KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee baseball’s offense exploded on Sunday in Lindsey Nelson Stadium, scoring 15 runs on 13 hits, including five home runs, to run-rule Ole Miss 15-4 in seven innings in the series rubber match.
The win gives the Vols their first SEC series win of the season and improves their record to 21-4 (3-3 SEC).
It was shades of Friday’s series opener for the Vols’ offense, as they found success early and often against Ole Miss’ starter. Tennessee also run-ruled Ole Miss on Friday in seven innings with a 15-3 final score on 13 hits and five home runs, totals that were or nearly identical to Sunday’s win.
Here’s everything that happened as the Vols picked up their 11th double-digit win of the season.
Zander Does His Job
Senior left-handed pitcher Zander Sechrist got the start on the mound for the Vols, the first SEC start of his career. The Buford, Georgia, native was above-average in 2.1 innings of work, allowing just one run while giving up five hits and a walk.
Ole Miss’ lone run against Sechrist came in the second inning, when nine-hole hitter Campbell Smithwick hit an RBI single with two runners on base.
Shortly thereafter, Smithwick committed a baserunning error to end the Rebels’ threat in the second.
Sechrist’s day came to an end in the third after allowing a one-out walk and single, as sophomore right-handed pitcher Nate Snead came in to relieve him.
At the end of the day, Sechrist got seven outs and did well as an opener before giving way to Snead.
“He’s a great leader and has been throwing the ball better and better every time out,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said about Sechrist’s performance. “I know he seems super consistent – kind of has that Beam effect. In my opinion and we’ve discussed it as coaches, he continues to get better and evolve a little bit as a pitcher. We felt it was right by him to get the opportunity… We thought he’d go three or four innings for us, but we felt like the time was right to go to [Nate] Snead there and it worked out well for us.”
Another Explosive Third Inning
Tennessee took an early lead in the opening frame thanks to a towering 430-foot two-run home run from Kavares Tears. The redshirt-sophomore’s eighth blast of the season scored himself and Blake Burke, who extended his hit streak to 15 games with his 14th double of the season.
But the Vols really got going in the third, scoring five runs to open things up against the Rebels.
Third-inning success has been a frequent occurrence for Tennessee, as it has scored 54 third-inning runs this season, the most of any inning. Furthermore, the Vols are out-scoring opponents 54-10 in the third frame.
Dean Curley led off the five-run inning with a single before quickly coming home thanks to a two-run home run from Christian Moore. Moore’s co-team-leading 10th long ball of the season was a 345-foot Lindsey Nelson special to right field that brought him to 37 career home runs, three shy of the program record.
After a Billy Amick walk and Kavares Tears infield single, Dylan Dreiling provided the big boost for Tennessee with a three-run, 413-foot home run to right field to give the Vols a 7-1 lead.
“Just a much more relaxed group with a ton of more determination, focus or whatever they would label it,” Vitello said on how his team was different on Sunday than in Saturday’s loss. “I don’t know what all went into that. We didn’t have any magic words as coaches… All in all, a good approach by the guys and fortunately the scoreboard kind of showed it.”
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Nate Snead Turns in Solid Relief Outing
Nate Snead bounced back after a shaky finish to his outing in Tuscaloosa with a solid performance in the win over Ole Miss.
The Wichita State transfer dealt a career-high six strikeouts while giving up six hits and three earned runs in 4.2 innings of work. Snead also received the win, improving his season record to 5-1.
The most significant highlight of Snead’s performance came in the third inning when he relieved Sechrist. Snead gave up an unlucky two-out infield single to load the bases but quickly got out of the jam with a strikeout.
Ole Miss’ only runs against Snead came in the fourth inning, when leadoff hitter Jackson Ross sent a two-run home run to right field, and in the seventh inning, when pinch-hitter Judd Utermark hit a solo home run.
“I think when he gets in a rhythm he is as good as any pitcher we have on our roster and one of the best pitchers in the conference when he’s in that rhythm,” Vitello said on Snead’s performance. “We’ve thrown him kind of out there in a mess, or in a difficult situation on paper, every time out. It hasn’t always gone his way there. It usually takes him a little bit to kind of get settled. Today he came in right away and was outstanding.”
Billy Amick’s Grand Slam Leads to Run Rule
Tennessee continued to tee off on Ole Miss’ pitchers throughout the game, and a grand slam by Billy Amick in the fifth propelled the Vols to a double-digit lead they would keep to run-rule the Rebels.
Curley and Amick added a pair of runs to Tennessee’s lead in the fifth with a solo home run and RBI double. The RBI marked Amick’s first since March 8 against Illinois.
Tennessee then scored six more runs in the fifth thanks to a two-run single from Curley and Amick’s grand slam.
Amick tied Moore for the team lead with 10 home runs on the season, and Curley’s hit gave him his first three-hit day of the season, a total that also co-led the team with Tears.
Amick also became the fifth Vol to hit a grand slam this season, joining Reese Chapman, Robin Villeneuve, Curley and Cal Stark.
“I think it’s a lineup where you could flip it upside down if you wanted to,” Vitello said regarding how dangerous Tennessee’s lineup is 1-9. “Kind of like Mississippi and really Alabama. It’s the nature of our league now with all these older and physical guys, and even the freshmen like Dean [Curley] have a lot of experience and are physical. So, everybody is dangerous, and there’s a good bench to call on, too… It’s a strength of the team, but I really like how we play defense and run the bases for the most part like we did this weekend. I think defense and base running were better than they were last weekend. So, when those scores are tight, that’s something that is going to make a difference for us.”
Up Next
Tennessee hosts Tennessee Tech on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET in a midweek contest. The Vols will try to snap a two-game losing streak to the Golden Eagles and keep a perfect record against midweek opponents this season.
