KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Join hundreds of other Tennessee fans in our game thread where you can follow along for live play-by-play updates and commentary as No. 1 Tennessee (54-7) continues its NCAA Tournament run against Campbell (41-17).

First pitch: 7:06 p.m. ET

Watch: SEC Network

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Starting Lineup

Four Takeaways

Here’s four quick takeaways from Tennessee’s 12-7 win over Campbell on Saturday night to win its opener in the NCAA Tournament:

Rounding 1st — Kirby saves the day

Lefty Kirby Connell came in and saved the day for the Vols during UT's 12-7 win over Campbell in its second win of the NCAA Tournament.

Connell relieved Chase Dollander with two outs in the bottom of the third inning and inherited the bases loaded while the Vols were already trailing 4-0. Connell proceeded to get a fly ball to get out of the inning and keep it just a four-run game.

The lefty went on to throw a career-high 65 pitches, 41 of which were strikes. Connell lasted 4.0 innings, only allowing two runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out four.

Not only did Connell save the bullpen, but he also allowed the Vols' offense to comeback and avoid the loser's bracket.

Rounding 2nd — Vols come from behind

The Vols trailed 4-0 after three innings and then proceeded to outscore Campbell 12-3 over the final six innings to knock off the Camels. Tennessee managed two hits over the first three frames before tallying 13 hits to spark the comeback.

UT scored three runs in the third inning, four runs in the fourth inning, one run in the eighth and four runs in the ninth. It hit .500 (8-for-16) with two outs, .409 with runners on base, .400 with runners in scoring position and were .500 in advancement opportunities.

Rounding 3rd — Dollander starts

Sophomore Chase Dollander made his first NCAA Tournament start and although he only last 2.2 innings, he pitched much better than his final numbers indicated.

50 of Dollander's 70 pitches were strikes and because of Campbell's ability to spoil good pitches by continually fouling them off, his pitch count ballooned quicker than the Vols would have liked.

Headed for Home — Up Next

Tennessee advanced to the Knoxville Regional final with the win. Most importantly it avoided the loser's bracket.

The Vols now await the winner of Sunday afternoon's elimination game between Georgia Tech and Campbell, which is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET. Whoever comes out on top will then face the Vols at 7 p.m. Sunday night and will need to beat them twice in order to win the regional.

Starting Pitchers

Tennessee's starting pitcher: Sophomore RHP Chase Dollander (9-0, 2.21 ERA) made his 13th start of the season and his 15th appearance.

Dollander's season stats entering the game: 69.1 IP, 39 H, 19 R, 17 ER, 11 BB, 99 K, .159 opponent batting average

Campbell's starting pitcher: Sophomore RHP Cade Kuehler (4-5, 3.62 ERA) made his 15th start of the season and his 16th appearance.

Kuehler's season stats entering the game: 77.0 IP, 39 H, 35 R, 31 ER, 36 BB, 101 K, .174 opponent batting average

Key Plays

T-1st: Tennessee 0, Campbell 0

Seth Stephenson led off the game with a single to left field, and then took second on a wild pitch after Luc Lipcius popped up to third for the first out. With Stephenson in scoring position, Jordan Beck flew out to left for the second out and Drew Gilbert popped out in foul territory to end the inning.

B-1st: Tennessee 0, Campbell 0

Chase Dollander gave up a two-out single to Campbell shortstop Zach Neto, but bounced back with a fly ball to center to end the inning and strand Neto after he stole second.

T-2nd: Tennessee 0, Campbell 0

Trey Lipscomb doubled to lead off the second and advanced to third with one out on a Blake Burke groundout. Cortland Lawson stranded Lipscomb though, striking out looking to end the inning.

B-2nd: Tennessee 0, Campbell 0

After Ty Babin doubled with two outs to right center, Chase Dollander struck out Waldy Arias on a filthy slider to end the inning and strand Babin at second.

B-3rd: Tennessee 0, Campbell 4 (+4)

After Tyler Halstead laid down a bunt single to lead off the bottom of the third, Campbell third baseman Jarrod Belbin hit a two-run home run off the scoreboard to give the Camels an early 2-0 lead.

Zach Neto would hit a one-out double following the home run and after stealing third with two outs, scored on a Cortland Lawson error to make it a 3-0 game.

Dollander then walked Drake Pierson, and with runners on the corners, allowed a two-out RBI single to Ty Babin that made it a 4-0 game. After a walk to Waldy Arias to load the bases, Tony Vitello elected to go to Kirby Connell out of the bullpen.

Connell came in and got the final out of the inning courtesy of a fly ball to left field to end the inning and prevent further damage.

T-4th: Tennessee 3 (+3), Campbell 4

Tennessee responded to Campbell's four-run bottom of the third with three runs on three hits in the top of the fourth.

Drew Gilbert got the rally going with a one-out double and Trey Lipscomb then drove him in from second on an RBI single. It set up Jorel Ortega for a two-run home run to cut the Campbell lead to 4-3.

B-4th: Tennessee 3, Campbell 4

Kirby Connell had to work out of a jam in the bottom of the fourth inning. He gave up a walk to lead off the inning, and after a one-out single, had runners on first and second. Connell then recorded a strikeout and got the third out to end the inning when he got the runner at third out when Zach Neto got caught trying to steal home.

T-5th: Tennessee 7 (+4), Campbell 4

Tennessee followed up its three-run fourth inning with a four-run fifth inning to take a commanding 7-4 lead.

It all started with two outs. Luc Lipcius walked and then Jordan Beck singled through the left side to set up Drew Gilbert, who hit a three-run home run over the scoreboard to give Tennessee a 6-4 lead.

The Vols tacked on a run later in the inning when Trey Lipscomb singled, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Jorel Ortega RBI single.

B-7th: Tennessee 7, Campbell 6 (+2)

After three innings of not scoring, the Camels finally got back on the board in the seventh when it hit a two-run home run. Drake Pierson's shot made it a one-run game.

T-8th: Tennessee 8 (+1), Campbell 6

The Vols immediately responded in the next inning when Blake Burke hit a solo home run to deep left center. Burke's 14th home run of the season tied Tennessee's freshman record for home runs in a season.

B-8th: Tennessee 8, Campbell 7 (+1)

Campbell cut it to a one-run game once again in the eighth inning when Connor Denning hit a solo home run.

T-9th: Tennessee 12 (+4), Campbell 7

The Vols added four much-needed insurance runs in the ninth inning when Christian Moore hit a two-out, pinch-hit RBI single. Cortland Lawson then hit a three-run homer to put the game out of reach from Campbell.

Final Box Score

Postgame Media

Where Tennessee is ranked this week:

Perfect Game: No. 1 (-)

USA Today Coaches Poll: No. 1 (-)

D1Baseball: No. 1 (-)

Collegiate Baseball: No. 1 (-)

NCBWA: No. 1 (-)

Baseball America: No. 1 (-)

This Week's Schedule

Friday, June 3

Game 1 – Georgia Tech (8) vs. Campbell (15)

Game 2 – Tennessee (10) vs. Alabama State (0)

Saturday, June 4

Game 3 – Georgia Tech (13) vs. Alabama State (4)

Game 4 – Tennessee (12) vs. Campbell (7)

Sunday, June 5

Game 5 – Georgia Tech vs. Campbell | 2 p.m. ET

Game 6 – Winner of Game 5 vs. Tennessee | 7 p.m. ET

Monday, June 6

Game 7 (if necessary) – Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 6 | 1 p.m. ET