HOOVER, Ala. — 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 (51-7) takes on Kentucky (33-25) in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on Saturday night.
The winner between tonight's game advances to the SEC Tournament Championship Game on Sunday.
First pitch: 9:50 p.m. ET
Watch: SEC Network
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Starting Lineup
Four Takeaways
Here’s four quick takeaways from Tennessee’s 12-2 win over Kentucky in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on Saturday night to advance to the SEC Tournament Championship Game on Sunday:
Rounding 1st — Offense gets going late
Tennessee scored two runs on five hits over the first seven innings of its win over Kentucky. It then scored 10 runs on seven hits over the final two frames to take a tied game at 2-2 entering the eighth, and turn it into a 10-run win.
"It started way before that (eighth) inning," Cortland Lawson said. "We had a lot of good at-bats. Guys were grinding through at-bats, having long pitch at-bats. That inning stemmed from the work throughout the game to wear Kentucky down."
After Jorel Ortega was plunked with the bases loaded and Jordan Beck scored on a wild pitch, Lawson crushed a two-run double with the bases loaded to give Tennessee a 6-2 lead heading into the ninth inning.
The Vols came back and scored five in the final frame to really break the game open. Most of the damage came on a mammoth three-run Blake Burke home run that followed a Drew Gilbert two-run double and Trey Lipscomb sac fly.
Rounding 2nd — Burns pitches in relief
Freshman righty Chase Burns relieved Drew Beam on the mound in the fourth inning, worked out of a jam and proceeded to put together 4.2 strong innings of work.
Burns did give up two runs, but worked out of multiple jams and got better as the game progressed. He gave up one walk, three hits and struck out eight on 63 pitches.
Rounding 3rd — Beam starts
Beam, Burns' fellow freshman, started and pitched 3.1 innings. He didn't allow any runs despite four walks and two hits allowed, as he struck out six. Beam threw 71 pitches, 35 of which were strikes.
"I thought he was incredible," Vitello said. "He kept Kentucky under wraps. Took control of the game and put some zeroes on the board. It was massive.
"Both of those guys needed to throw while we're here and they threw. And at the same time, we didn't gas anybody out for what we have going on next weekend."
Headed for Home — Up Next
Tennessee now turns its attention to the SEC Tournament Championship Game. The Vols will face Florida at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2 as it looks to add another trophy to the case this season.
It'll be the second year in a row the Vols play in the SEC Title Game. They lost 4-0 to Arkansas in last year's SEC Tournament finale.
"We're really excited for tomorrow," Lawson said. "Losing last year was disappointing. We want that championship, we want that trophy. We'll come out with a lot of energy."
Starting Pitchers
Tennessee's starting pitcher: Freshman RHP Drew Beam (8-1, 2.73 ERA, .84 ERA) made his 14th start and 15th appearance of the season.
Beam's season stats entering the game: 69.1 IP, 45 H, 22 R, 21 ER, 13 BB, 54 K, .184 opponent batting average
Kentucky's starting pitcher: Sophomore LHP Magdiel Cotto (3-1, 6.14 ERA, 1.81 ERA) made his ninth start and 15th appearance of the season.
Cotto's season stats entering the game: 29.1 IP, 35 H, 26 R, 20 ER, 18 BB, 34 K, .297 opponent batting average
Key Plays
T-1st: Tennessee 1 (+1), Kentucky 0
The Vols struck first when Jordan Beck tripled down the left field line with two outs and then scored on a wild pitch.
B-1st: Tennessee 1, Kentucky 0
Drew Beam worked out of a big jam early on after walking back-to-back Cats with one out. With runners on first and second, Beam struck out Chase Estep and then got Ryan Ritter to ground out to short to end the inning and strand the runners.
B-2nd: Tennessee 1, Kentucky 0
Drew Beam gave up a two-out walk to Devin Burkes, but Evan Russell picked Beam up when Burkes took off for second on a ball in the dirt and Russell threw him out to end the inning.
