SCORE: Tennessee 6, Vanderbilt 4 | FINAL
***SCROLL DOWN FOR LIVE AT-BAT BY AT-BAT FEED***
Top-ranked Tennessee baseball (48-11, 22-8 SEC) is set to battle Vanderbilt (38-20, 13-17 SEC) Saturday evening in game 16 of the SEC Tournament. The matchup serves as each team’s fourth game in Hoover.
First pitch in Hoover Met is currently scheduled for approximately 6:10 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
This will be Tennessee’s second matchup against Vanderbilt in the tournament and fifth overall this season. The Vols are 2-2 against the ‘Dores this season, having won games one and two of a three-game series in Nashville before losing game three of the series along with Wednesday’s game in Hoover. Therefore, Saturday’s game will break the tie and will likely be the final time the two sides square off.
Tennessee enters Saturday’s matchup coming off a 6-5 win over No. 15 and 5-seed Mississippi State on Friday night. Outside of a 5-run inning from the Bulldogs in the fifth, Tennessee shutout Mississippi State. After falling behind 5-3 in the fifth, Tennessee was able to mount the comeback and win the thriller, marking its second straight victory in the tournament.
The Vols also beat 4-seed Texas A&M, 7-4, on Thursday. Ever since losing to 8-seed Vanderbilt, 13-4, in their first game on Wednesday, every game Tennessee’s played has been an elimination game. Saturday is no different, as the tournament is in its single elimination semifinals stage.
For recaps of each of Tennessee’s games so far this week in Hoover, click the links below.
RECAP: Vols’ midweek pitching approach results in ugly loss to Vanderbilt
RECAP: Vols glide past A&M to stay alive in Hoover
RECAP: Tennessee outlasts Mississippi State in thriller
Vanderbilt enters Saturday’s matchup coming off a narrow 4-3 win over Mississippi State on late Thursday night. The win gave the Commodores three straight wins in Hoover and a day off on Friday. Vanderbilt is one of two teams that have not lost in Hoover this week (LSU).
The winner of Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt will face off against LSU Sunday in the SEC Tournament Championship.
Prior to Hoover, the Vols swept South Carolina in Knoxville that ultimately gave them a share of the SEC regular season crown with Kentucky. Additionally, the series sweep gave Tennessee the No. 1 overall seed in the SEC Tournament.
Read more about Tennessee winning the SEC here.
BROUHAHA: What Tony Vitello, Tennessee Players Said About Fifth-Inning Kerfuffle vs. Mississippi State
TRANSCRIPT: Tony Vitello Discusses Thrilling SEC Tournament Victory Against Mississippi State
Injury Note
One of the most important storylines of the week is that in Tennessee’s loss to Vanderbilt on Wednesday, star sophomore pitcher AJ Russell returned to action after nearly a two-month long absence. He bounced back after allowing a pair of baserunners to record a scoreless inning on 22 pitches.
There is a chance Russell pitches Saturday against Vanderbilt given the Vols’ lack of remaining pitching depth.
RETURN: AJ Russell is back for Tennessee
For all of RTI’s baseball coverage so far this season, including RTI’s INSTANT reaction to Tennessee’s win over Texas A&M, click here.
For the latest RTI Press Pass baseball podcast, click here.
More From RTI: Tennessee Baseball vs. Vanderbilt SEC Tournament Semifinals: How To Watch, What To Know
VIDEO: Tony Vitello, Drew Beam, Blake Burke Discuss SEC Tournament Win Over Mississippi State
Lineups, pitching matchup and additional pre-game notes are below, followed by the LIVE at-bat by at-bat game thread.
Starting Lineups
TENNESSEE STARTING NINE:
2B Christian Moore (R)
1B Blake Burke (L)
DH Billy Amick (R)
LF Dylan Dreiling (L)
CF Hunter Ensley (R)
RF Kavares Tears (L)
C Cannon Peebles (S)
3B Dalton Bargo (L)
SS Ariel Antigua (R)
Lineup Notes:
- Lots of changes in the lineup.
- Antigua starting at short after impressing defensively – as he always does – in the 9th inning vs. MS State on Friday.
- First SEC start for Antigua since the Georgia series. 6th start of the season (3rd SEC).
- Cannon gets his first start at catcher in an SEC game since April 13 against LSU.
- Dalton Bargo handling 3B duties, Amick moves to DH.
- NO Dean Curley OR Reese Chapman after both had big nights at the plate on Friday. Chapman has been great this week overall.
VANDERBILT STARTING NINE:
SS Jonathan Vastine (L)
3B Davis Diaz (R)
2B RJ Austin (R)
C Alan Espinal (R)
DH Colin Barczi (R)
RF Matthew Polk (R)
1B Braden Holcomb (R)
LF Jack Bulger (R)
CF Calvin Hewett (R)
Pitching Matchup:
Vols Sr. LHP Zander Sechrist (2-1, 4.01 ERA, 15 app., 14 starts, 49.1 IP, 51 H, 22 R, 22 ER, 10 BB, 52 K, 12 XBH, .271 opp. batting avg., 1.24 WHIP)
vs.
