Rylan Bannon hit a grand slam in a 13-run seventh inning as Xavier upset top-seeded Vanderbilt 15-1 on Saturday in their NCAA Tournament opener.
Xavier (31-28) will play UC Santa Barbara in the winner's bracket Saturday night. The Musketeers won for the 17th time in 19 games thanks to 40 minutes in the top of the seventh where the Big East champs batted around twice.
This was the first game for Vanderbilt (43-18) since freshman pitcher Donny Everett drowned while on a fishing trip on Thursday. The Commodores left a spot open in memory of Everett during pregame introductions and had his jersey in the dugout against a team they swept in three games in March. Vandy also beat Xavier 11-0 to start the run to its 2014 national title.
Vanderbilt committed four errors against the Musketeers. Xavier starter Zac Lowther gave up one run on four hits and three walks over seven innings, striking out eight.
