NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The North Dakota State baseball team dropped the first game of a three-game series against Vanderbilt, 14-2, in seven innings on Friday night at Charles Hawkins Field.

The Commodores (9-6) started the game swinging, opening up a two-run lead in the bottom of the first with a home run to right field off the bat of Brodie Johnston. They would add on another five runs in the bottom of the third, extending their lead to 7-0 with a solo home run from Max Jensen. The Bison (1-12) got on the board in the top of the fourth with back-to-back RBI singles by Kyle Law and Diego Trujillo to make the score 7-2. Vanderbilt responded by pushing across four more runs in the bottom half, increasing their lead to 11-2 with another three-run home run from Chris Maldonado. The Commodores went on to pick up the 14-2 run-rule win.

Caleb Corbin went 2-4, leading the way for a Bison offense that collected seven hits. Law and Trujillo also added both a hit and an RBI. Colten Becker went 1-for-3 with a run, while Dante Smith and Evan Gustafson each added one hit apiece.  

Parker Puetz (0-3) made his fourth start of the season with six strikeouts across 3.0 innings. Garrett Shupe closed out the final 3.0 innings on the hill.

The Bison are back in action tomorrow for game two against Vanderbilt. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. CT.