Commodores Fr. LHP Ethan McElvain (1-2, 3.38 ERA, 10 app., 3 starts, 24.0 IP, 19 H, 13 R, 9 Er, 14 BB, 28 K, 9 XBH, .226 opp. batting avg.)
Pitching notes:
- No surprise that Sechrist is starting. Sechrist is the only one of Tennessee’s 13 pitchers that traveled to not throw an inning yet in the tournament.
- Sechrist got hot in the bullpen Friday night, so he may not be able to go as long as he normally would if he is on.
- Expect a bullpen game from the Vols similar to Wednesday. Tennessee will probably have to win this game with their offense and may need double-digit runs to make it to the SEC Tournament championship game on Sunday.
- McElvain is making his first appearance since April 14 as he’s been dealing with an injury he sustained while warming up to face Florida on April 20. McElvain was the main midweek starter for Vandy in the month of March.
- This will be McElvain’s first SEC start of the season and third time seeing action in an SEC game. McElvain has pitched 5.0 innings against SEC teams and has given up 6 H, 6 R, 2 ER and 3 BB while striking out 7. All of McElvain’s allowed runs came against Texas A&M when he pitched 1.2 innings against the Aggies.
Uniforms
Tennessee: Orange tops, grey pants
Vanderbilt: All whites with black caps and gold accents
*NOTES*
- There IS a RUN-RULE today. If Tennessee or Vanderbilt leads by 10 or more runs in the seventh inning or later, the game is OVER.
- The run-rule is MANDATORY in SEC play.
- Tennessee is the ROAD team, because Tennessee has been the road team LESS than Vanderbilt.
GAME THREAD
1st Inning:
T1
-Christian Moore smacks a stand-up double to right-center.
-Blake Burke works a walk.
-Billy Amick strikes out swinging.
-Dylan Dreiling pops up to 1B.
-Hunter Ensley pops up to SS in shallow LF.
END OF TOP HALF
B1
-Jonathan Vastine singles up the middle.
-Davis Diaz strikes out swinging.
Vastine steals second.
- Not the best throw from Cannon Peebles to try and catch him stealing.
-RJ Austin strikes out swinging.
-Alan Espinal flies out to CF.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 0, Commodores 0
2nd Inning:
T2
*Pitching change: RHP Brennan Seiber (3-0, 4.58 ERA) on to pitch for McElvain*
-Kavares Tears flies out to LF.
-Cannon Peebles strikes out looking.
-Dalton Bargo slaps a single to left center.
-Ariel Antigua strikes out swinging on three pitches.
END OF TOP HALF
B2
Blake Burke just front-flipped into the Vanderbilt dugout going for a foul ball. Did not catch it. He’s perfectly fine.
-Colin Barczi strikes out swinging.
-Matthew Polk singles up the middle.
-Braden Holcomb strikes out swinging.
-Jack Bulger grounds out to P.
- Hard-hit ground ball smacked Zander in the leg, but he was still able to make the play. He’s fine.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 0, Commodores 0
3rd Inning:
T3
-Christian Moore grounds out to 2B.
-Blake Burke grounds out to SS.
-Billy Amick grounds out to SS.
- Hard-hit ball, but a great play by Vandy SS Jonathan Vastine to prevent it from going in the outfield. Definitely one of the better hit balls by Amick this week.
END OF TOP HALF
B3
-Calvin Hewett strikes out looking.
-Jonathan Vastine fouls out to 3B.
-Davis Diaz flies out to RF.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 0, Commodores 0
4th Inning:
T4
-Dylan Dreiling doubles to left-center.
-Hunter Ensley reaches on a throwing error by SS. Dreiling advances to third, scores on the error. Ensley stays put at first.
- Throw was too low and went back to the Vanderbilt dugout allowing Dreiling to easily score.
-Kavares Tears sends a single up the middle. Ensley advances to third.
-Cannon Peebles knocks a sac fly to LF.
-Dalton Bargo flies out to LF.
Tears steals second.
-Ariel Antigua strikes out swinging.
END OF TOP HALF
B4
-RJ Austin flies out to the warning track in right-center.
-Alan Espinal works a walk.
-Colin Barczi lines into a double play to 1B, unassisted.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 2, Commodores 0
5th Inning:
T5
*Pitching change: RHP Luke Guth (1-1, 4.41 ERA) on to pitch for Seiber*
-Christian Moore bloops a double into right field.
- Dropped in no man’s land.
-Blake Burke singles to LF. Moore advances to third.
