KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 1/2 Tennessee Volunteers swept their first SEC series of the year with a 7-4 victory over the No. 6/7 Florida Gators on Sunday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Big Orange battled back from a 4-1 deficit and took the lead on a clutch two-out RBI double off the right-field wall from Cannon Peebles in bottom of the sixth inning.
Reese Chapman proved to be clutch once again with an eighth-inning two-run bomb to provide some insurance heading into the final frame. The junior right fielder logged homers in back-to-back games after blasting the game-ending home run in UT’s series-clinching victory on Saturday afternoon.
Much like the first two games of the series, both teams got off to slow starts at the plate, due in large part to some excellent starting pitching.
Tennessee (20-0, 3-0 SEC) scored first in the bottom of the third inning when Dean Curley plated Jay Abernathy, who’s speed was a major factor in the inning. The freshman singled to reach base and went from first to third on a sharply hit single by Stone Lawless to left field before coming in to score one batter later on Curley’s RBI groundout.
Florida (16-5, 0-3 SEC) scored four runs to take the lead in the top of the fourth inning, marking its first lead of the series. Three of the four runs were unearned after the Vols had multiple defensive miscues while having to battle against windy conditions.
Vols Respond with Clutch Hits Down the Stretch
Tennessee responded immediately in the bottom of the fourth after Hunter Ensley was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning before Andrew Fischer and Dalton Bargo drew walks to load the bases with no outs. Chapman followed by working another walk to score Ensley, which ended up being the only run of the inning as the Vols were unable to do any more damage against Gators’ reliever Billy Barlow.
The Vols continued to chip away at the deficit when Gavin Kilen fired a fifth-inning solo homer to right field, cutting UF’s advantage to one.
UT retook the lead one inning later on Peebles’ clutch double to score Manny Marin and Abernathy before Chapman’s two-run blast in the eighth inning gave the Big Orange some extra breathing room.
More Strong Performances on the Mound
Dylan Loy got the win to improve to 3-0 on the year after posting a career-high tying five strikeouts and allowing just one hit in three innings of relief. Nate Snead earned his second save of the series and third this season after striking out two batters while holding the Gators to just one hit and a walk over the final two frames.
Freshman righthander Tegan Kuhns got the start, his first in SEC play, and tossed a career-high 2.2 innings with two punchouts while allowing only one hit.
Up Next
Tennessee will play in-state foe ETSU on Tuesday night to cap its 10-game homestand before hitting the road to take on No. 16/17 Alabama for a Thursday-Saturday series next week. Tuesday’s first pitch against the Buccaneers is set for 5 p.m.
