NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For the third straight day, No. 20/21 Tennessee dropped a heartbreaker, falling in a 16-15 slugfest on Sunday afternoon to in-state rival Vanderbilt at Hawkins Field in Nashville.
The Commodores (17-12, 5-4 SEC) rallied for six runs in the bottom of the ninth, punctuated by a pinch-hit, walk-off grand slam by Tommy Goodin to erase what was a 15-10 UT lead entering the inning.
After struggling at the plate in the first two games of the series, run production was not an issue for the Big Orange on Sunday as their 15 runs and 16 hits were both the second most in any game this season.
Tennessee (18-10, 3-6 SEC) scored runs in each of the first five innings in what was a back-and-forth battle between both offenses in the early going. The Vols added three more runs in the top of the ninth to extend their lead to five before Vandy’s heroics in the bottom of the frame.
Five different Vols finished with multiple hits while four players drove in two or more runs on the day, led by a five-RBI outing off the bench from freshman Trent Grindlinger, who plated runs with all three of his singles.
Blaine Brown and Reese Chapman also had big days at the dish, finishing with three hits apiece while combining for seven runs scored and five RBIs. Brown also walked and hit his eighth home run of the year, briefly tying the game at four with a three-run blast to left-center field in the second inning.
Unfortunately for UT, starting pitcher Evan Blanco had an uncharacteristically rough day on the mound, making it through just three innings whole allowing nine runs (six earned) on eight hits.
After the Dores scored 10 runs over the first four innings, reliever Nic Abraham did well to steady the ship, holding them scoreless in innings five through eight before running out of gas in the ninth. The sophomore right-hander pitched a career-high 5.1 innings and tied a career-best with three strikeouts.
Brayden Krenzel was stuck with the loss after hitting a batter and giving up the ninth-inning home run to Goodin to end the game. Brennan Seiber earned the win for Vanderbilt to improve to 4-1 despite giving up three runs in the top of the ninth.
UP NEXT: Tennessee returns home for five straight home games at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, starting with another in-state foe in Austin Peay on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. before hosting defending national champion LSU next weekend.
