5/21/2022 baseball Edit

No. 1 Tennessee sweeps Mississippi State to complete regular season

Ben McKee • VolReport

Staff Writer

STARKVILLE — 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 (48-7, 24-5 SEC) goes for the sweep of Mississippi State (26-29, 9-20 SEC) on the final day of the regular season.

Tennessee won the opener in historic fashion in game one on Thursday night, beating the Bulldogs 27-2. The Vols then won game two 4-3 behind an eighth inning Drew Gilbert home run to clinch the series win.

First pitch: 3:02 p.m. ET

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Starting Lineup

Four takeaways

Here’s four quick takeaways from Tennessee’s 10-5 win on Saturday to sweep Mississippi State:

Rounding 1st — Offense Explodes

Tennessee's offense exploded for 10 runs on nine hits to complete the sweep of Mississippi State. The Vols hit .357 with runners on base, .333 leading off an inning and .750 when there was a runner on third with less than two outs. They also hit .706 in advancement opportunities.

Rounding 2nd — Russell ties Helton

Evan Russell hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning. It was his 13th home run of the season and the 38th of his career to tie Todd Helton for the program record.

Russell was terrific against Mississippi State in the sweep. The Vols' catcher went 7-for-14 at the plate, scored four runs, tallied four RBIs and hit three doubles.

Rounding 3rd — Kirby and Mabrey work out of jams

Kirby Connell relieved Ben Joyce in the bottom of the fourth inning with the bases loaded and one out.

In a 6-2 game with the tying-run at the plate, Connell got back-to-back ground balls to third to end the inning, strand the runners and preserve the four-run lead.

Connell went on to throw 17 strikes out of his 24 pitches. He didn’t allow a hit, a run or a walk over 2.2 innings of work. He struck out one.

Will Mabrey also had to work the Vols out of a jam.

Camden Sewell came on to pitch the seventh and immediately gave up four straight weak singles.

Mabrey came in with the bases loaded and after a Luc Lipcius error made it a 10-4 game, Mabrey bounced back with a strikeout and a double play to end the inning and strand the runners.

Headed for Home — Beam starts

Drew Beam made his 14th start of the season and lasted just two innings. Beam allowed two runs on three hits and gave up one walk on 37 pitches. 24 of his pitches were strikes.

Starting Pitchers

Tennessee's starting pitcher: Freshman RHP Drew Beam (8-1, 2.54 ERA) made his 13th start and 14th appearance of the season.

Beam's season stats entering the game: 67.1 IP, 42 H, 20 R, 19 ER, 12 BB, 54 K, .176 opponent batting average

Mississippi State's starting pitcher: Sophomore RHP Cade Smith (4-3, 3.66 ERA) made his 14th start and 14th appearance of the season.

Smith's season stats entering the game: 71.1 IP, 60 H, 34 R, 29 ER, 35 BB, 65 K, .221 opponent batting average

Scoring Plays

B-1st: Tennessee 0, Mississippi State 1 (+1)

State second baseman RJ Yeager hit a lead off home run in the bottom of the first to give the Bulldogs an early 1-0 lead.

T-2nd: Tennessee 3 (+3), Mississippi State 1

After Drew Gilbert reached on catcher's interference, Trey Lipscomb hit a two-run home run to give the Vols a 2-1 lead. Later in the frame, Seth Stephenson drove in Jorel Ortega on a sacrifice fly to centerfield.

B-2nd: Tennessee 3, Mississippi State 2 (+1)

The Bulldogs got a run back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single to right field from Kamren James. Kellum Clark reached base with one out and stole second to get into scoring position prior to the run-scoring hit.

T-3rd: Tennessee 5 (+2), Mississippi State 2

The Vols added two more via the longball from Jorel Ortega. Drew Gilbert, who singled with one out in the frame, came around to score on the home run.

T-4th: Tennessee 6 (+1), Mississippi State 2

Seth Stephenson reached first on a one-out walk, advanced to third on a single from Luc Lipcius. Lipcius then stole second base and Stephenson took home on a throwing error from Luke Hancock at first base.

T-5th: Tennessee 7 (+1), Mississippi State 2

Evan Russell made it a five-run ballgame with a solo home run to straightaway centerfield.

T-6th: Tennessee 10 (+3), Mississippi State 2

Luc Lipcius and Jordan Beck reached base to start the inning on a single and double, respectfully. With both in scoring position, Drew Gilbert added two more to the scoreboard on a double down the right field line. Two batter later, Ortega singled in Gilbert for the tenth run of the ballgame for the Big Orange.

B-7th: Tennessee 10, Mississippi State 4 (+2)

Four-straight singles off Camden Sewell to begin the inning allowed for Mississippi State to cut into the deficit. Tanner Leggett drove in the first run of the frame while Luke Hancock drove in another on a single after Will Mabrey entered from the bullpen.

B-8th: Tennessee 10, Mississippi State 5 (+1)

Kellum Clark homered to left center field to cut Tennessee's lead in half at 10-5.

Final Box Score