Tennessee BaseVols win weekend series vs. Ole Miss
The Tennessee Volunteers are back in the top 5 and seem to be back on track in the SEC after a weekend series win against the Ole Miss Rebels.
The series started with a 15-3 route Friday night in LNS. AJ Causey recorded another win (5-0) and the bats were out of control. Four Volunteers hit a home run with Christian Moore hitting two. This one was over fast as the Vols took off and did not look back after going up 10-0 after four. This was one of those games that opposing pitchers and teams hate because when the Vols play like this in LNS it is an unbeatable baseball team.
Saturday was a different story and was a fantastic baseball game; however, it was overshadowed as the Vols were playing Texas in the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament at the same time. Drew Beam got the start and played well enough for the Vols. AJ Russell came in and was doing well up until the 9th inning. The Tony Vitello critics will say he left him in too long again, and given the recent games that have ended in a loss, that is a fair criticism. The Vols still had a chance as they were leading after 8, but the top of the 9th was a disaster and allowed the Rebels to tie the series up, creating a pivotal rubber game Sunday afternoon.
I do not like using the term “must-win” this early in the season but given the lack of results against top competition and the recent series loss to Alabama, the Vols needed to defend their home field and win this series. Well, they did that, and then some. The Vols secured another run-rule victory on a beautiful Sunday in Knoxville. Zander Sechrist and Nate Snead were a solid 1-2 punch for the Vols as far as pitching goes, only giving up 4 runs. The bats were more than alive in this game, and five Volunteers homered, including a grand slam from Billy Amick. Christian Moore had three HRs on the weekend and is now only one back of Blake Burke as they both track down the Tennessee record of 40. I would bet they both easily clear this number. The game ended at 15-4 and put a bow on a fantastic weekend for the Vols. The Vols play Tennessee Tech tomorrow and have another key series at home against Georgia coming up. Going 4-0 in this stretch would be ideal, but even 3-1 would put the Vols in a great position going forward. It’s a great time to be a Tennessee Vol Go Big Orange!
