KNOXVILLE — 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 (32-3, 13-1 SEC) and No. 24 Alabama (23-13, 8-6) battle it out with the series on the line in the finale.
The Crimson Tide won on Friday night 6-3 before the Vols then won on Saturday night 9-2.
First pitch: 6:30 p.m. ET
Watch: SEC Network+
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Starting Lineup
Here’s four quick takeaways from Tennessee’s 11-3 win on Sunday afternoon to clinch a series win over No. 24 Alabama:
Rounding 1st — Beam shines again
Vols freshman Drew Beam shined once again on Sunday. Though he gave up three runs on four hits, all of which were solo home runs, Beam struck out a career-high 10 hitters as he improved to 8-0 on the season.
Beam completed 6.2 innings of work and didn’t allow a walk. All five of Beam’s SEC outings have been quality outings, which is when a starter lasts at least six innings and doesn’t allow more than three earned runs.
Rounding 2nd — Lipscomb and Ortega
Vols third baseman Trey Lipscomb and second baseman Jorel Ortega led the way offensively for the Vols on Sunday. The two combined for three home runs and nine RBIs on 7-for-10 hitting at the plate.
Lipscomb hit two home runs in the finale. The junior hit a solo home run in the fifth inning and then a three-run homer an inning later. Lipscomb finished 3-for-5 at the plate with five RBIs and three runs scored.
With the Vols just up by two in the fourth, Ortega hit a three-run homer to dead-center to put the Vols up 7-2. He would finish the game 4-for-5 with a homer, four RBIs and a pair of runs scored.
Rounding 3rd — Two-out damage
10 of Tennessee’s 15 runs in the game came with two outs. Before UT’s four-run eighth inning, 10 of Tennessee’s 11 runs had been with two outs.
Vols shortstop Cortland Lawson got things going with two outs in the second inning, when he hit a ground-rule double to plate two. Seth Stephenson and Jorel Ortega then hit back-to-back infield singles to score two and give the Vols an early 4-1 lead.
Both Ortega’s fourth-inning homer and Lipscomb’s sixth-inning homer came with two outs. As a team, the Vols hit .538 with two outs on the day. They hit .588 with runners on, .556 with runners in scoring position and .667 in 21 advancement opportunities.
Headed for Home — Series win despite no Vitello
Tennessee secured a series win with Sunday’s victory.
It was the Vols’ fifth SEC series win of the season, but the first in which it had to do so after losing the opener. The Vols lost 6-3 on Friday night and bounced back with a 9-2 win on Saturday to even up the series.
Tony Vitello missed most of the series. After a first inning ejection on Saturday, Vitello was suspended for Sunday’s affair, as was pitching coach Frank Anderson who was also ejected in the first inning of game two.
Vitello won’t return until next Sunday’s game at Florida following the completion of his four-game suspension. Anderson was only suspended for the series finale against Alabama and will return on Tuesday against Bellarmine at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Key Plays
Tennessee's starting pitcher: Freshman RHP Drew Beam (7-0, 1.14 ERA) — 47.1 IP, 6 ER, 19 H, 6 BB, 36 K, .121 opponent batting average
Alabama's starting pitcher: Sophomore LHP Grayson Hitt (3-0, 2.78 ERA) — 35.2 IP, 11 ER, 31 H, 15 BB, 39 K, .235 opponent batting average
T-1st: Alabama 1 (+1), Tennessee 0
Alabama struck quickly on a solo home run from first baseman Drew Williamson into the Tennessee bullpen. Williamson's sixth home run of the season put the Tide up 1-0.
Drew Beam bounced back with strikeouts of Zane Denton and Owen Diodati to end the inning.
B-1st: Alabama 1, Tennessee 0
Jorel Ortega singled with one out to put a runner on base, but Jordan Beck then bounced into a double-play to end the inning.
T-2nd: Alabama 1, Tennessee 0
Drew Beam hit William Hamiter with one out, but as he did in the first inning, bounced back with a pair of strikeouts to end the inning and avoid damage.
B-2nd: Alabama 1, Tennessee 4 (+4)
Tennessee struck for four runs in the second to take a 4-1 lead, all with two outs.
Evan Russell walked, Christian Moore singled and Luc Lipcius walked to load the bases. Cortland Lawson then hit a ground-rule double to score Russell and Moore. After taking the lead, Seth Stephenson and Jorel Ortega then hit back-to-back RBI singles to make it a three-run game.
T-3rd: Alabama 2 (+1), Tennessee 4
Alabama shortstop Jim Jarvis immediately responded, hitting a solo home run with one out in the third to make it a 4-2 game.
B-4th: Alabama 2, Tennessee 7 (+3)
Cortland Lawson walked and Seth Stephenson singled through the left side with two outs to set up Jorel Ortega for a three-run homer. Ortega's seventh homer of the year extended the Vols' lead to five.
B-5th: Alabama 2, Tennessee 8 (+1)
Trey Lipscomb hit a solo home run in the fifth to make it a six-run game. His 14th homer of the season went well over the porches in left.
T-6th: Alabama 3 (+1), Tennessee 8
Alabama third baseman Zane Denton hit a solo home run in the sixth to make it a five-run game yet again. It was the third hit Beam gave up on the day. All three were solo home runs.
B-6th: Alabama 3, Tennessee 11 (+3)
Trey Lipscomb did further damage in the sixth when he hit his second home run of the game. After Jorel Ortega and Jordan Beck hit back-to-back singles, Lipscomb hit a two-out, three-run home run to make it an 11-3 game.
It was Lipscomb's 15th home run of the season.
T-7th: Alabama 3, Tennessee 11
Drew Beam allowed a two-out single and was relieved by Kirby Connell on the mound. Connell walked the only batter he faced before being pulled for hard-throwing righty Ben Joyce.
With runners on first and second, Joyce struck out Alabama catcher Dominic Tamez on three fastballs to strand the runners and end the inning.
B-8th: Alabama 3, Tennessee 15 (+4)
The Vols scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth to blow the game even more open.
Jordan Beck hit a two-run homer, Trey Lipscomb hit an RBI double and Luc Lipcius hit a sac fly in the frame to close out the weekend.
T-9th: Alabama 4 (+1), Tennessee 15
Alabama added a run in the ninth when it pushed a run across on a double play with the bases loaded.
Final Box Score
Where Tennessee is ranked this week:
Perfect Game: No. 1 (-)
Collegiate Baseball: No. 1 (-)
NCBWA: No. 1 (-)
USA Today Coaches Poll: No. 1 (-)
D1Baseball: No. 1 (-)
Baseball America: No. 1 (-)
This Week's Schedule
Tuesday, April 12
From Smokies Stadium – Tennessee Tech (3) vs. No. 1 Tennessee (2)
Friday, April 15
Game 3 – No. 24 Alabama (6) vs. No. 1 Tennessee (3)
Saturday, April 16
Game 3 – No. 24 Alabama (2) vs. No. 1 Tennessee (9)
Sunday, April 17
Game 3 – No. 24 Alabama (4) vs. No. 1 Tennessee (15)
