Tennessee baseball was the victim of a Mississippi State comeback effort in Thursday night’s series opener. The Vols made the comeback Friday night and finished the job unlike the Bulldogs. Tennessee turned a 7-2 deficit into a 12-8 victory to claim its second straight weekend series at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Chase Dollander struggled on the mound but Camden Sewell picked him up out of the bullpen and the Vols’ bats stayed red-hot.
Here’s everything to know about the series clinching victory.
A Mississippi State Baseball Classic
Mississippi State has a really good offense and a really bad pitching staff. That leads to a lot of exciting, high scoring games that are rarely void of action. That was on display in the series opener and was even more prevalent Friday night.
There were runs scored in eight of the 17 of the game, seven total home runs and 22 total hits between the two teams. There was no shortage of offense in game two of the weekend series.
The action particularly showed up when Tennessee got to Mississippi State’s bullpen as the Vols scored eight runs in three innings.
It made for a thrilling night for the 4,471 fans that filled Lindsey Nelson Stadium on a beautiful East Tennessee night.
The Bulldogs are playing thrilling baseball right now. Their last five games have been decided by a total of eight runs and every game seemingly comes down to the wire.
Buckle up for Saturday’s series finale. I don’t know what’s in store but recent history indicates it will be a good one.
A Short Night For Chase Dollander
Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said on the SEC Network+ stream that Chase Dollander was sick this week and that they considered not starting him Friday night.
Sickness or otherwise, it was a poor night for the sophomore and his shortest outing of the year.
The trouble started right away and rather quietly as a single and a softly hit infield single gave Mississippi State runners on the corners with one-out. Then Dakota Jordan provided the big swing, giving the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead on a long homer.
The first inning struggles continued a common theme for Dollander as the sophomore has now surrendered 11 first inning runs in seven SEC starts including three first inning homers.
Dollander stayed out of serious trouble in the rest of his outing, bouncing back in the second inning with a 1-2-3 effort. However, Mississippi State’s red-hot Hunter Hines added another run on a solo homer in the third inning. Once Dollander got out of the frame his day was over.
The talented right-hander surrendered five hits, four earned runs and two walks while striking out a pair. It wasn’t a disastrous outing for Dollander but was a step back as the junior was seemingly hitting his stride since moving to the game two starting role.
More From RTI: How Griffin Merritt Is Emerging As Tennessee’s Walk-Off King
Christian Moore Breaks Out Of His Slump
Second baseman Christian Moore is one of Tennessee’s best bats but has been in the midst of a massive slump at the plate. Entering Friday’s matchup, Moore didn’t have a hit in SEC play since the series opener against Arkansas two weekends ago.
The sophomore was perhaps Tennessee’s best hitter against the Bulldogs, going two-of-five at the plate with a walk and a pair of huge hits that led to runs.
Moore got Tennessee on the board in the third inning with a two-run homer off the video board but his double in the fifth inning may have been even bigger. Tennessee trailed 7-4 with two-outs and a runner on first. Moore lined one into the right center gap and while center fielder Colton Ledbetter cut it off, he bobbled the ball allowing Burke to score from first.
Moore didn’t get the RBI due to the fielding error but the hit was still massive and the Brooklyn native scored an at-bat later on a Griffin Merritt single as the Vols pulled within one.
Tennessee’s lineup has started to find its stride in the last week. Moore getting back to form would go a long way to the lineup reaching its potential.
Camden Sewell Shuts The Door On Mississippi State
Even after Chase Dollander exited, Tennessee’s pitchers were struggling to record outs against Mississippi State’s strong offense.
Then Camden Sewell came into the game and solidified things for the Vols’ pitching staff. Sewell entered with a runner on second in the sixth inning and immediately got out of the inning with a strikeout. Even when Tennessee’s trainer and Vitello came to look at Sewell in the ninth inning, he wouldn’t let them look at his hand before getting the final out to end the game.
From there the super senior put it on cruise control. Sewell retired 10 of the next 12 batters while shutting the door on the Bulldogs. The 3.1 inning outing was Sewell’s longest and perhaps best of the season.
The right-hander struck out seven Bulldogs while allowing just two baserunners in the game’s closing innings. Not only was Sewell’s outing massive to secure the win, it also helped save the Vols’ bullpen for the series finale.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee and Mississippi State conclude their weekend series Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET. ESPNU is broadcasting the series finale.
