SCORE: Tennessee 7, South Carolina 2 | FINAL

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No. 1 Tennessee baseball (25-2, 7-1 SEC) is set to battle the South Carolina Gamecocks (17-11, 1-7 SEC) Sunday in game three of a three-game series in Columbia.

First pitch at Founders Park is at 12:00 p.m. ET on SEC Network +.

First pitch was initially scheduled for 5 p.m. ET on the SEC Network, but due to forecasted storms in the late afternoon in Columbia, first pitch was moved up to Noon. As a result, the game is no longer on SEC Network.

TIME CHANGE: Game Time Changed for Tennessee Baseball’s Series Finale at South Carolina

Tennessee enters Sunday’s contest coming off a 7-5 series-clinching win in game two. The Vols came from behind to win an absolute thriller, as a Cannon Peebles go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth proved to be the difference.

Ariel Antigua also made a few phenomenal defensive plays that played a key part in Tennessee’s ability to win. Marcus Phillips and Nate Snead did their part on the mound, and Andrew Fischer and Reese Chapman also had big homers along with Peebles.

HIGHLIGHT: Ariel Antigua Makes ‘One of the Best’ Plays Tony Vitello Has Ever Seen

Tennessee won the series opener 11-7. A five-run second inning and four-run fifth inning led Tennessee to the win, and eight of the Vols’ 11 runs were scored with two outs. Dalton Bargo and Hunter Ensley each homered while Liam Doyle, Tanner Franklin and Dylan Loy saw time on the mound.

Read recaps of Tennessee’s wins in games one and two below.

GAME ONE RECAP: Tennessee Baseball Uses Pair of Big Innings to Claim Series-Opening Win Over South Carolina

GAME TWO RECAP: Tennessee Baseball Wins Thriller to Clinch the Series at South Carolina

Prior to Friday’s win, Tennessee picked up a 14-3 midweek win over Queens. Last weekend, the Vols won their first road series of the season, beating Alabama in two-of-three games in Tuscaloosa.

Following the Alabama series win, Tennessee remained the No. 1 team in four of five polls. The NCBWA poll was the only poll to drop Tennessee, moving the Vols down two spots to No. 3.

RANKINGS: Where Tennessee Baseball Lands In Rankings After Suffering First Loss Of Season

Before the Alabama series, the Vols dropped a midweek game to ETSU, 7-6, in 10 innings. The ETSU loss marked Tennessee’s first of the season, as the Vols had won their first 20 games, a program record.

In the ETSU loss, star second baseman Gavin Kilen suffered a hamstring injury when an ETSU player slid into him. The star second baseman has not been in the starting lineup since and is once again not in the lineup Sunday against the Gamecocks.

However, Kilen did make his return to action Saturday, getting a pinch-hit at-bat in the eighth.

Head coach Tony Vitello said Tuesday that Kilen could ‘do something’ in the South Carolina series. Kilen could pinch-hit again Sunday but will likely not see time in the field or do any base-running.

UPDATE: Tony Vitello: ‘Good Chance’ Gavin Kilen Could ‘Do Something’ For Tennessee Against South Carolina

Manny Marin has been Tennessee’s primary second baseman with Kilen sidelined. Ariel Antigua has started at shortstop and Dean Curley has moved to third base in the last five games. That remains the case Sunday.

The worst part of Tennessee’s season so far is first baseman Alberto Osuna having his injunction for another season of eligibility denied by a judge at the beginning of March.

In response, Osuna penned a letter to the NCAA requesting they make things right and grant him eligibility.

Read more about the court’s decision and its impact on Osuna HERE.

Injury/Availability Notes

• 2B Gavin Kilen is still out of the lineup with a hamstring injury. He made his return to action Saturday, getting a pinch-hit at-bat. He could do so again Sunday.
• UNC transfer first baseman Alberto Osuna remains ineligible.
• RHP AJ Russell is fine and did not suffer a setback after making his return from UCL surgery against North Alabama, but Tennessee is exercising caution and likely won’t ramp up his action until April.
  • Russell could return next weekend against Texas A&M, and the Ole Miss series would be likely.
• Infielder Alex Perry, who was in competition to start at first base before Osuna’s arrival, left the program in January to tend to a personal matter. It remains to be seen when or if Perry will return. He is in his second season at Tennessee.

