SCORE: Tennessee 0, Kentucky 0 | B2

*SCROLL DOWN FOR LIVE AT-BAT BY AT-BAT FEED*

Fourth-ranked Tennessee baseball (32-7, 11-6 SEC) is set to battle the third-ranked Kentucky Wildcats (32-6, 15-2 SEC) Sunday in Lexington for game three of a top-five three-game series.

First pitch is at 1:00 p.m. ET on SEC Network +. Reminder that the online broadcasts can be accessed on any mobile device through WatchESPN. WatchESPN can be accessed through the ESPN App, or online at espn.com/watch. You can also watch or listen to the game using the links.

All three games are on SECN+ this weekend.

Tennessee is looking to win the series on Sunday after dropping the series opener, 5-3, and winning game two, 9-4. Sunday’s rubber match marks Tennessee’s fifth this season. The Vols are 3-1 in rubber matches so far this season.

A back-and-forth battle was decided late in the series opener when a costly error gave Kentucky the lead. The Vols’ offense couldn’t find any late-inning magic against Kentucky’s bullpen, and the Cats were able to earn the narrow victory in game one.

In game two, Tennessee used five first-inning runs and a strong relief outing from Aaron Combs to earn a series-evening victory.

Read more about Tennessee’s game two win here.

Most recently in SEC play prior to this weekend, Tennessee earned a series sweep over LSU in Knoxville, using great pitching from AJ Causey, Drew Beam, Nate Snead, Aaron Combs and Zander Sechrist to take all three games. The way Tennessee won the series was highly encouraging given the Vols’ pitching had been underwhelming in SEC play going into the LSU series.

The series win over LSU marked Tennessee’s fourth straight, as it also owns series wins over Georgia and Ole Miss at home and Auburn on the road.

Tennessee opened SEC play in Tuscaloosa against Alabama, who are the only team to beat the Vols in a series this season, winning games two and three.

In addition to the series wins over Ole Miss, LSU, Georgia and Auburn, some highlights from Tennessee’s season have been its series sweep over Illinois, 10-run midweek win over Kansas State, plus wins over Texas Tech and Baylor in Arlington.

As for Kentucky, the Wildcats have an SEC-best 15-2 record in conference play. The ‘Bat Cats’ have swept Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Ole Miss. Surprisingly, Kentucky’s lone SEC loss prior to this weekend came to the league’s worst team in Missouri, as the Wildcats took two of three games in the series.

The Wildcats have not lost an SEC series yet this season, and they’ll look to make it six-for-six with a win over Tennessee on Sunday.

There’s no question Kentucky is Tennessee’s toughest test to date and, on paper, will likely be Tennessee’s toughest test in the entire regular season.

STAT OF THE SERIES: This is the highest-ranked series matchup between Tennessee and Kentucky baseball in history.

Injury Note

-AJ Russell remains out as he deals with forearm soreness. Russell will likely be out for a while, but he didn’t suffer a very serious injury.

For all of RTI’s baseball coverage so far this season, including how Aaron Combs’ recent relief outings change Tennessee’s ceiling and what Tony Vitello said after the game two win, click here.

For the most recent RTI Press Pass Podcast on Tennessee Baseball, click here.

More From RTI: Tennessee Baseball vs. Kentucky Game Two Update Thread

Lineups, pitching matchup and additional pre-game notes are below, followed by the LIVE at-bat by at-bat game thread.

Starting Lineups

TENNESSEE STARTING NINE: 

2B Christian Moore (R)

1B Blake Burke (L)

3B Billy Amick (R)

RF Kavares Tears (L)

LF Dylan Dreiling (L)

SS Dean Curley (R)

CF Hunter Ensley (R)

DH Reese Chapman (L)

C Cal Stark (R)

Lineup Notes:

• Same lineup as Saturday.
• Only change is Ensley and Chapman swap spots in the order.
• Stark gets the catcher start for the third straight day. Stark has started every game of the series.
• Chapman gets the DH nod again over Bargo, who started Friday.
• Outfield rotation remains the same as it’s been with Ensley getting the nod in center. Seems like the outfield rotation that will be used more times than not.
• Top six of the order remain the same.

KENTUCKY STARTING NINE:

LF Ryan Waldschmidt (R)

2B Emilien Pitre (L)

SS Grant Smith (R)

DH Nick Lopez (S)

3B Mitchell Daly (R)

1B Ryan Nicholson (L)

CF Nolan McCarthy (R)

RF James McCoy (S)

C Devin Burkes (R)

Pitching Matchup:

Vols Sr. LHP Zander Sechrist (1-0, 3.34 ERA, 10 app., 9 starts, 32.1 IP, 31 H, 12 R, 12 ER, 6 BB, 37 K, .254 opp. batting avg., 1.14 WHIP)

vs.

Wildcats Jr. RHP Mason Moore (7-0, 3.45 ERA, 9 app., 9 starts, 47.0 IP, 33 H, 20 R, 18 ER, 22 BB, 43 K, .199 opp. batting avg., 1.17 WHIP)

Pitching notes:

• Sechrist logs his fifth straight start in SEC play. He’s coming off a great outing against LSU.
• Moore has started every weekend this season. Moore has largely been solid this season but is coming off his worst outing of the season at Auburn (5 ER in 2.1 IP)

Uniforms

Tennessee: Orange tops, grey bottoms

Kentucky: Black tops, white bottoms

*NOTE* There IS a RUN-RULE today. If Tennessee or Kentucky leads by 10 or more runs in the seventh inning or later, the game is OVER.

• Run-rule is MANDATORY in SEC games.

1st Inning: 

T1

-Christian Moore flies out to RF.

-Blake Burke grounds out to 2B.

-Billy Amick grounds out to 2B.

END OF TOP HALF

B1

-Ryan Waldschmidt strikes out swinging.

-Emilien Pitre grounds out to 1B unassisted.

-Grant Smith reaches on a bunt single to 3B.

-Smith caught stealing 1-3-6, picked off.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 0, Wildcats 0

2nd Inning: 

T2

-Kavares Tears strikes out swinging.

-Dylan Dreiling pops up to SS in shallow CF.

-Dean Curley grounds out to SS.

END OF TOP HALF

B2

Score: Vols 0, Wildcats 0

3rd Inning: 

T3

B3

Score: Vols , Wildcats

4th Inning: 

T4

B4

Score: Vols , Wildcats

5th Inning: 

T5

B5

Score: Vols , Wildcats

6th Inning: 

T6

B6

Score: Vols , Wildcats

7th Inning: 

T7

B7

Score: Vols , Wildcats

8th Inning: 

T8

B8

Score: Vols , Wildcats

9th Inning: 

T9

B9

FINAL: Tennessee Vols __, Kentucky Wildcats __