KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A pair of fantastic performances on the mound from Zander Sechrist and Nate Snead led No. 5/5 Tennessee to a series-clinching shutout victory over No. 22/NR Georgia on Sunday afternoon, as the Big Orange blanked the Bulldogs 7-0 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Sechrist made his second consecutive Sunday start and put together arguably the best outing of his UT career, holding Georgia’s high-powered lineup to just four hits over six scoreless innings to earn his first win of the season. The Georgia native set career highs in innings pitched and total pitches (102) while striking out seven batters and issuing just one walk on the afternoon.
Snead entered with a 3-0 lead in the seventh inning and finished off the shutout with three scoreless frames of his own, allowing just two hits to record his second save of the year less than 24 hours after closing out Saturday night’s 16-11 victory.
At the plate, five Tennessee players recorded multiple hits on the day, led by a pair of three-hit performances from Kavares Tears and Dylan Dreiling. Reese Chapman and Hunter Ensley led the way with two RBIs each while Dalton Bargo capped his impressive weekend with two hits as well, including a solo home run in the fifth inning to make it a 3-0 game.
Cal Stark also had two base knocks with a bunt single and a double to post his first multi-hit effort this season while Blake Burke extended his hit streak to 19 straight contests with a leadoff single to jump start UT’s three-run seventh inning.
No Georgia player had more than one hit in the game, including superstar Charlie Condon, who was held hitless on the afternoon.
Starting pitcher Christian Mracna racked up seven strikeouts in just three innings of work but was stuck with the loss after allowing two runs on five hits.
STAT OF THE GAME: Saturday’s incredible performance on the mound resulted in the Vols’ third shutout this season and marked the first time that Georgia (22-6, 4-5 SEC) had been held scoreless this year.
UP NEXT: Tennessee (24-5, 5-4 SEC) does not play a midweek game this week and will jump right back into SEC play next weekend with a trip to Auburn. First pitch for Friday’s series opener against the Tigers is slated for 7 p.m. ET.
