Vandy knocks off Tar Heels at CWS

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Connor Harrell hit the first College World Series home run in the new TD Ameritrade Park to break a sixth-inning tie and first-time qualifier Vanderbilt defeated North Carolina 7-3 on Saturday.

Harrell's two-run homer off Patrick Johnson over the left-field bullpen followed Conrad Gregor's tying double off the top of the wall.

Corey Williams (2-0) worked 2 2-3 innings of scoreless relief for Vanderbilt starter Sonny Gray. Johnson (13-2), who had allowed three earned runs in his previous 45 innings, was tagged for four earned - five total - in six innings.

Vanderbilt didn't act like a newcomer after the final out, which came when first baseman Aaron Westlake made a diving stop of Chaz Frank's hard grounder and touched the bag. There were just normal handshakes and backslaps behind the pitcher's mound.

The Commodores held North Carolina scoreless after the fourth inning. The Tar Heels left 16 runners on base.

Williams came on in the fifth to get Vandy out of a tough spot after Gray, the Oakland Athletics' first-round draft pick, walked the bases loaded.

Gray lasted 4 2-3 innings, the shortest of his 18 starts since going 4 1-3 in the season opener. He allowed three runs on eight hits, walked a season-high five and hit Colin Moran with a pitch that forced in a run in the fourth.

Vandy tied it at 3 in the sixth when Gregor drove a ball off the yellow line atop the wall in left center, and then Harrell hit his eighth homer of the season for a two-run lead.

The Commodores scored two runs with two outs in the eighth on back-to-back singles by Kemp, who went 3 for 4, and Gomez.