NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The UIC baseball team opened a three-game series against the second-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores Friday evening, dropping a 15-0 decision at Hawkins Field.
 
The Flames (1-4) were able to collect a pair of hits against the talented Vandy pitching, with Bryan Rosario tallying a double in the eighth while Joshua Figueroa notched a single in the second.
 
The two teams were scoreless headed into the bottom of the third when the Commodores exploded for six runs on five hits. A two-run single in the fifth made it 8-0 in favor of Vanderbilt while back-to-back home runs in the seventh extended the lead to 10-0. Vandy solidified its series-opening victory with a five-run eighth inning.
 
Junior Tanner Shears threw three innings in his second start of the young season while Bobby Nicholson came on in relief and threw the final five innings of action. The duo combined for five strikeouts.
 
Game two of the weekend series is slated for 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Jacob Key will get the ball for the Flames, taking on Vanderbilt's Kumar Rocker.