseball game Tuesday afternoon at Ken Dugan Field at Stephen Lee Marsh Stadium.

The game’s decisive moment came swiftly. Xavier’s Clay Burdette had staked the Musketeers to a 1-0 lead with a solo home run to left-center in the top of the first. Vanderbilt’s response in the bottom half was immediate and powerful. After a lineout, Cam Johnston and Braden Holcomb singled to set the table for Goodin. The Commodores’ first baseman, who was hitless in his previous nine at-bats spanning three games, connected on a towering three-run shot to left-center, swinging the momentum permanently in Vanderbilt’s favor.

Goodin finished 3 for 4 with a home run, a double and five RBIs, leading a 13-hit offensive barrage for the Commodores, who improved to 25-17. Xavier managed only five hits and fell to 19-23.

Vanderbilt starter Jacob Faulkner earned the win, allowing one run on three hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out two. The Commodores’ bullpen was dominant, as Nate Schlote, Jakob Schulz and others combined for 4 2/3 innings of scoreless, two-hit relief with seven strikeouts.

Xavier’s early lead vanished with Goodin’s blast, and Vanderbilt methodically extended its advantage. Goodin added a sacrifice fly in the third inning for his fourth RBI, and he drove in another run with a single in the fifth. The game was put out of reach later in the fifth when shortstop Ryker Waite cleared the bases with a grand slam to right field, turning a 5-1 contest into a 9-1 rout. Waite walked twice and homered in his three plate appearances, driving in four runs.

Holcomb also had a big afternoon for Vanderbilt, going 4 for 5 with a double, an RBI and three runs scored. Rustan Rigdon added two hits, a walk and an RBI.

Xavier’s offense struggled to sustain threats after the first inning. The Musketeers loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth but could not score. Relievers Owen Poole and Eli Bridenthal provided scoreless outings for Xavier, each striking out two.

The most important part of the game was undoubtedly the bottom of the first inning. Facing immediate adversity after surrendering a solo home run, Vanderbilt’s offense, catalyzed by Goodin’s three-run homer, not only answered but established a tone of control. That swift three-run swing took the early energy from the visiting Musketeers and set the stage for a comfortable Commodores victory, defying a pregame projection from Interstat that had forecast a high-scoring Xavier win.

Vanderbilt added two unearned runs in the eighth inning on an RBI single from Holcomb and a run-scoring single from Rigdon to finalize the scoring.

Xavier next hosts Saint John’s for a three-game series beginning Friday. Vanderbilt opens a Southeastern Conference series at home against Texas on Friday.