Tennessee’s Offense Gets Hot as Vols Beat Georgia 9-2 to Win Series and Share of SEC Title

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– Prime-ranked )D1) Tennessee Baseball (45-6, 22-4 SEC) went toe-to-toe with the Georgia Bulldogs (32-18, 13-13 SEC) in Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Friday for recreation two of the Vols’ remaining regular-season residence sequence. 

Tennessee received recreation one 5-2 on Thursday and achieved the sequence win on Friday with a 9-2 win. With the win, the Vols have clinched a share of the common season SEC title. Tennessee has an opportunity to win the convention outright if Vanderbilt holds on to beat Arkansas in Fayetteville. A stay feed of the Commodores-Razorbacks sequence opener might be discovered right here. Whether or not Tennessee wins the convention outright or not, the Vols have a chunk of the common season title for the primary time because the 1995 season.

In Tennessee’s series-winning victory over the Bulldogs, Evan Russell left the yard twice, Camden Sewell put collectively one other stable outing in reduction of starter Blade Tidwell, and Jorel Ortega recorded three RBIs. Camden Sewell (5-1) was the profitable pitcher, whereas Georgia starter Jonathan Cannon (9-2) was the dropping pitcher. 

A recap of Tennessee’s forty fifth win of the season is beneath. 

Georgia Takes Early Lead

Tennessee trailed Georgia for the primary time within the sequence within the high of the primary, when the Bulldogs’ two-hole hitter–Cole Tate–hit one off the batter’s eye for a one-out solo homer. 

Tidwell then allowed a single and surrendered a two-out stroll, struggling early. Nonetheless, the sophomore was in a position to strand the pair of runners at first and second with a strikeout on a full depend. 

Within the backside of the body, Luc Lipcius labored a one-out stroll to grow to be the primary Tennessee baserunner of the night time. Jordan Beck then struck out trying to give Tennessee two outs, a lot to Vols’ head coach Tony Vitello’s anger as strike three was effectively exterior the strike zone. Drew Gilbert cracked a hard-hit two-out single to proper to provide Tennessee runners on first and second for Trey Lipscomb, however the senior third baseman grounded proper to UGA beginning pitcher Jonathan Cannon to strand the pair of runners and finish the inning. 

Tidwell Works Out of a Jam within the Third

Tidwell retired the facet round a two-out stroll within the second, and the Vols did not get something going within the high of the body. 

Within the high of the third, Tidwell struggled once more. Georgia’s Cole and Connor Tate every laid down singles to start the body, and the Bulldogs put runners on the corners with one out. 

However Tidwell labored out of the jam, forcing a flyout and a pop-up to finish the inning and strand the runners. Tidwell’s potential to work out of the jam was key for Tennessee to maintain the deficit at one run, because the Massive Orange bats struggled to get going in opposition to Cannon. 

Jorel Ortega Scores First Tennessee Run, Evan Russell Provides Vols the Lead

The Vols’ bats lastly got here alive within the backside of the fourth inning. Drew Gilbert kicked off the inning with a leadoff single for his second hit of the night. Gilbert was out at second the subsequent at-bat as Lipscomb reached on a fielder’s selection.  

Lipscomb did not keep at first lengthy. Jorel Ortega confronted a 1-2 depend and roped an RBI double down the left discipline line to attain Lipscomb from first to tie the sport. 

And identical to Lipscomb, Ortega did not keep put for lengthy. 

Evan Russell caught one clear off of Cannon, obliterating a 3-1 pitch over the left discipline porches for a two-run blast to provide Tennessee a 3-1 lead Russell continued his environment friendly sequence with the house run, because the senior was 2-4 on night time one in opposition to the Bulldogs. Russell’s homer additionally marked solely the fifth residence run Georgia’s Cannon has given up all 12 months. 

Sewell Struggles in Fifth, Walks in a Run

Tennessee gave the ball to senior right-handed pitcher Camden Sewell within the high of the fifth after Tidwell had amassed 80 pitches in solely 4 innings. 

Sewell has been wonderful as of late in day two reduction appearances, however the senior had a forgettable outing on Friday. Sewell gave up a one-out single to Connor Tate earlier than permitting back-to-back two-out singles to load the bases for the Bulldogs. Georgia DH Corey Collins then approached the plate, the place he was walked by Sewell to attain a run. 

Will Mabrey had been warming up within the pen within the fifth, however Vitello selected to maintain Sewell on the mound to face UGA shortstop Josh McAllister. And Sewell prevented any further injury, forcing a flyout to strand the bases loaded. 

