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 (50-7) takes on No. 21 LSU (38-18) in the third round of the SEC Tournament on Friday night.
The top-seeded Vols defeated 8-seed Vanderbilt 10-2 on Thursday night to remain in the winner's bracket. 4-seed LSU defeated 12-seed Kentucky 11-6 in the following game to advance to face Tennessee.
First pitch: 11:10 p.m. ET
Watch: SEC Network
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Starting Lineup
Four Takeaways
Here’s four quick takeaways from Tennessee’s 5-2 win over LSU in the third round of the SEC Tournament on Friday night:
Rounding 1st — Dollander shines
Tennessee sophomore Chase Dollander started for the Vols and improved to 9-0 on the season as he shutdown one of the best lineups in the entire country.
Dollander allowed just one earned run over 6.2 innings of work, striking out nine on 99 pitches. The right-hander allowed two walks and four hits as he threw 72 strikes on the night.
“My mindset was just to attack,” Dollander said. “Pretty much everything was working for me. Fastball was playing really well up, curveball and slider were both there. Changeup was iffy at times, but that's going to happen. You're not going to have all four pitches in one outing. It was really nice to see all those things come together.”
Dollander’s biggest moment of the game came when he struck out Tre’ Morgan with the tying-run on first to end the fifth inning after LSU had just made it a one-run game, scoring two runs on a pair of Tennessee errors. Dollander let out a big roar when he struck out Morgan.
“It just came out,” Dollander said. “It was a long at-bat against Tre' Morgan and he's a really good hitter. I had a guy on base too and it just kind of came out. I blacked out. It came over me to do it and I just let it out.”
Rounding 2nd — Redmond closes it out
Dollander recorded the first two outs of the seventh inning before Tony Vitello called on Mark McLaughlin, who only faced LSU star Dylan Crews, and allowed Crews to reach on a single.
Vitello immediately went back to the bullpen and brought in Kirby Connell. The lefty threw just one pitch and got Jacob Pearson to ground out to end the inning.
Redmond Walsh entered out of the bullpen to begin the eighth inning and proceeded to pitch two scoreless innings to close the game out and secure the Vols’ second win in Hoover. The senior lefty allowed just one walk and one hit, and struck out one.
It was Walsh’s seventh save of the season, but more notably, the 23rd career save of his career to tie Todd Helton for most in program history.
“It's unbelievable,” Walsh said. “When your name is in the category with the guy who is probably the best player to ever come through Tennessee, there's no words.”
Rounding 3rd — Beck breaks out
Jordan Beck had been in a slump statistically speaking over the last month, piecing several good at-bats together, yet having very little to show for it.
That wasn’t the case against LSU. The junior right fielder got it going early, hitting an RBI triple off of the wall in right field to score Luc Lipcius — who had just walked — and give Tennessee an early 1-0 lead. Beck then scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-0.
“He had been the same guy for four weeks,” Tony Vitello said. “Last night, he was right on pitches and pulled off of them. Other than that, a couple balls in Starkville were absolutely scorched, he just didn't get anything out of them. I said it last night. He's fine. He's filling a big presence in that lineup.”
Beck also made an outstanding catch in the right field corner in the top of the second to save two runs from scoring. With runners on first and second, and two outs, Collier Cranford smoked a ball that Beck raced under and made a sliding catch on.
“I thought it was a routine fly ball off the bat,” Dollander said. “He has some range for a big dude. He can move. It's crazy to watch.”
Headed for Home — Up Next
Tennessee now awaits the winner of LSU and Kentucky. The Tigers and Cats square off at approximately 12:30 p.m. CT on Saturday with the winner advancing to face the Vols at approximately 8 p.m. in the single-elimination semifinal.
If the Vols win, they’ll advance to the SEC Tournament Championship Game for the second consecutive year.
Starting Pitchers
Tennessee's starting pitcher: Sophomore RHP Chase Dollander (8-0, 2.30 ERA) made his 12th start and 14th appearance of the season.
Dollander's season stats entering the game: 62.2 IP, 35 H, 17 R, 16 ER, 9 BB, 90 K, ..158 opponent batting average
LSU's starting pitcher: Sophomore RHP Ty Floyd (5-3, 3.12 ERA) made his ninth start and 15th appearance of the season.
Floyd's season stats entering the game: 49.0 IP, 31 H, 19 R, 17 ER, 20 BB, 58 K, .180 opponent batting average
Key Plays
B-1st: LSU, Tennessee 2 (+2)
After Luc Lipcius walked with one out, Jordan Beck smoked an RBI triple off of the right field wall to put the Vols on the board first. Beck then scored on a wild pitch to give Tennessee an early 2-0 lead.
T-2nd: LSU 0, Tennessee 2
LSU first baseman Tre' Morgan led off the second with a single up the middle. Dollander proceeded to record two outs, but then allowed a single through the left side in an 0-2 count to Gavin Dugas.
With runners on first and second with two outs, Collier Cranford hit a ball deep into the right field corner that Jordan Beck made a great sliding catch on to end the inning save two runs.
B-2nd: LSU 0, Tennessee 3 (+1)
Evan Russell led off the bottom half with a single to center. Then, with one out, Cortland Lawson reached first when LSU pitcher Ty Floyd fielded a ground ball and made an errant throw to first.
Luc Lipcius then walked to load the bases for Jordan Beck, who also walked to score Russell from third and extend the Vols' lead to 3-0.
Tennessee did strand the bases loaded in the frame when Drew Gilbert popped up in the infield to end the inning.
T-3rd: LSU 0, Tennessee 3
Drew Bianco singled through the left side to lead off the inning, and after two outs, Chase Dollander walked Jordan Thompson to put runners on first and second. Dollander bounced back, getting Tre' Morgan to line out to Cortland Lawson at shortstop to end the inning.
T-5th: LSU 2 (+2), Tennessee 3
LSU scored two runs on two errors in the fifth inning to make it a one-run game. The rally began when Chase Dollander walked the 9-hole hitter Drew Bianco on four pitches. Dylan Crews then hit a double in the gap that Seth Stephenson bobbled, allowing Bianco to score from first and make it 3-1.
Josh Pearson then reached on a Cortland Lawson error that also allowed Crews to score from second and make it 3-2.
Dollander prevented further damage, striking out Tre' Morgan with a runner on to end the inning.
B-5th: LSU 2, Tennessee 5 (+2)
Tennessee immediately responded with two runs in the fifth to extend it's lead back to three. After Luc Lipcius singled to lead off the inning and stole second, Drew Gilbert hit an RBI single to score him. Jorel Ortega then hit an RBI double to score Gilbert all the way from first and make it 5-2.
T-7th: LSU 2, Tennessee 5
Mark McLaughlin relieved Chase Dollander with two outs in the seventh and allowed a single. Tony Vitello then went to Kirby Connell to get the final out of the inning.
T-8th: LSU 2, Tennessee 5
Redmond Walsh came on to pitch the eighth and allowed a two-out single, but bounced back with a fly ball to right field to end the inning.
T-9th: LSU 2, Tennessee 5
Redmond Walsh walked the lead off batter in the top of the ninth, but bounced back with a fly ball to center, a strikeout, and a fly ball to right to end the game.
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 – Kentucky/LSU vs. 1-seed Tennessee -- approx. 8 p.m. CT
