No. 7/8 KNOXVILLE, Tenn. At Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Saturday night, Tennessee lost 8-5 to No. 17 Ole Miss in a back-and-forth contest.
After two runs in the seventh tied the game at four, the Big Orange rallied for a late 5-4 lead entering the ninth inning. Blake Burke’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth gave them the advantage. But the Rebels answered with four runs in the ninth inning to win the game and tie the series.
The Vols led 2-1 after Hunter Ensley, the only player from UT to collect multiple hits, went 2-for-4 with a run scored, a double, and a two-run home run.
Rebels starter Liam Doyle’s excellent pitching was a big factor in Tennessee’s offensive difficulties. Before he was chased in the seventh inning after giving up two hits and two runs in the inning, Ensley’s home run in the second inning was his only fault. Doyle had retired 12 straight batters and given up just one hit going into the sixth.
Before turning the ball over to AJ Russell, Drew Beam had another strong outing for the Vols, giving up three earned runs on six hits in 5.1 innings.
In three innings of relief, the sophomore righthander gave up six walks—one of which was intentional—while allowing just two hits overall.
Mason Nichols pitched 1.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts to get the victory and raise Ole Miss’s record to 3-0. Connor Spencer recorded a strikeout to conclude the game and win his fifth save of the season after the Vols struggled to get the tying run to the plate in the ninth.
Ole Miss’s top hitters were Andrew Fischer and Ethan Groff, both with two hits and two RBIs, while Brayden Randle hit a home run for the second straight game.
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