Tennessee's opening weekend out in Arizona is a distant memory at this point.

After starting the season 1-2 at the MLB Desert Invitational last month, the No. 3 Vols extended their win streak to 11 with its second-straight weekend series sweep of Gonzaga at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

It wasn't easy.

Tennessee (11-2) overcame a slow start on Friday and a deficit on Saturday with late power hitting to clinch the series before winning 17-9 on Sunday.

Here are the takeaways from the series.

The sixth and seventh inning defined the first two games for Tennessee.

Both teams went scoreless for the the first four innings on Friday before Vols' second baseman Christian Moore ended the stalemate with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning.

In the sixth, Tennessee created significant separation with a five-run frame that included RBIs from Jared Dickey and Moore with the bases loaded, but Zane Denton set the tone with an opposite-field homer to lead off the inning.

Tennessee's lineup stepped up again on Saturday.

Gonzaga (1-10) scored two runs in the second inning to jump put to a 2-0 lead. With runners in scoring position, Griffin Merritt used a sac fly RBI to get the Vols on the board, then Kyle Booker evened the score at 2-2 with a home run in the sixth.

Like in Friday's contest, Tennessee put it away with five runs in the seventh, plating runs off of a three-run home run from Blake Burke and a Merritt two-run shot over the center field wall to push the Vols to a 7-2 victory.

Tennessee didn't have the benefit of a strong pitching performance from its bullpen on Sunday as Gonzaga managed to post nine runs. The Vols outlasted the Bulldogs with 17 runs of their own, including eight runs in the third.

Three different hitters tallied home runs for Tennessee, the biggest of which was Dickey's grand slam that put the Vols in front for good at 4-2 in the third.

On an afternoon where the Vols struggled on the mound, putting together 13 hits and having nine players finish with at least one hit bodes well for Tennessee should its pitchers run into trouble, however rare that may be.

Friday's match up between Tennessee right-handed started Chase Dollander and Gonzaga RHP Owen Wild stole the show for five innings.

Dollander (2-1) picked up the win, tossing 11 strikeouts and giving up six hits in 95 pitches and 6.0 innings of work. He held the Bulldogs off and ended possible scoring opportunities long enough for Tennessee to pull away in the sixth inning.

Owen was equally impressive, recording 13 strikeouts in 5.2 innings, but the Vols got to him more than 100 pitches in.

Relievers Kirby Connell, Zach Joyce and Aaron Combs flexed Tennessee's bullpen depth by combining for four strikeouts over the last three innings.

Saturday starter Chase Burns went 6.1 innings, giving up two runs in the second but closing out strong with eight strikeouts, paving the way for Connell (1-0) to pick up his first win of the season after he and Seth Halvorsen posted three strikeouts to cap the win.

Gonzaga RHP Jacob Rutherford struck out six and gave up just two runs, but reliever Payton Graham couldn't build off of that success, allowing five runs on three hits in the last 2.0 innings of the game.

While Tennessee didn't have a banner day pitching Sunday—using five different arms they gave up a combined 11 hits and nine runs—the first two games were impressive outings that showed the Vols' strength at the position.

Tennessee will look to continue its win streak and midweek dominance against Boston College at home on Tuesday.

The Eagles (8-1) are coming off of a three-game sweep of Kennesaw State this past weekend.

The Vols host Morehead State in its last non-conference series next weekend.

*****

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @TMansfieldMedia, @JNichols_2121, @ByNoahTaylor, @TylerIvens, @RealTBannerman, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.