Opponent Scout

South Carolina has had a rocky start to the 2025 season. The Gamecocks are 17-11 with a 1-7 start in league play. SC dropped its SEC-opening series at home to Oklahoma before getting swept by Arkansas last weekend in Fayetteville. Now, it has lost a third straight series to Tennessee.

South Carolina had an easy non-conference slate outside of a road series at Clemson in which the Tigers swept the Gamecocks. South Carolina’s other loss on the season came in a midweek matchup to North Carolina Tuesday.

Therefore, the Gamecocks are on a six-game losing streak.

Head coach Paul Mainieri is in his first season in Columbia after serving as LSU’s long-time head coach. After a string of disappointing seasons for South Carolina before Mainieri took over, it’s going to be a process before the Gamecocks can get back to being one of the better teams in the league. SC was picked to finish 14th in the SEC this season.

South Carolina boasts one Preseason All-Conference selection in outfielder Ethan Petry, who has seven homers and eight doubles so far this year. He went 4-5 with a homer on Friday against the Vols but 0-5 Saturday.

Starting pitcher Dylan Eskew is a significant injury to note for SC. Eskew was hit in the head by a home run ball while in the bullpen and hasn’t pitched since the Oklahoma series. Mainieri said Eskew will “be out for a while.”

South Carolina is not a top half SEC team and could be one of the worst teams in the conference this season. A series sweep would not be surprising in the slightest.

TRANSCRIPT: Everything Tony Vitello Said After Series-Clinching Win Over South Carolina

For all of RTI’s baseball coverage so far this season, click here.

For the latest RTI Diamond Pass podcast, discussing all the major takeaways from Tennessee’s series win over Alabama, click here.

VIDEO: Tony Vitello Recaps Series-Clinching Win Over South Carolina

Lineups, pitching matchup and additional pre-game notes are below, followed by the LIVE at-bat by at-bat game thread.

TENNESSEE STARTING NINE: 

3B Dean Curley (R)

DH Dalton Bargo (L)

CF Hunter Ensley (R)

1B Andrew Fischer (L)

RF Reese Chapman (L)

C Cannon Peebles (S)

2B Manny Marin (R)

LF Jay Abernathy (L)

SS Ariel Antigua (R)

Lineup Notes:

• With Gavin Kilen still out of the lineup with a hamstring, Manny Marin starts at second base.
• Ariel Antigua stays at shortstop where he has started the last five games. Curley still at third.
• Cannon Peebles behind the plate. He started game one then pinch-hit for Lawless midway through game two.
• Dalton Bargo back to DH after starting in left Saturday. He DH’d Friday.
• Jay Abernathy back in left field after a one-game absence from the lineup.

SOUTH CAROLINA STARTING NINE: 

CF Nathan Hall (R)

RF Ethan Petry (R)

DH Jase Woita (L)

LF Kennedy Jones (R)

3B KJ Scobey (R)

1B Beau Hollins (S)

2B Jordan Carrion (R)

C Gavin Braland (R)

SS Henry Kaczmar (L)

Lineup Notes:

• Carrion is 6-8 on the weekend.
• Hollins went 4-4 Saturday.
• Same exact lineup as Saturday’s for South Carolina.

Pitching Matchup:

Vols Fr. RHP Tegan Kuhns (2-0, 0.71 ERA, 6 app., 3 starts, 12.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 16 K, 3 XBH, .159 opp. batting avg., 0.87 WHIP)

vs.

