Adam Sparks

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

A 95 mile-per-hour pitch is a pipe dream for most college pitchers. For Vanderbilt’s Jordan Sheffield, it was simply his 108th pitch of Friday night’s 9-0 win over Illinois-Chicago.

That was Sheffield’s final pitch in the No. 3 Commodores’ series-opening victory. The sophomore right-hander and Tullahoma native notched a career-high 11 strikeouts and allowed five hits in seven shutout innings.

His fastball hit the upper-90s in the first inning and lost very little by the end of his night. But for all that velocity, Sheffield’s slowest pitches kept him in the game.

“What I really thought he was doing well late in the game was commanding his off-speed pitches,” coach Tim Corbin said. “His touch was still good. When a guy tires, it usually disables those three other pitches (besides the fastball). But he had those pitches going.”

Sheffield (2-0), whose fastball was clocked at 100 mph in a reliever role last season, warmed up quickly. He struck out eight of the first 16 batters he faced.

“I’m not aware of (pitch count or velocity) in the game. I’m just trying to get outs,” Sheffield said. “The pitch count will come. Runs will come. Outs will come.

“I felt good by the second inning. Once you get through those nervous butterflies, you’re just rolling.”

In the fourth inning, he struck out the side with only 11 pitches, including 10 strikes.

Sheffield was efficient and controlled. He walked only one batter, gave up five harmless singles and tossed 74 strikes among his 108 pitches.

Vanderbilt’s Bryan Reynolds, a former Brentwood High standout, hit his first home run of the season as part of a 3-for-4, three-RBI night. The Commodores (6-0) had 14 hits, but Sheffield needed minimum run support in a dominant second start of the season.

Vanderbilt’s big offensive inning was just as efficient as Sheffield was on the mound. The Commodores scored five runs in the fourth to take control, and their decisive sequence needed only six pitches.

Ro Coleman hit the second pitch he saw into center for a single. Jeren Kendall pulled the first pitch of his at-bat to the right-field corner and off the wall for a triple that scored Coleman. And then Reynolds turned on the first strike he saw (third pitch overall) and belted a two-run home run off the left-field scoreboard.

Earlier in the fourth, Vanderbilt scored two runs during a peculiar at-bat by Connor Kaiser, who never made fair contact. A balk scored Will Toffey, and then Kyle Smith reached home on a suicide squeeze attempt. Kaiser tried to lay down the bunt when Smith took off for home, but the pitch was high and Smith’s slide popped the ball out of the catcher’s grasp to stretch the Commodores’ lead to 5-0.

“It took me a second to process (the sign for a suicide squeeze), but I was all for it,” Smith said. “I think I caught (the tag) with my spike. I just went in hard and tried to disrupt whatever I could.”

Coleman, Kendall and freshman Alonzo Jones had two hits each, and Jason Delay had two RBIs.

Junior left-hander Ben Bowden will start Saturday’s game for Vanderbilt, and sophomore right-hander Kyle Wright is set to start game three on Sunday. Both games will begin at noon at Hawkins Field.

Reach Adam Sparks at 615-259-8010 and on Twitter @AdamSparks.