Western Kentucky dropped a 3-2 baseball decision to No. 15 Vanderbilt on Tuesday in Nashville.

With the Hilltoppers leading 2-0 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Commodores hit a pair of home runs for a three-run rally and held on for a one-run win.

Lefty Troy Newell got the start for the Hilltoppers, holding the Commodores scoreless in his three innings of work. He allowed only two hits and struck out one.

Reliever Michael Darrell-Hicks followed with a scoreless inning in the fourth, leading into WKU’s scoring frame. In the top of the fifth, Nick Brunson led off with a walk and Steven Kraft was hit by pitch to put runners on first and second for Jacob Rhinesmith.

The junior rolled a ground ball that was misplayed by the third baseman for an error, and Brunson came around to score on the play. After Vanderbilt thwarted a double-steal by throwing out Kraft at third – with Rhinesmith safe at second – Richard Constantine lined an RBI single to right field to score a second Hilltopper run for a 2-0 lead.

The third man out of the WKU bullpen, Michael Martin, posted a scoreless fifth to hold the lead for one inning, but found trouble in the sixth.

Vanderbilt’s Pat DeMarco led off the inning with a solo home run, his fourth of the season. Then, Stephen Scott struck out but reached on a wild pitch. The next batter up, Connor Kaiser, hit a first-pitch home run to left-center to give the Commodores a 3-2 lead.

The combination of Maddex Richardson, Jacob Green and Ben Morrison got the final nine outs for the Hilltoppers without allowing a run. That trio racked up five strikeouts and allowed only five baserunners.

Luke Brown walked to lead off the sixth, but he was caught stealing. The final 11 WKU hitters were retired by the Vanderbilt bullpen, as the SEC club held on for the win.

WKU next hosts Marshall for a Friday-to-Sunday set in Conference USA action. First pitch on Friday will be at 5 p.m., followed by 1 p.m. start times on Saturday and Sunday.