B-3rd: Tennessee 1, Kentucky 0
Drew Beam had to work out of another jam in the third when he gave up a single and a walk with two outs. Beam bounced back and struck out Chase Estep to end the inning and strand the runners.
T-4th: Tennessee 2 (+1), Kentucky 0
After Jordan Beck walked and Drew Gilbert beat out an infield single to put runners on the corners with one out, Trey Lipscomb hit an RBI single through the left side to extend Tennessee's lead to 2-0.
The Vols had the potential for more damage in the inning, but Evan Russell grounded out to second to end the frame and strand runners on the corners.
B-4th: Tennessee 2, Kentucky 0
Kentucky shortstop Ryan Ritter led off the fourth with a double and then advanced to third on a ground ball. With Ritter on third, Tony Vitello elected to bring in freshman Chase Burns out of the bullpen.
Burns struck out the first batter he faced for the second out, but then gave up a two-out walk to put runners on the corners. The righty got out of the jam with a strikeout to end the inning.
B-5th: Tennessee 2, Kentucky 2 (+2)
Kentucky scored two runs on two hits in the fifth to tie the game. It started when Cats left fielder Hunter Jump hit a ball to left field that Vols' junior Seth Stephenson dove for and missed, allowing Jump to get to second. Kentucky second baseman Daniel Harris IV then smoked an RBI double to make it 2-1.
After Harris stole third, Chase Burns struck out Ryan Ritter, but the pitch got away from Evan Russell, allowing Ritter to reach first and Harris to score. It tied the game at 2-2.
T-6th: Tennessee 2, Kentucky 2
Luc Lipcius led off the sixth with a single and stole second to get in scoring position with one out after Jordan Beck struck out, but Drew Gilbert then struck out for the second out.
Kentucky then elected to intentionally walk Trey Lipscomb. It put runners on first and second with two outs for Jorel Ortega, who smoked a ball to left field, but right at the left fielder for the third out.
T-7th: Tennessee 2, Kentucky 2
Cortland Lawson walked with two outs. It brought Kyle Booker to the plate as a pinch-hitter, who struck out to end the inning.
T-8th: Tennessee 6 (+4), Kentucky 2
Tennessee scored four runs on four hits to take a 6-2 lead over Kentucky.
Luc Lipcius and Jordan Beck led off the inning with singles before Trey Lipscomb blooped in a one-out single to load the bases. Jorel Ortega was then plunked by the bases loaded to give Tennessee the lead, before Beck scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-2.
After Kentucky decided to intentionally walk Blake Burke, Vols shortstop Cortland Lawson smoked a two-run double that extend the lead to 6-2.
B-8th: Tennessee 6, Kentucky 2
Ryan Ritter reached third when he singled, advanced to second on a throwing error and stole third with one out. It didn't bother Chase Burns, as the true freshman recorded back-to-back strikeouts to strand Ritter and end the inning.
T-9th: Tennessee 12 (+6), Kentucky 2
The Vols scored six runs on three hits and one Kentucky error in the top of the ninth.
It began with a Jared Dickey pinch-hit single and Luc Lipcius was hit by a pitch. After they advanced to second and third on a balk, Drew Gilbert hit a bloop two-run double to make it an 8-2 ball game.
Gilbert reached third on the play courtesy of a Kentucky throwing error. Trey Lipscomb then hit a sac fly to score Gilbert and make it 9-2.
Blake Burke would demolish a three-run home run later in the inning after Jorel Ortega and Evan Russell drew walks.
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
Thursday, May 26
SEC Tournament – 8-seed Vanderbilt (1) vs. 1-seed Tennessee (10)
Friday, May 27
SEC Tournament – 4-seed LSU (2) vs. 1-seed Tennessee (5)
Saturday, May 28
SEC Tournament – 1-seed Tennessee (12) vs. 12-seed Kentucky (2)
Sunday, May 29
SEC Tournament Title Game – 7-seed Florida vs. 1-seed Tennessee -- 3 p.m. ET
