• Box Score (PDF)
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• Vitello Postgame Media
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Game Recap: Baseball | April 27, 2024

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 3/3 Tennessee finished off its second consecutive home sweep in Southeastern Conference play with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Missouri on Saturday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

The Vols got another impressive performance from their bullpen, which held the Tigers scoreless over the final five innings to lock up the win.

Nate Snead picked up his team-leading seventh victory of the year after being the first one out of the pen, tossing 1.2 innings in relief of starter Zander Sechrist, who was solid in his own right, striking out four and giving up two runs on three hits and three walks in four innings.

The duo of Aaron Combs and Kirby Connell brought home the win for the second straight day, combining to allow just three hits and one walk over the final 3.1 innings. Connell was especially impressive, tossing two shutout frames while striking out a pair to earn his third save.

The bullpen’s performance was magnified by the fact that UT’s normally high-powered offense was held in check for the second straight day. The Vols started fast, recording four of their seven hits and all three of their runs in the bottom of the first inning after Mizzou took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

A two-run single by Dean Curley was the highlight of Tennessee’s three-run first inning. Chrisitan Moore and Kavares Tears finished with two hits apiece and each scored a run in the win, as well.

After posting two more hits in the second inning, the Vols (37-7, 15-6 SEC) did not record their next base knock until a Tears one-out double in the bottom of the eighth, which was also their final hit of the afternoon.

Carter Rustad got the start for the Tigers (19-26, 6-15 SEC) and rebounded well from his rocky start to strikeout out four batters over six innings. Reliever Bryce Miller was impressive as well, allowing just one hit in three scoreless innings.

Jackson Lovich went 2-for-4 with an RBI double to cut Missouri’s deficit to one in the top of the fifth inning, but that was the final run that the Tigers would score on the day.

STATS OF THE GAME: For the series, UT’s bullpen allowed just one run over 13.0 innings pitched for a 0.69 ERA while combining for 11 strikeouts and just four walks.

With its three victories this weekend, Tennessee posted its 15 SEC sweep and its third series sweep of Missouri under head coach Tony Vitello.

UP NEXT: The Vols host in-state foe Lipscomb on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. before another Thursday-Saturday series next week on the road at Florida.

• Box Score (PDF)
• Vitello Postgame Media
• Beam Postgame Media
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Game Recap: Baseball | April 26, 2024

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On a night where runs were hard to come by for both teams, No. 3/3 Tennessee’s pitching staff came up big as the Volunteers secured their sixth consecutive SEC series win with a 3-2 victory over Missouri on Friday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

A fantastic outing from starter Drew Beam led the way for the Big Orange, who improved to 36-7 overall and 14-6 in conference play with the win.

Beam allowed just two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts in 7.1 innings of work to improve to 6-1 on the year. The junior righthander held the Tigers scoreless through seven innings before giving up an infield single and a home run that barely cleared the wall in left field in the top of the eighth.

Kirby Connell and Aaron Combs slammed the door in the eighth and ninth to wrap up the win. Connell retired all four batters he faced before handing the ball off with two outs in the ninth. After allowing a runner to reach on an error, Combs got Drew Culbertson to fly out to right field to end the game and lock up his second save in his last three appearances.

At the plate, Billy Amick and Dean Curley were the only Vols with multiple hits in the game as both finished 2-for-4 on the night. After UT scored its first run on a wild pitch in the fourth inning, Hunter Ensley made it 2-0 Vols moments later with an RBI double to left field.

Blake Burke drove in the only other run of the night for Tennessee, plating Cal Stark on an RBI groundout in the seven inning that turned out to be the game-winning run. Stark led off the inning with a double off the top of the wall in right-center field.

Missouri starting pitcher Logan Lunceford was extremely effective throughout his outing, especially in the early innings as he held the Vols’ high-powered lineup to just one hit through the first three frames. Lunceford was stuck with the loss despite giving up just two runs on six hits over five innings.

Trevor Austin’s two-run homer in the eighth inning proved to be the only offense of the night for the Tigers, who fell to 19-25 on the year and 6-14 in league play.

STAT OF THE GAME: With 7.1 innings pitched on Friday night, Beam has now tossed at least five innings in nine of his 11 starts this season and has gone six or more innings five times, including in three of his last four starts.  

UP NEXT: Tennessee will look to record its second SEC sweep of the year when it squares off against Mizzou in Saturday’s series finale. First pitch at Lindsey Nelson Stadium is slated for noon on the SEC Network.