After a weather delay that lasted over 17 hours, Tennessee baseball held on to defeat Oklahoma 9-4 and clinch the weekend series in Oklahoma City. The game started similarly to the series opener before Tennessee’s offense expanded its lead when the game resume on Saturday.
Here’s how the Vols got it done for their 15th SEC win of the season.
Early Game Deja Vu
In Thursday night’s series opener, Oklahoma jumped out to a 3-0 lead through two innings after scoring two runs in the first inning and one run in the second inning. Game two started similarly as Oklahoma jumped out to a 3-0 lead by scoring three runs in the first inning.
Oklahoma’s first four batters reached base before Tennessee starter Evan Blanco limited the damage with a double play and a fly out.
But just like the series opener, Tennessee took the lead by hitting around and scoring four runs in the third inning.
Blaine Brown led off the inning with an infield single before scoring on a Manny Marin triple into the left-center gap. Marin came home an at-bat later when Jay Abernathy legged out an infield single.
Then with two outs, Tennessee made Oklahoma starter Xander Mercurious pay for a two-out balk when Trent Grindlinger shot a 2-2 pitch the other way for a two-RBI single to give the Vols a 4-3 lead.
Evan Blanco Settled In After The First Inning
There was also a bit of deja vu in Blanco’s outing from a week ago against Texas. After struggling in the first inning, Blanco got in a rhythm and provided a quality start for Tennessee.
The senior pitcher was even better this time out, allowing just three total baserunners from the second through the fifth inning. Blanco struck out the side in the fifth inning before sharing some words with the Oklahoma dugout.
The most impressive part of Blanco’s outing came in the sixth inning when an Oklahoma runner reached on a one-out fielding error. A two-out single gave the Sooners two-on before Drew Dickerson got away with an obvious two-strike swing and walked to load the bases.
But with Tennessee leading by two runs and the bases juiced, Blanco induced a ground ball to get out of the jam and exit the game with the Vols leading.
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Tennessee Went Straight To Brandon Arvidson After The Delay
Tennessee went to the bullpen to start the seventh inning, but Josh Elander opted not to go to top reliever Brandon Arvidson with storm clouds circling the area. Will Haas came in to face two batters before the game went into delay that ended the night.
When play resumed Saturday, Elander went straight to Arvidson with one-on and one-out. Arvidson’s first pitch was in the dirt allowing the runner to advance, but the lefty retired the first two batters he faced to strand the runner.
Consecutive one-out extra-base hits scored a run for Oklahoma plated a run in the eighth inning. However, that was all the Sooners would muster against Arvidson as the redshirt junior got Tennessee to the finish line.
The Vols’ Offense Hit The Ground Running Saturday
Tennessee’s offense took some pressure off Arvidson when the game resumed on Saturday afternoon, scoring four runs in two innings to open the game up.
The Vols capitalized when an Oklahoma error allowed Reese Chapman to reach to begin the eighth inning. Chapman advanced to third on a Levi Clark double before consecutive sac flies from Brown and Marin extended Tennessee’s lead to four runs.
Henry Ford sparked a two-out rally in the ninth inning when he doubled into the right-center gap. Grindlinger drove him home with a single to centerfield before a Chapman double scored Grindlinger and gave Tennessee a 9-4 lead.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee and Oklahoma conclude the regular season on Saturday afternoon at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City. First pitch is at 3:30 p.m. ET with the SEC Network+ is streaming the game.