Gamecocks Sr. LHP Matthew Becker (2-1, 6.85 ERA, 9 app., 4 starts, 23.2 IP, 25 H, 18 R, 18 ER, 14 BB, 35 K, 11 XBH, .269 opp. batting avg., 1.68 WHIP)

Pitching notes:

• Kuhns gets the ball for the third straight Sunday. He’s done well so far this season and is coming off his best performance (1 H, 0 R, 5 K in 4.1 IP at Alabama)
  • Brayden Krenzel, Dylan Loy, Brandon Arvidson and others all available out of the bullpen.
• Becker started the year as a weekend starter for South Carolina. After a shaky first month, he moved to a bullpen role.
  • This is his first start since March 7 against Morehead State.
  • He’s only gone 2 or more innings once since the Morehead State start. Last weekend, he gave up five runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings against Arkansas.

Uniforms

Tennessee: Orange shirts grey pants

South Carolina: White shirts and pants with camo hats

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*NOTES*

• There run-rule is MANDATORY in SEC play. If Tennessee or South Carolina leads by 10 or more runs after the 7th inning, the game is over.

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GAME THREAD

1st Inning: 

T1

-Dean Curley strikes out swinging.

-Dalton Bargo grounds out to 1B unassisted.

-Hunter Ensley flies out to RF.

END OF TOP HALF

B1

-Nathan Hall works a leadoff walk.

Hall steals second.

• Throw looked good initially from Cannon but died at the end. Manny caught it off the hop. Could’ve tagged Hall out as it looked like he overslid the bag a tad, but Marin was looking for the call rather than paying close attention to Hall.

-Ethan Petry singles to right field. Hall to third.

-Jase Woita rips an RBI single through the left side. Petry to second.

-Kennedy Jones pops up to SS.

-KJ Scobey grounds out to SS. Woita and Petry advance.

-Beau Hollins pops up to SS.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 0, Gamecocks 1

2nd Inning: 

T2

-Andrew Fischer grounds out to SS.

-Reese Chapman strikes out swinging on three pitches.

-Cannon Peebles pops up to SS.

END OF TOP HALF

B2

-Jordan Carrion grounds out to SS.

-Gavin Braland grounds out to 3B.

-Henry Kaczmar pops up to SS in shallow left field.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 0, Gamecocks 1

3rd Inning: 

T3

-Manny Marin grounds out to 3B.

-Jay Abernathy flies out to LF.

-Ariel Antigua flies out to CF.

END OF TOP HALF

B3

-Nathan Hall reaches on a fielding error to SS.

• Antigua just rushed the play a bit. His first error of the season.

-Ethan Petry grounds into a 5-4-3 double play.

-Jase Woita strikes out swinging, out at first C to 1B.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 0, Gamecocks 1

4th Inning: 

T4

-Dean Curley HBP.

-Dalton Bargo doubles to left field. Curley to third.

• Was initially ruled that Bargo was thrown out at second on a 7-4 putout. But his hand reached the bag before the tag was applied. Call was OVERTURNED to safe after a Tennessee challenge.

-Hunter Ensley smacks a two-run single to center.

Ensley advances to second on a wild pitch.

-Andrew Fischer ropes a single to right field. Ensley to third.

• Ensley could’ve probably scored but he thought it was going to be a fly-out. Went all the way back to second rather than putting himself in good position to score.

-Reese Chapman strikes out swinging on three pitches.

-Cannon Peebles strikes out looking.

-Manny Marin slaps an RBI single to left field. Fischer to second, Ensley scores.

*Pitching change: RHP Parker Marlatt (1-0, 2.45 ERA) on to pitch for Becker*

-Jay Abernathy grounds out to 1B unassisted.

END OF TOP HALF

B4

-Kennedy Jones singles to center.

-KJ Scobey singles up the middle. Jones to second.

-Beau Hollins grounds out to 1B unassisted. Runners advance.

-Jordan Carrion grounds out to 3B.

-Gavin Braland flies out to CF in right-center.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 3, Gamecocks 1

5th Inning: 

T5

-Ariel Antigua flies out to RF.

-Dean Curley doubles to right field.

-Dalton Bargo delivers an RBI single to right-center.

-Hunter Ensley singles to right-center. Bargo to third.

