As the sun set on perhaps the most shocking day in Alabama baseball history, the Tide scored one of their biggest wins of a suddenly chaotic season Thursday night.

Fourth-year outfielder Andrew Pinckney sent a second-inning grand slam over the left field fence of Sewell-Thomas Stadium, which was all Alabama needed to beat fifth-ranked Vanderbilt just hours after the university fired its sixth-year coach, Brad Bohannon.

The 11-2 victory marked the beginning of the tenure of interim head coach Jason Jackson, previously Bohannon’s pitching coach. Jackson and Alabama players were not expected to be made available to reporters after the game, the first since details emerged about Bohannon having direct contact with a person making bets in Cincinnati on LSU to beat Alabama last Friday.

The wagers were flagged as suspicious by U.S. Integrity, a third-party monitor that alerted Ohio’s gaming authorities and is also contracted with the SEC to watch betting activity on the conference’s games. The NCAA, which prohibits coaches from betting or providing information to bettors, is also looking into the incident. A person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press, “There is no reason to believe at this time that any student-athletes are involved.”

After Alabama was swept last weekend in Baton Rouge, Thursday’s series opener in front of a crowd of 3,418 in Tuscaloosa provided a boost to the Tide’s postseason résumé as uncertainty loomed following Bohannon’s termination.

Alabama entered the night ranked No. 22 in RPI, and is now 4-9 in games against current RPI top-25 opponents. The Commodores, No. 5 in RPI, have the second-highest ranking of any opponent Alabama has beaten this season behind No. 4 Kentucky, which the Tide defeated March 26.

Alabama improved to 31-15 overall and 10-12 in the SEC, behind only LSU and Arkansas in the West division. Vanderbilt leads the SEC East at 16-6 and 33-12 overall.

Starting pitcher Luke Holman, who was scratched an hour before his scheduled start last Friday at LSU, took the mound Thursday night and pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts. Holman gave up a first-inning home run but Alabama responded by loading the bases in the second inning before Pinckney’s two-out grand slam.

Vanderbilt scored a run with an RBI single in the fifth inning, but Alabama kept the game out of reach with runs scored in the fourth and seventh innings — then had a four-run eighth inning that included a three-run homer by fifth-year infielder Drew Williamson.

Jackson joined Bohannon’s staff shortly after his hiring in June 2017 after spending nine seasons at Florida Atlantic. The Tallahassee, Florida native has also coached at North Florida Community College, Mercer and South Alabama.

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.