Tennessee baseball fell behind early and could never dig itself out of the hole as Ole Miss earned an 8-5 victory to even up the top 10 weekend series.
Marcus Phillips struggled for the second straight start while Tennessee’s situational hitting let them down late. Here’s how it went down.
A Second Straight Poor Performance From Marcus Phillips
After struggling last week against Texas A&M, Tennessee pitcher Marcus Phillips turned in his worst outing of the season in Saturday’s matchup in Oxford. While it was a slow burn for Phillips last week against the Aggies, things immediately went poorly for Phillips at Ole Miss.
Phillips walked two of the first three batters he faced as Ole Miss jumped on Tennessee with three first inning runs after the Vols jumped out to a lead in the top of the first inning.
The right-handed pitcher got his command under control in the second inning but Ole Miss still added to its lead with an Austin Fawley solo home run to lead off the second inning. Phillips look liked he’d solidified himself after retiring the side in order in the third inning, but a leadoff walk and stolen base ended his day in the fourth.
Phillips allowed five runs, four earned, on four hits and three walks in 3.1 innings pitched. Perhaps the most notable stat from Phillips outing was the seven stolen bases he allowed. More on that in a second. After a strong first seven starts of the season, Phillips has struggled in each of his last two starts.
Tennessee’s Inability To Hold Runners Costly
Seven Ole Miss baserunners reached base in Phillips’ 3.1 innings pitched. The Rebels attempted to steal eight bases with him on the mound. Mike Bianco and his staff saw a clear weakness and exploited it.
Ole Miss successfully stole seven bases with Cannon Peebles catching just one stealing. But the success from the one caught stealing was blotted out when Peebles threw a ball into center field, allowing Hayden Federico to reach third.
That throwing error ended Phillips’ day, but Federico wasn’t done stealing bases. He stole home as Fawley squared up to bunt but pulled up on the pitch in the dirt.
The stolen bases have been an issue for Phillips all season, but the junior has done a good job of limiting baserunners to this point in the season. With Phillips struggling and Ole Miss aggressive on the base paths from the jump, the issue was as prevalent as it’s been all season.
Ole Miss finished the game with just the eight stolen bases. Seven of them came with Phillips on the mound.
Poor defense also cost Tennessee elsewhere. Dean Curley committed a throwing error in the seventh inning that led to an unearned run.
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Long Ball Powers Tennessee’s Offense
Tennessee jumped out to an early lead in the first inning when Gavin Kilen hit a solo home run to right field in the game’s second at-bat. Kilen shined in his second game back in the lineup, reaching base three times after reaching base twice yesterday.
Freshman Levi Clark was back in the starting lineup for the first time since the South Carolina series. He hit a solo home run 428 feet to center field in the second inning that had to feel cathartic for the slumping freshman. It was just his second hit in SEC play.
The Vols added two more runs in the sixth inning when Dalton Bargo hit a two-run home run. Tennessee hit three home runs in the loss, accounting for four of five total runs.
Late Inning Missed Opportunities
Tennessee failed to take advantage of a pair of golden late inning opportunities. In the seventh inning, the Vols loaded the bases with no one out for the top of their order after Reese Chapman, Manny Marin and Cannon Peebles reached to leadoff the inning.
But the Vols plated just one run after Curley grounded into a double play, Kilen walked and Hunter Ensley grounded out. That felt like Tennessee’s best chance to get back in the game but they got one more an inning later.
Andrew Fischer led off the inning with a single then Chapman singled and Jay Abernathy walked with two outs to load the bases. Vitello pinch hit Blake Grimmer for Peebles in the big spot, but Grimmer went down swinging to end the inning.
Tennessee scoring just one run after twice loading the bases proved costly as the Vols worked to get back in the game.
Box Score
Up Next
Tennessee and Ole Miss conclude their weekend series on Sunday afternoon in Oxford. First pitch is at 3 p.m. ET and the SEC Network is broadcasting the game.
