KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 17 Tennessee clinched it’s second weekend series win of the year with a 5-1 victory over Georgia State on Saturday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
True freshman pitcher Blade Tidwell was dominant in his third-career start, tossing six shutout innings. The Loretto, Tennessee, native scattered four hits and set a career high with seven strikeouts to earn his first collegiate victory.
Tidwell had a relatively smooth outing before running into some trouble in the top of the sixth, allowing back-to-back singles to start the frame. However, the freshman right hander made a tough situation look pretty routine, making a nice defensive play to get the out at first on a sacrifice bunt before striking out consecutive batters to strand two runners in scoring position and escape the jam unscathed.
It was the Vols’ veteran hitters that came through when it mattered most on Saturday. The foursome of Liam Spence (2-for-4, 1 run, 1 RBI), Jake Rucker (2-for-4, 1 RBI), Luc Lipcius (1-for-3, 1 run, 3 RBI) and Max Ferguson (2-for-2, 2 BB) combined for seven of the team’s eight hits on the day.
Spence and Rucker got the scoring started with a pair of big hits in the fifth inning. Spence tripled to left center to bring in the game’s first run and Rucker followed with a two-out double a few batters later to drive in Spence and make it a 2-0 game.
Lipcius provided the dagger with a huge three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Vols some breathing room.
Redmond Walsh closed the door to earn his second save of the season with two scoreless innings. The redshirt senior allowed just one hit and had a pair of strikeouts.
Dalton Pearson drove in the only run of the game for thr Panthers (4-8) with an RBI double in the seventh inning.
The Vols (10-2) will go for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. Sunday’s series finale can be seen live on SEC Network + and the ESPN App.
NOTABLE
TIDWELL TOO MUCH : Highly regarded true freshman pitcher Blade Tidwell showed why UT’s coaches were so excited about his potential entering this season with a dominant outing in Saturday’s win. The big right hander posted his best performance of the year to earn his first-career collegiate win. His six innings pitched and seven strikeouts were both career bests.
LONG BALL FOR LIPCIUS: Luc Lipcius’ three-run blast to right center in the eighth inning proved to be the final nail in Georgia State’s coffin on Saturday, giving the Vols a 5-1 lead heading into the ninth. It was the second home run of the year for Lipcius and Tennessee’s first long ball as a team since last Friday’s series opener against Indiana State.
UT hit at least one home run in its first six games but had not hit one in its previous five until Lipcius ended that drought in the eighth inning on Saturday.
WALSH CONTINUES TO CLIMB CAREER SAVES LIST: Redshirt senior left hander Redmond Walsh moved into a tie for third on Tennessee’s career saves list. The Alcoa High School product earned his 13th career save on Saturday, tying Andrew Lee (2013-15) on the Vols’ all-time list. Walsh needs five more to tie Sean Watson for second on the list.
Box Score (PDF) | DOWNLOAD: Vitello, Lipcius & Tidwell Postgame
-UT Athletics
