Tennessee Offense Silences Cowbells in Series-Opening Win Over Mississippi State

On a typical spring night time at Dudy Noble Subject, the metallic clanging of cowbells will drown out every other noise throughout the neighborhood.

Not on Thursday, although.

As an alternative, Mississippi State’s rallying noise was changed a distinct din — the sound of seven Tennessee dwelling runs — because the top-ranked Vols shellacked the Bulldogs 27-2 to open their remaining convention sequence of the season with a bang.

That quantity of dwelling runs ties a season-high for bombs in a single sport, and the 27 runs mark essentially the most runs UT has ever scored towards Mississippi State.

It additionally notches extra runs than the Vols had scored in all 9 of Tennessee’s earlier video games in Starkville mixed.

Again-to-back-to-back to Burke

Luc Lipcius opened the scoring with an opposite-field shot for a 1-0 lead, Jordan Beck went yard for a 2-0 benefit, and Drew Gilbert put a cherry on the highest of the primary inning to place the Vols up 3-0.

It was the second time this season that UT (47-7, 23-5) has smacked three consecutive dwelling runs.

The rating remained the identical till the third body, at which level Gilbert hit a sacrifice fly for a 4-0 lead earlier than a Jorel Ortega RBI put the Vols up 5-0.

Then Blake Burke stepped to the plate, the designated hitter having unleashed a monster effort via the previous few video games.

Thursday was no completely different — Burke slammed a three-run shot for an 8-0 benefit within the third.

No relaxation for the weary

Tennessee plated three extra runs within the fifth — one off an Evan Russell single, two extra off the bat of red-hot Seth Stephenson — for an 11-0 lead on 14 hits to chase Mississippi State starter Brandon Smith.

Jorel Ortega adopted go well with with a three-run bomb within the prime of the sixth — placing UT up 14-0 — earlier than Lipcius hammered his second dwelling run of the night time for a 16-0 lead within the seventh.

The Vols used some clutch hitting so as to add 5 extra runs in the identical body, and Ortega sliced a two-run homer within the eighth — Tennessee’s seventh of the night time to tie a season-high in bombs — to reply an MSU homer that had reduce UT’s result in 20.

Logan Steenstra knocked a three-run double within the prime of the ninth, then Ortega got here via once more with a two-out double for a 27-2 lead after the Bulldogs had tacked on one other run.

Ortega led Tennessee with a 5-for-7 effort from the plate with two dwelling runs, two doubles and eight RBI.

His 4 base hits tie a program report for many base bits in a sport, per Ben McKee of VolQuest.

Dollander dominates, late pitching struggles

As for the Vols’ pitching, starter Chase Dollander was as spectacular on the mound as Tennessee was on the plate.

The Georgia Southern switch gave up no walks and one hit, putting out six in six innings of labor.

An extended seventh body paved the best way for Mark McLaughlin, who allowed the aforementioned run earlier than Wyatt Evans wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam.

Evans allowed a solo homer from Tanner Leggett within the backside of the eighth, as Leggett flipped his bat towards the Vols’ dugout.

Nonetheless, it was Tennessee’s offense that left the best echo all through the night time.

The Vols will look to take the sequence in Sport 2, which might be seen on Friday night time at 7 p.m. ET on the SEC Community.