Tennessee baseball outlasted South Carolina 7-5 Saturday in Columbia to earn a thrilling series-clinching win.
The Vols scored all seven runs off a trio of homers from Reese Chapman, Andrew Fischer and Cannon Peebles, Ariel Antigua made a pair of arguably game-saving plays late, and Marcus Phillips and Nate Snead turned in key outings on the mound.
Here’s how Tennessee got it done in a thriller at Founders Park.
Power Chapman
After a relatively uneventful first three frames at the plate, Reese Chapman provided a big swing for the Vols in the fourth.
Andrew Fischer singled and Levi Clark walked to put runners on first and second with one out for Chapman. The junior then hammered the first pitch of his at-bat 414 feet straightaway to center for a three-run bomb.
Chapman’s eighth long ball of the season gave Tennessee a big boost after it had struggled against South Carolina starter Jarvis Evans Jr. the first time through.
Marcus Phillips Great Early, Runs Into Trouble in the Fifth
Junior right-hander Marcus Phillips was above-average in five innings of work.
The South Dakota native was dominant in his first four innings, retiring 12 of 14 batters while striking out seven. Phillips had everything working for him. A solo homer from designated hitter Jase Woita in the fourth was the only true blemish through four.
He ran into trouble in the fifth, however, as the Gamecocks loaded the bases with a trio of singles before Phillips could record an out.
SC was able to capitalize with a sac fly and RBI groundout to tie the game, but Phillips kept the damage to two runs in the frame.
Phillips’ day was done after the fifth. The junior gave up three runs on five hits while striking out seven and walking none. It was the second time this season Phillips had a walk-free outing. He threw 62 strikes on 90 pitches.
South Carolina Takes the Lead in the Sixth
Sophomore lefty Brandon Arvidson relieved Phillips to open the sixth. The Gamecocks quickly loaded the bases against Arvidson with a trio of one-out singles.
Junior right-hander Nate Snead was then called upon in the high-leverage situation. South Carolina’s Jordan Carrion gave his team the lead with an RBI fielder’s choice. Manny Marin dropped Carrion’s line drive allowing a run to come across.
Had Marin caught the ball, it would have kept the runner at third and prevented the Gamecocks from taking a 4-3 lead.
Additionally, Hunter Ensley failed to catch a pop-up in shallow center that would have prevented SC from loading the bases.
More From RTI: Kelvin Sampson Offers High Praise of Zakai Zeigler in a Unique Way
Action-Packed Final Innings
Tennessee’s offense did little in the middle innings after Chapman’s homer. Evans Jr. was in control against Tennessee’s hitters in the fifth and sixth. Reliever Brandon Stone recorded a 1-2-3 seventh.
But Fischer delivered in a massive moment in the top of the eighth. With a man on first and two outs, Fischer launched a two-run blast to center to give Tennessee a 5-4 lead.
South Carolina tied the game in the bottom of the frame, though, after a wild sequence of events.
A walk and single put a pair on with no outs. Antigua then made a circus play in shallow left field to throw a runner out at third, keeping runners on first and second.
It was one of the best plays Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello has ever seen.
“Ariel’s (Antigua) play is one of the best ones I’ve ever seen,” Vitello said. “He is fully capable of doing a bunch of different things. But I think that just came from trying to find a way to win. We found a different way to win than we’ve won so far this season, which is really important… You did it on the road. You don’t want to pat them on the back too much because, again, the first half of the game wasn’t very good from our standpoint. A lot of want-to right there on display, which was impressive.”
South Carolina tied the game shortly thereafter on an RBI single off the bat of Beau Hollins, who tallied four hits on the day. Chapman’s throw after fielding the single was in time to keep the run from scoring, but Cannon Peebles got out of position and failed to apply the tag.
But Antigua made another incredible defensive play to prevent further damage. The sophomore made a perfect throw to Fischer to complete a 1-6-3 inning-ending double play and save a run, keeping the game tied.
Peebles made up for his mistake in the ninth, mashing a two-run homer to put Tennessee back on top. Peebles has been inconsistent offensively this season but has provided some big swings, with Saturday’s being his biggest.
“I think a ton,” Vitello said when asked what the homer means to Peebles. “The guy is at the facility before everybody. I went into the weight room, clearly not to work out. Just to fill my water bottle. He’s in there an hour before going to the field. It just means so much to him… You’ve seen that kid since he was a freshman. It’s a big-time skillset that last night you saw defensively and today it was a little more offensively.”
Snead worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth to end the game and secure Tennessee’s series win.
Up Next
Tennessee will look to complete the sweep of South Carolina Sunday in Columbia. First pitch is at 5 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. It will be Tennessee’s second game on cable this season.
