A slow fifth inning boil led to a mini eruption after Tennessee made a pitching change in its SEC Tournament Quarterfinals matchup against Mississippi State.
In the midst of a five-run Mississippi State fifth inning, Tennessee made a pitching change. During that pitching change, a Mississippi State batter chirped at the Vols’ infield and head coach Tony Vitello who were one the mound as they waited for Aaron Combs to run in out of the bullpen.
Vitello chirped back and Mississippi State pitching coach Jake Gautreau came flying out of the dugout. Christian Moore and Cal Stark quickly ran over to the Mississippi State dugout at the same time Gautreau came flying out of it.
A handful of players jumped out of Mississippi State’s dugout to confront the duo. The umpires jumped in between the two parties but both sides shared choice words with one another.
Business has picked up between Tennessee and Mississippi State, big time
It’s extremely heated in Hoover pic.twitter.com/Y7r2DEqzLq
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) May 25, 2024
Tennessee and Mississippi State start exchanging some words after Christian Moore reacts to something Bulldogs said or did. pic.twitter.com/RViHC4Tji4
— Karthik Venkataraman (@KarthikV_) May 25, 2024
Intensity rose earlier in the inning due to frustration with umpiring. Drew Beam twice thought he was out of the inning with his 2-2 and 3-2 pitch to David Mershon. Both were called balls which loaded the bases with two-outs.
During Conor Hujsack’s ensuing at-bat, the Mississippi State dugout twice exploded with anger at the umpires. First, on a check swing strike call from the third base umpire and then again on a called strike. Hujsack then singled up the middle to tie the game 3-3.
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That’s when the pitching change happened and the drama ensued. Mississippi state quickly took the lead after the pitching change with Dakota Jordan hitting a two-RBI single to left field.
Stay tuned to RockyTopInsider.com all night for complete coverage of Tennessee baseball’s SEC Tournament matchup against Mississippi State.
