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Nate Snead screamed into his glove, the frustration of 17 innings of mostly rough play from Tennessee baseball bubbling over.
Ole Miss stole the lead from the Vols in the eighth inning on a Snead wild pitch, which followed UT's sixth error in two games. The reliever retreated to the dugout and a deflating defeat awaited the Vols.
Reese Chapman salved the misery, sitting back on a breaking ball and bashing a two-run home run to send No. 4 Tennessee to a 10-8 win and a series win against No. 7 Ole Miss at Swayze Field.
“Just kind of gritted and gutted our way through the whole thing," Vols coach Tony Vitello said.
Tennessee (31-5, 11-4 SEC) won the opener 3-2 behind a 14-strikeout start from Liam Doyle against his old team. Ole Miss (27-9, 9-6) won 8-5 on Saturday.
Sunday looked much like Saturday, as Tennessee struggled to hit with runners on and the fielding was woeful. But the Vols came back from three one-run deficits to avoid losing a second straight series with a trait Vitello thought they didn't have against Texas A&M.
“Just with what we were lacking last Saturday, with grit," Vitello said. "It didn’t even make any sense.”
Brayden Krenzel had two runners on and a 3-1 count in the fifth inning against Ole Miss three-hole hitter Ryan Moerman. The freshman fought back and got a strikeout to end the inning and keep UT within a run.
Cannon Peebles flipped the score in the sixth with a two-run homer. Gavin Kilen legged out a two-out, RBI infield single to help the Vols score five in the sixth. UT was 4-for-6 with runners on base in the sixth after going 0-for-7 in the first five innings.
Peebles also threw out a runner stealing after a one-out single in the eighth after Ole Miss stole eight bases Saturday. Dalton Bargo had an outfield assist to end the third after Krenzel came in to relieve starter Tegan Kuhns. Bargo led off the ninth with a four-pitch walk to set up Chapman's homer.
Marcus Phillips dominated his first seven starts with a 2-0 record and a 2.02 ERA. The past two starts for the junior have been his worst two, bumping his ERA to 3.30.
Phillips had his shortest outing of the season Saturday, throwing 3⅓ innings and allowing five runs on four hits with three walks. Texas A&M tagged Phillips for three homers in 4⅔ innings after he had allowed two in his first 35⅔ innings.
Tennessee doesn't have many other options for its weekend rotation as it stands. AJ Russell ultimately should take either the Saturday or Sunday role late in the second. Phillips or Tegan Kuhns, who made another Sunday start, likely will hold the other.
Dean Curley had a rough series, especially in the field. He had two errors, throwing wildly on both. He looked hesitant in the field at other times, including holding the ball too long and allowing an infield single Saturday. He was 1-for-12 with five strikeouts in the series, but the one hit was an RBI single Sunday.
Curley had been hitting leadoff all season but hit cleanup Sunday with Hunter Ensley in the leadoff spot.
DOYLE: How Liam Doyle's fastball makes Tennessee's ace college baseball's top strikeout pitcher
Kilen returned to the starting lineup after missing the past 12 games with a hamstring injury. He started at designated hitter in all three games.
Kilen was 2-for-4 with a double Friday and 3-for-4 with a homer Saturday. He had the infield single Sunday then scored on a wild pitch. The Louisville transfer had only pinch hit once since he was injured against ETSU on March 18.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee baseball won SEC series at Ole Miss on Reese Chapman home run
Continue reading...
Ole Miss stole the lead from the Vols in the eighth inning on a Snead wild pitch, which followed UT's sixth error in two games. The reliever retreated to the dugout and a deflating defeat awaited the Vols.
Reese Chapman salved the misery, sitting back on a breaking ball and bashing a two-run home run to send No. 4 Tennessee to a 10-8 win and a series win against No. 7 Ole Miss at Swayze Field.
“Just kind of gritted and gutted our way through the whole thing," Vols coach Tony Vitello said.
Tennessee (31-5, 11-4 SEC) won the opener 3-2 behind a 14-strikeout start from Liam Doyle against his old team. Ole Miss (27-9, 9-6) won 8-5 on Saturday.
Sunday looked much like Saturday, as Tennessee struggled to hit with runners on and the fielding was woeful. But the Vols came back from three one-run deficits to avoid losing a second straight series with a trait Vitello thought they didn't have against Texas A&M.
“Just with what we were lacking last Saturday, with grit," Vitello said. "It didn’t even make any sense.”
The plays Tennessee made to take a series win at Ole Miss
Brayden Krenzel had two runners on and a 3-1 count in the fifth inning against Ole Miss three-hole hitter Ryan Moerman. The freshman fought back and got a strikeout to end the inning and keep UT within a run.
Cannon Peebles flipped the score in the sixth with a two-run homer. Gavin Kilen legged out a two-out, RBI infield single to help the Vols score five in the sixth. UT was 4-for-6 with runners on base in the sixth after going 0-for-7 in the first five innings.
Peebles also threw out a runner stealing after a one-out single in the eighth after Ole Miss stole eight bases Saturday. Dalton Bargo had an outfield assist to end the third after Krenzel came in to relieve starter Tegan Kuhns. Bargo led off the ninth with a four-pitch walk to set up Chapman's homer.
Marcus Phillips, Dean Curley struggle for Vols at at Ole Miss
Marcus Phillips dominated his first seven starts with a 2-0 record and a 2.02 ERA. The past two starts for the junior have been his worst two, bumping his ERA to 3.30.
Phillips had his shortest outing of the season Saturday, throwing 3⅓ innings and allowing five runs on four hits with three walks. Texas A&M tagged Phillips for three homers in 4⅔ innings after he had allowed two in his first 35⅔ innings.
Tennessee doesn't have many other options for its weekend rotation as it stands. AJ Russell ultimately should take either the Saturday or Sunday role late in the second. Phillips or Tegan Kuhns, who made another Sunday start, likely will hold the other.
Dean Curley had a rough series, especially in the field. He had two errors, throwing wildly on both. He looked hesitant in the field at other times, including holding the ball too long and allowing an infield single Saturday. He was 1-for-12 with five strikeouts in the series, but the one hit was an RBI single Sunday.
Curley had been hitting leadoff all season but hit cleanup Sunday with Hunter Ensley in the leadoff spot.
DOYLE: How Liam Doyle's fastball makes Tennessee's ace college baseball's top strikeout pitcher
Tennessee got a lift with Gavin Kilen back in the lineup
Kilen returned to the starting lineup after missing the past 12 games with a hamstring injury. He started at designated hitter in all three games.
Kilen was 2-for-4 with a double Friday and 3-for-4 with a homer Saturday. He had the infield single Sunday then scored on a wild pitch. The Louisville transfer had only pinch hit once since he was injured against ETSU on March 18.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee baseball won SEC series at Ole Miss on Reese Chapman home run
Continue reading...
