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 (42-6) hosts Bellarmine (11-35) for a second time this season.
First pitch: 6:30 p.m. ET
Watch: SEC Network+
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Live Stats: Click here
Starting Lineup
Here’s four quick takeaways from Tennessee’s midweek win over Bellarmine on Tuesday night:
Rounding 1st — Gilbert and Lipscomb go back-to-back
Drew Gilbert and Trey Lipscomb hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning that proved to be the difference in the game.
The homers came after Jorel Ortega doubled and Christian Scott walked to put a pair of runners on. Gilbert then stepped to the plate and crushed a three-run homer over the scoreboard to extend the Vols’ lead to four. It was Gilbert’s fifth home run of the season.
Trey Lipscomb then stepped into the batter’s box and hit his 19th home run of the season to make it a five-run game.
The pair of home runs came at an important time for the Vols. Bellarmine had just hit a two-run home run in the top half of the frame to make it a one-run game.
Rounding 2nd — Mabrey struggles
Bellarmine’s two-run homer from shortstop Clayton Mehlbauer came off of Will Mabrey.
It was the fourth consecutive outing in which Mabrey has struggled.
Against Bellarmine, Mabrey pitched the sixth inning and allowed two runs on the homer because of three hits and one walk given up. Mabrey threw 19 pitches, 13 of which were strikes.
Rounding 3rd — Zander starts
Zander Sechrist made his 10th start of the season and pitched 2.0 innings. Sechrist gave up a lead off home run, but went on to throw 16 strikes in 21 pitches. He allowed two hits and one walk, but struck out one as the solo homer was the only run he allowed.
Headed for Home — Turning the page
Tennessee’s 11-5 win over Bellarmine got the Vols back on track after they travelled to Lexington this past weekend and lost their first series of the season.
They’ll host a talented Georgia team this weekend as they look to get back on track in conference play. Tennessee can clinch the SEC regular season title this weekend if all goes well.
Game one on Thursday night is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Game two will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday’s finale will start at 1 p.m.
Key Plays
T-1st: Bellarmine 1 (+1), Tennessee 0
Bellarmine left fielder Matt Higgins hit his 20th home run of the season on the second pitch of the game to give Bellarmine an early 1-0 lead.
B-1st: Bellarmine 1, Tennessee 2 (+2)
After Seth Stephenson walked to lead off the bottom half and advanced to third on a Luc Lipcius single, Jordan Beck scored Stephenson to tie the game at 1-1 on a sacrifice fly to right field.
Lipcius was then able to advance to second on an errant pick off throw, which put him in scoring position. With two outs, Trey Lipscomb hit an RBI double to score Lipcius and give the Vols a 2-1 lead.
B-2nd: Bellarmine 1, Tennessee 2
Logan Steenstra walked with one out and Seth Stephenson singled to put runners on first and second with two outs, but after the two advanced to second and third on a wild pitch, Luc Lipcius flew out to right field to end the inning.
B-3rd: Bellmarine 1, Tennessee 4 (+2)
Tennessee scored two runs on three hits in the third. After Jordan Beck and Drew Gilbert hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, Blake Burke was hit by a pitch with one out to load the bases.
Cortland Lawson then hit an RBI single to score Beck and also re-load the bases. Drew Gilbert then scored on a wild pitch to make it a 4-1 ball game.
T-4th: Bellarmine 2 (+1), Tennessee 4
Bellarmine made it a two-run game in the top of the fourth when it hit a one-out RBI groundout off of Ben Joyce. The Knights had hit a one-out single and two-out single to put runners on against Joyce.
B-4th: Bellarmine 2, Tennessee 5 (+1)
The Vols got a run back in the bottom of the fourth when after Luc Lipcius walked to lead off the inning, Trey Lipscomb hit an RBI double with two outs.
T-5th: Bellarmine 2, Tennessee 5
Kirby Connell gave up a lead off single, but immediately got a ground ball for a double play to eliminate the threat.
T-6th: Bellarmine 4 (+2), Tennessee 5
Bellarmine scored two runs on three hits against Will Mabrey in the sixth.
Mabrey gave up a one-out walk, and then with two outs, allowed a two-run home to Knights shortstop Clayton Mehlbauer to make it a one-run game.
B-6th: Bellarmine 4, Tennessee 9 (+4)
Jorel Ortega hit a one-out double before Christian Scott drew a walk to set up Drew Gilbert for a three-run home run. Gilbert's fifth home run of the season flew over the scoreboard and extended the Vols' lead to 8-5.
Trey Lipscomb then made it 9-5, going back-to-back with Gilbert, by hitting a solo home run to left field. It was his 19th home run of the season.
T-7th: Bellarmine 5 (+1), Tennessee 9
The Knights got a run back on three hits in the seventh inning. After a one-out double and single, right fielder Jacob Mulchay hit an RBI single to make it a 9-5 game.
B-8th: Bellarmine 5, Tennessee 11 (+2)
Blake Burke hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning to give the Vols more insurance runs.
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. 2 (-1)
NCBWA: No. 2 (-1)
Baseball America: No. 2 (-1)
This Week's Schedule
Tuesday, May 10
Midweek Game – Bellarmine (5) vs. No. 1 Tennessee (11)
Thursday, May 12
Game 1 – Georgia vs. Tennessee -- 7 p.m. ET
Friday, May 13
Game 2 – Georgia vs. Tennessee -- 5:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, May 14
Game 3 – Georgia vs. Tennessee -- 1 p.m. ET
