Tennessee drops series finale to Kentucky

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – It was a beautiful day for baseball Sunday afternoon, but it quickly soured as No. 11/23 Tennessee dropped Sunday’s series finale to No. 15/17 Kentucky, 10-0, at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

The Volunteers had their 11-game home winning streak snapped and also had a nine-game win streak in SEC home games halted with the loss.

The Wildcats set the tone early through the first two and a half innings, as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead with three runs in the top of the first before adding another in the second, chasing UT starter Drew Beam from the game after just 1.2 innings.

An hour and 55-minute weather delay due to lightning in the area halted the game after the top of the third. The timeout didn’t lead to improvement in Tennessee’s dugout.

Tennessee left 16 runners on base for the game. Seth Halvorsen took over on the mound after the game resumed and was solid in relief to keep Tennessee in the game, finishing with six strikeouts while allowing just three hits in 4.1 innings of work. UK scored five runs over the final two innings to put the game out of reach and hit five home runs on the day.

Hunter Ensley and Zane Denton were the only two Vols with multiple hits in the game, both finishing with two knocks on the afternoon. UT was shut out for the first time in nearly two years, with its last time being held off the scoreboard coming on June 20, 2021, in a 6-0 loss to Virginia in the College World Series.

Next, Tennessee hosts Belmont on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in its final regular season home game. The Big Orange will honor their seniors prior to the game.

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