Spencer Jones and the top single-game performances in Vanderbilt baseball history

Spencer Jones did something that hasn't been done for Vanderbilt baseball in 65 years. The right fielder went 6-for-6, with the sixth of those hits being a walk-off single to beat Indiana State 8-7 on Tuesday night and tie the school record for hits in a game. His hits included four singles, a double and a triple and he also stole two bases. The last six-hit game for the Commodores was in 1957.

Here's how Jones' performance compares to some of the other top single-game achievements in the Commodores' history:

19-strikeout no-hitter: Kumar Rocker, 2019

Perhaps the most well-known single-game performance in Vanderbilt history, Kumar Rocker no-hit Duke in an elimination super regional game. The 3-0 victory is regarded by some as one of the greatest games ever pitched.

Nineteen strikeouts in a single game is not the school record (Doug Wessel racked up 23 in a game against Chattanooga in 1970) but the context of Rocker's performance makes his more impressive; not only was it a win or go home game, it came against one of the top teams in college baseball.

Rocker's no-hitter was the first and only to ever take place in a super regional. Vanderbilt went on to win the national championship as Rocker was named College World Series Most Outstanding Player.

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14 total bases: Connor Kaiser, 2018

Vanderbilt's 2018 team struggled through the regular season but found its stride in the postseason. In the final game of a regional at Clemson, Connor Kaiser — largely a light-hitting shortstop — had one of the best single-game performances of any college hitter.

Kaiser went 5-for-7, blasting three homers, including a grand slam, to double his season total. He totaled 10 RBIs and 14 total bases, all three of which are still school records for Vanderbilt, and was named Clemson Regional MVP. Kaiser's 10 RBIs were at the time an NCAA Tournament record, though that was broken in 2019.

Vanderbilt won the game, 19-6, and advanced to super regionals.

Reaching in 15 straight PAs: Jason Esposito, 2010

While not technically in a single game, Jason Esposito set a school record by reaching base in 15 consecutive plate appearances across a three-game series with Mississippi State in 2010. Esposito's top performance came in the second game, which Vanderbilt trailed 5-3 going into the ninth inning. Esposito scored the tying run after a hit batter with the bases loaded. The Commodores won the game, in which Esposito went 5-for-5, in 10 innings and ended up sweeping the series.

Winning at the plate and on the mound: Clinton Johnston, 1998

An All-American two-way player who still holds the single-season record for RBIs for his 1998 season, Clinton Johnston had a game for the ages against LSU, an eventual College World Series team. In the 8-7 victory, Johnston hit two three-run home runs. Later in the game, he pitched two innings of relief and earned the win.

Vanderbilt, which went 6-24 in the SEC, still notched four wins over eventual College World Series teams, though the Tigers, who reached the semifinals, went the furthest of any team those Commodores beat.

Hitting for the cycle: Clinton Johnston, 1996

Just a freshman at the time, Johnston hit for the cycle (hitting a single, double, triple and home run in the same game) against Kentucky in 1996. That feat is made more impressive by the fact that it came in an SEC game against a team that finished the season 15-14 as Vanderbilt won the series.

Johnston is still the most recent Commodore to hit for the cycle. Not even recent greats under coach Tim Corbin have accomplished the feat.

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Spencer Jones and Vanderbilt baseball's top single-game performances