The Bulldogs had lower Tennessee’s result in one run, however it did not take the Vols lengthy to get the run again. 

Vols Return the Favor 

Tennessee shortly obtained the run again within the backside of the fifth with a leadoff homer from Luc Lipcius to proper middle. Lipcius’s eleventh residence run of the season was a towering shot to provide the Vols a 5-2 lead, and the bomb marks the sixth homer Cannon has given up all season. 

And the Vols’ success on the plate wasn’t completed within the fifth. Drew Gilbert labored a one-out stroll earlier than Trey Lipscomb singled to place runners on first and second with one out for Jorel Ortega. 

Ortega then delivered his second RBI of the sport, this time a single to middle discipline to attain Gilbert. After Ortega’s RBI single, Georgia head coach Scott Stricklin determined to tug Cannon in favor of freshman righty Chandler Marsh. In a high-leverage state of affairs, 

Marsh’s first batter confronted was Blake Burke, who took benefit of Georgia’s RF Chaney Rogers taking part in far again, dropping a single into shallow proper to load the bases with nonetheless the lone out. 

Evan Russell struck out for the second time of the night time earlier than Cortland Lawson labored a bases-loaded stroll to attain Tennessee’s sixth run of the sport, giving the Vols back-to-back three-run innings. 

Seth Stephenson could not get going throughout his at-bat, lacking a chance to increase the lead by hanging out to strand the bases loaded. 

Vols Add a Couple Extra Runs within the Sixth, One within the Seventh

Camden Sewell stayed on the mound within the sixth and had way more command, retiring the Bulldogs so as with a trio of groundouts. 

Tennessee’s offense continued to excel within the backside of the sixth, as Jorel Ortega smacked his third RBI of the sport with a single to proper discipline to attain Lipcius from second. Ortega’s single additionally moved Jordan Beck to 3rd, who later scored on a wild pitch from Marsh. 

Sewell made it back-to-back 1-2-3 innings within the seventh as he sat the guts of the Bulldogs’ lineup down so as, and Evan Russell emerged but once more after the stretch. 

The super-senior confronted off in opposition to new Georgia reliever Will Pearson and drilled his second lengthy ball of the sport into the left discipline porches for a leadoff solo homer to provide the Vols a seven-run lead. Russell’s homer not solely marked the second of the sport for the Lexington, Tennessee native, it marked his twelfth of the season and thirty seventh of his profession, placing him one bomb away from tying VFL Todd Helton for this system report of 38 profession residence runs.

Drew Gilbert Exhibits Off Elite Protection within the Eighth

Mark McLaughlin took over the mound within the eighth, retiring the Bulldogs so as. 

However he had some assist from Drew Gilbert, because the junior made a leap on the warning observe in middle discipline to catch a deep fly ball from Josh McAllister. The inning marked the third consecutive 1-2-3 inning for Tennessee’s protection as an entire, and the Vols carried their seven-run lead into the underside of the eighth. 

Tennessee could not get going within the backside of the body, as Georgia freshman reliever Coleman Willis did effectively in opposition to the guts of the Vols’ lineup. 

Kirby Closes Issues Out

Tennessee junior RHP Kirby Connell got here on to pitch for the Vols within the ninth, retiring the Bulldogs so as to give UT the sequence win and a share of the regular-season SEC title.

Up Subsequent

The Vols will look to attain their ninth sweep of the season once they face off in opposition to the Bulldogs on Sunday. First pitch is ready for 1 p.m. ET in Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The Vols’ beginning pitcher is but to be introduced. 

Stat Nook

-Georgia’s beginning pitcher Jonathan Cannon–a top-tier MLB prospect–gave up a career-high 10 hits and tied a career-high by giving up six runs to the Vols

-Cole Tate was 3-3 within the first recreation and was 2-2 to begin on Friday. Camden Sewell was the primary Tennessee pitcher to retire Tate all sequence, as he struck out the senior Bulldog third baseman within the high of the fifth inning. 

-Lipcius has 12 residence runs on the season. Evan Russell has 11. 5 Vols have 11 or extra residence runs this season. 

-Ortega’s pair of RBIs deliver his season whole to 36, which is 34 RBIs behind Lipscomb. Only a stat to indicate how dominant Lipscomb has been.

-Evan Russell is one residence run away from tying VFL Todd Helton’s program report of 38 Tennessee profession residence runs. 

-Evan’s multi-home run recreation marks his third of the season, sixth of his profession. 

-On back-to-back nights, a Vol has hit a number of residence runs.

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