-Andrew Fischer pops up to SS.

*Pitching change: LHP Ashton Crowther (1-0, 7.11 ERA) on to pitch for Marlatt*

-Reese Chapman sends an RBI double to left-center. Bargo scores. Ensley to third.

*Pitching change: RHP Ryder Garino (2-0, 5.27 ERA) on to pitch for Crowther*

-Cannon Peebles intentionally walked on a 3-0 count.

• Bases loaded with two outs for Manny Marin.

-Manny Marin strikes out swinging.

END OF TOP HALF

B5

-Henry Kaczmar singles up the middle.

-Nathan Hall singles through the left side. Kaczmar to second.

*Pitching change: Fr. RHP Brayden Krenzel (1-0, 0.82 ERA) on to pitch for Kuhns*

-Ethan Petry HBP.

• Bases loaded with no outs for Jase Woita

-Jase Woita strikes out swinging.

-Kennedy Jones grounds into a 6-4-3 double play.

• Krenzel gets out the jam. Big moment there.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 5, Gamecocks 1

6th Inning: 

T6

-Jay Abernathy works a walk.

Abernathy picked off at first, 2-3.

• Jay thought he was going to be able to take second on a ball in the dirt. Got caught in between and was easily thrown out coming back to first.

*Pitching change: RHP Caleb Jones (0-0, 1.50 ERA) on to pitch for Garino*

-Ariel Antigua fouls up to C.

-Dean Curley flies out to CF.

END OF TOP HALF

B6

-KJ Scobey grounds out to 3B.

-Beau Hollins doubles to left field.

-Jordan Carrion grounds out to 3B. Hollins to third.

• What a play by Curley. Bare-handed the ball and fired the throw in time.
• Play was challenged. The call was UPHELD.

-Gavin Braland slaps an RBI single to right-center.

-Henry Kaczmar works a walk.

-Nathan Hall reaches on a fielder’s choice to SS. Kaczmar out at second, 6-4.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 5, Gamecocks 2

7th Inning: 

T7

-Dalton Bargo strikes out swinging on three pitches.

-Hunter Ensley smokes a solo homer to left field.

• Ensley’s 4th HR of the season.
• 3-hit day for Ensley.
• 385 feet, 98 mph.

-Andrew Fischer launches a solo homer to center.

• 11th HR for Fischer this season.
• 402 feet, 105 mph.

*Pitching change: RHP Brendan Sweeney (0-2, 8.00 ERA) on to pitch for Jones*

-Reese Chapman strikes out swinging.

-Cannon Peebles flies out to RF.

END OF TOP HALF

B7

-Ethan Petry strikes out swinging on three pitches.

-Jase Woita grounds out to P.

-Kennedy Jones singles to left field.

-KJ Scobey grounds out to SS.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 7, Gamecocks 2

8th Inning: 

T8

-Manny Marin strikes out swinging on three pitches.

-Jay Abernathy grounds out to SS.

-Ariel Antigua singles to left field.

• SC left fielder Kennedy Jones couldn’t make a sliding catch.

Antigua steals second.

-Dean Curley strikes out swinging.

END OF TOP HALF

B8

-Beau Hollins strikes out looking.

-Jordan Carrion singles up the middle.

-Gavin Braland strikes out swinging.

-Henry Kaczmar grounds out to SS.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 7, Gamecocks 2

9th Inning: 

T9

-Dalton Bargo strikes out swinging.

-Hunter Ensley singles through the left side.

• Third time in his career Ensley has tallied four hits in a game.

-Andrew Fischer reaches on a fielder’s choice to 2B. Ensley out at second, 4-6.

-Reese Chapman grounds out to 1B unassisted.

END OF TOP HALF

B9

-Nathan Hall works a walk.

-Ethan Petry grounds into a 6-4-3 double play.

-Jase Woita HBP.

-Kennedy Jones flies out to LF.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 7, Gamecocks 2

END OF GAME

FINAL: Tennessee Vols 7, South Carolina Gamecocks 2