BATON ROUGE, La. — Tennessee baseball was continuously struggling to open up a comfortable lead in game two of its weekend series at LSU. That was the case until Cannon Peebles launched a three-run homer long and far into the Louisiana Saturday night, punctuating a euphoric eighth inning and a 9-3 series evening victory
On the big eighth inning and more on how Tennessee got it done on Saturday night against LSU.
Marcus Phillips Escapes The Fifth Inning
LSU recorded its first hit of the game in the fifth inning when Steven Milam led off the inning with a double to left field. It began a tumultuous and important inning for Marcus Phillips.
The Tigers put runners on the corners with one out when Tennessee’s defense let Phillips down as Gavin Kilen failed to catch a routine pop up in foul territory. But Phillips didn’t blink, getting Chris Stanfield to fly out to shallow right field.
LSU leadoff man Derek Curiel then laid down a nice bunt but Phillips made a great play, barehanding the ball and just making the throw in time to get out of the inning. Facing his first true danger of the night and Tennessee leading by two runs, it was a significant moment.
Tough Finish But Phillips Great In A Big Spot
Phillips had been somewhere between bad and shaky his last three times out. Given that fact and the way Tennessee lost the series opener, it was not difficult to make the case that this was his most significant start of the season.
And the junior right hander turned in a fantastic outing. He allowed just one hit while walking four in his first six innings pitched.
Things got dicey in the seventh inning when Steven Milam and Michael Braswell III each went deep to open up the inning. But even from there, Phillips did a nice job retiring the next two batters he faced before exiting.
Phillips finished the night allowing two runs on three hits and four walks while striking out six in 6.2 innings pitched. With minimal run support, Phillips exited the game in the seventh inning with Tennessee leading.
More From RTI: Tennessee Baseball’s Dean Curley Defensive Question Comes To A Head In Opening Loss At LSU
A Euphoric Top Of The Eighth For Tennessee
From the third inning on, Tennessee almost consistently had baserunners and threatened to put runs on the board. But the Vols were unable to do it with enough consistency.
Tennessee couldn’t bring Antigua home from second with no one out in the third. In the fifth, Tennessee couldn’t score despite Gavin Kilen doubling off the top of the wall to leadoff the inning. The Vols loaded the base with a two-out rally in the sixth inning but Kilen chopped out to second keeping Tennessee from extending its lead. In the seventh inning Tennessee loaded the bases with no one out and scored just one run.
For the third straight inning, Tennessee loaded the bases. In the eighth inning they did it with one out and finally got the production they needed. Hunter Ensley drove home a run with a hit-by pitch before Reese Chapman struck out for out number two.
LSU first baseman Jared Jones was unable to make a play on a Dalton Bargo chopper allowing two to score. Then Cannon Peebles provided the biggest swing of the night, hitting a towering three-run homer to left field. It made it a six-run eighth inning that gave Tennessee a comfortable 9-2 lead.
A Nice Night For Ariel Antigua
Tennessee sophomore Ariel Antigua had a nice series opener at LSU and followed it up with another strong performance against the Tigers.
Antigua might have hit the hardest ball of his Tennessee career in his first at-bat roping a liner off the wall in left field. The shortstop hustled out of the box but was still held to a single because of how hard he hit it.
His second plate appearance was productive too. With runners on the corners and one-out, Antigua fell behind 0-2 before driving in a run with a groundout. He was a bit lucky that the pitcher went to second for a double play with the runner stealing but it was productive nonetheless. Antigua finished the night one-of-two at the plate with a walk and two hit-by pitches.
Antigua’s defense is why he’s in the lineup and it was as advertised. He made one particularly nice play in the third inning which helped Phillips work around a leadoff walk. Antigua also committed an error in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Box Score
Up Next
Tennessee baseball and LSU conclude their weekend series at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon. The SEC Network is broadcasting the game.