-Billy Amick pops up to 2B in shallow right center.
-Dylan Dreiling strikes out swinging.
Burke steals second.
-Hunter Ensley grounds out to 2B.
END OF TOP HALF
B5
-Matthew Polk singles up the middle.
-Braden Holcomb smokes a two-run homer to LF.
- Just kept sailing. Looked like it’d be a fly out to left at first. But it got out of the park. Wall-scraper to tie it.
-Jack Bulger grounds out to 2B.
-Calvin Hewett reaches on a fielding error by SS.
- Really hard-hit ball that Antigua bobbled. Wouldn’t have been surprised if it was ruled a single.
-Jonathan Vastine flies out to RF. Hewett advances to second.
-Davis Diaz grounds out to 2B.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 2, Commodores 2
6th Inning:
T6
-Kavares Tears smokes a leadoff single off the first baseman’s glove.
-Cannon Peebles rips a single to right field. Tears advances to third.
-Dalton Bargo sends a sac fly to deep right-center to score Tears. Peebles stays put at first.
*Dean Curley pinch-hitting for Ariel Antigua*
-Dean Curley fouls out to deep RF. Peebles advances to second.
- Great sliding catch by Matthew Polk.
-Christian Moore crushes a two-run homer off the top of the batter’s eye.
- 28th HR for Moore on the season, extending his program single-season and career record total.
- 441 feet. 113 mph. Longest HR of the tournament so far, per the broadcast.
-Blake Burke flies out to CF.
END OF TOP HALF
B6
*Curley to SS*
-RJ Austin flies out to the warning track in left-center.
-Alan Espinal flies out to LF.
- Great diving catch by Dreiling to rob Espinal of a hit.
-Colin Barczi grounds out to 2B.
- Third 1-2-3 inning today for Zander. He’s shoving.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 5, Commodores 2
7th Inning:
T7
*Pitching change: RHP David Horn Jr. (0-0, 10.57 ERA) on to pitch for Guth*
-Billy Amick flies out to CF.
- Another well-hit ball from Billy. Just got caught up in deep center.
-Dylan Dreiling works a walk.
-Hunter Ensley grounds out to 2B. Dreiling advances to second.
- Nice play by RJ Austin. Had to slide to his side to make the play.
-Kavares Tears grounds out to SS.
END OF TOP HALF
B7
*Pitching change: So. RHP Marcus Phillips (0-0, 4.70 ERA) on to pitch for Sechrist*
- Phenomenal day from Sechrist. Tied a career high 6.0 IP and allowed 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB with 5 K. 57 strikes on 80 total pitches.
-Matthew Polk strikes out swinging.
-Braden Holcomb strikes out swinging.
-Jack Bulger lines out to RF.
- Fantastic diving catch by Kavares Tears. And fantastic 1-2-3 inning from Marcus Phillips. Two diving catches today from UT’s corner outfielders.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 5, Commodores 2
8th Inning:
T8
-Cannon Peebles singles to LF.
-Dalton Bargo works a walk.
-Dean Curley bunts the runners over with a sac bunt to P. Out at first.
*Pitching change: Fr. RHP Alex Kranzler (0-1, 4.11 ERA) on to pitch for Horn*
-Christian Moore strikes out swinging.
-Blake Burke intentionally walked.
- Bases loaded for Billy Amick.
Peebles scores on a wild pitch. Bargo and Burke advance on the wild pitch.
-Billy Amick strikes out swinging.
END OF TOP HALF
B8
-Calvin Hewett ropes a triple down the RF line.
- Landed right on the line.
-Jonathan Vastine knocks a sac fly to LF.
-Davis Diaz strikes out swinging.
-RJ Austin tattoos a double to left-center.
Austin steals third.
-Alan Espinal works a walk.
*Jayden Davis pinch-hitting for Colin Barczi*
-Jayden Davis is walked on four pitches.
- Bases loaded with two outs for Matthew Polk.
*JD Rogers pinch-running for Jayden Davis*
-Matthew Polk grounds out to P to strand ’em loaded.
- Big out from Marcus.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 6, Commodores 3
9th Inning:
T9
-Dylan Dreiling flies out to RF.
-Hunter Ensley lines out to RF.
- Nice semi-diving catch by Matthew Polk.
-Kavares Tears strikes out looking.
END OF TOP HALF
B9
-Braden Holcomb singles to right-center.
-Jack Bulger slaps a single to right field. Holcomb advances to second.
*Jacob Humphrey pinch-running for Bulger*
Runners advance to second and third on a wild pitch.
-Calvin Hewett pops up to 2B.
-Jonathan Vastine drills a sac fly to deep left-center.
-Davis Diaz flies out to CF.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 6, Commodores 4
END OF GAME
FINAL: Tennessee Vols 6, Vanderbilt Commodores 4
