'Voltellos take series vs Ole Miss; Hoops in Sweet 16 Tennessee used two run-rule victories to take their SEC home opening series over Ole Miss.
A blown 9th inning save on Saturday kept the Volunteers from a series sweep.
Tennessee improved to 21-4 and 3-3 in SEC on the season.
Friday Tennessee ambushed the Rebel Blackbear Landsharks on a rainy night to open the weekend series.
Powered by five home runs, Tennessee run-ruled Ole Miss 15-3 in seven innings.
The Vols scored five runs — all with two outs — in the bottom of the 2nd to take an early lead.
A Robin Villeneuve 3-run home run in the bottom of the 3rd made it 8-0.
Kavares Tears' line drive hit just above the wall in dead centerfield for a 2-run shot that made it 10-0 in the 4th inning.
Christian Moore’s 2nd solo home run of the game and was the first of four runs scored in the 6th inning.
AJ Causey earned the win, going 5.2 innings.
Saturday Ole Miss took an early 1-0 lead on an Andrew Fisher solo home run in the top of the 1st.
A 2-out, 2-run line drive home run into the left field porches by Hunter Ensley put Tennessee on top 2-1 in the bottom of the 2nd. It would be the Vols’s only hit until the 7th inning.
Tennessee’s lead didn’t last long as the Rebels tied it with another solo home run with one out in the top of the 3rd.
With one out and a full count in the top of the 6th, Fisher’s 2nd solo home run of the game gave Ole Miss a 3-2 lead.
Vols pitching coach Frank Anderson was ejected from the game after a mound visit following the home run and suspended for Sunday’s series finale.
Vols starter Drew Beam went 5.2 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits (3 HRs) with five strikeouts.
Tennessee loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the 7th and tied the game when Dalton Bargo’s ground ball to 1st was thrown away as the Rebels attempted to turn a double play.
With two on and one out in the bottom of the 8th, Blake Burke lined a ball off the right field wall that gave the Vols a 5-4 lead.
After a walk and sac bunt moved the potential tying run into scoring position in the top of the 9th, Ole Miss leadoff hitter Jackson Ross doubled to right centerfield to tie the game at 5.
Aaron Combs then replaced AJ Russell, who left the game with a forearm injury.
A 2-strike single with the bases loaded gave Ole Miss a 7-5 lead and the Rebels would add another insurance run on a hit-and-run that took away a potential inning-ending double play.
The Vols brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the 9th in pinch hitter Cannon Peebles but a strikeout evened the series at one a piece.
Sunday Tennessee wasted no time taking the lead in the rubber game.
Blake Burke hit his SEC-leading 13th double down the left field line in the bottom of the 1st, then Kavares Tears sent a 2-0 get-me-over fastball over the right centerfield wall to put the Vols up 2-0.
Ole Miss got one run back in the top of the 2nd with a 2-out RBI single by the 9-hole hitter. The batter was thrown out at 2nd to end the inning. The Rebels would’ve had runners on the corners for the top of the order.
Nate Snead replaced Vols starter Zander Sechrist with one out in the top of the 3rd and got out of a bases loaded jam.
Tennessee then took control of the game putting up five runs in the bottom of the 3rd.
Christian Moore’s 2-run oppo shot barely cleared the right field wall and landed in the Vols’ bullpen. The LNS wall scraper was CMo’s 3rd home run of the series and 10th on the season. He now has 37 career home runs, three shy of tying the school record and one behind teammate Blake Burke.
Later in the frame, Dylan Dreiling crushed a 3-run, no-doubt home run to right field that gave Tennessee a 7-1 lead.
Ole Miss hit a 2-run home run in the top of the 4th but the Vols responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. First on a Dean Curley solo home run that nearly hit W Lynn’s flag in the left field porches, then a 2-out RBI double by Billy Amick to the left centerfield gap that scored Burke from 1st base.
Curley added a 2-run single in the bottom of the 5th then Billy Amick hit Tennessee’s 5th grand slam of the season to extend the lead to 15-3 and bring the run-run into effect.
Snead pitched the final 4.2 innings to earn the win. He struck out a career-high six while allowing three runs on six hits.
Notes: — Tennessee had seven 2-out RBIs in Sunday’s series finale. The Vols now have 108 2-out RBIs on the season. Entering play on Sunday, the next most among SEC teams was Kentucky with 69. Needless to say, the Vols’s .329 batting average with two outs this season is also tops in the SEC, with Kentucky the only other team in the league hitting above .300 with two outs.
— All six of the Vols who have started at least 20 games this season have at least eight home runs, led by Billy Amick and Christian Moore with 10 apiece.
— The Vols host Tennessee Tech on Tuesday before a 3-game series with Georgia this weekend.
The Bulldogs are coming off a sweep of Alabama and have the nation’s top home run hitter in Charlie Condon. The O/U for Condon home runs this weekend is 3.5. The Dawgs and Vols ranked first and second nationally in home runs this season.
— With Zander Sechrist starting on Sunday, who starts Tuesday’s midweek game will be interesting. The Vols are still trying to develop some pitching depth in the bullpen, especially with right-handers now that AJ Russell was pulled with an injury for the second time this season.
Tennessee Basketball In The Sweet 16 It was far from pretty but Tennessee is one of 16 teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament.
A few thoughts from the Texas game:
— 3-of-25 from three. That stat alone means Tennessee is very lucky to still be playing. Plenty of teams went home over the weekend who played better games than the Vols in the 2nd round but surviving and advancing is all that matters.
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The Vols don’t win without Tobe Awaka. His eight 1st half points were massive in a game where Jonas Aidoo struggled from the start.
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Jordan Gainey played one of his better games against quality competition. Scored four points and made a couple of hustle plays on defense in the 1st half. Was a non-factor in the 2nd half and still played too many minutes but him being a net positive in the 1st half helped the Vols take a 9-point lead into halftime.
— Despite the glaring mismatch Oregon would’ve presented inside vs the Vols, would’ve much rather faced the Ducks than Creighton. The 3 seed Blue Jays reached the Elite Eight last season as a 6 seed and are one of the best offensive teams in the country. They shoot a ton of threes. Defensively, they have arguably the best rim protector in the country and run teams off the 3-point line. Tennessee can’t shoot any worse going forward, but they’ll need to have a good shooting night to out-score the Blue Jays, who lost twice to Kim English’s Providence team this season.
I'll be on with Brian and Tony today ...
Talk to you then..
@Mattdixon3'