Vanderbilt baseball vs. Florida series opener weather delayed due to lightning: See new start time

Vanderbilt baseball’s Thursday game against Florida has been delayed due to lightning in the area.

The game was paused with Vanderbilt holding a 9-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.

NCAA rules state that the game cannot resume until 30 minutes after the most recent lightning strike within an eight-mile radius of the ballpark. An updated time of resumption was not immediately available. The game was suspended at approximately 6:48 p.m. CT.

The game will restart at 8:05 p.m., according to an announcement in the ballpark.

Shortly before the delay, the Commodores (27-10, 8-7 SEC) took the lead with a five-run fifth inning that included a two-run triple from RJ Austin and a two-run homer from Alan Espinal.

Troy LaNeve and Austin also hit home runs in the sixth inning to make the score 9-3 over the Gators (19-17, 7-8).

The game time for the series opener was already moved up 90 minutes due to the potential for thunderstorms later in the evening.

If the game is unable to be completed Thursday night, it will be resumed Friday prior to the originally scheduled 6 p.m. game.

Starting pitcher Bryce Cunningham threw six innings and allowed three runs, with one walk and seven strikeouts.

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