Tennessee baseball squanders lead in 9th inning, Ole Miss ties series

Despite producing just a single hit in the first six innings of the game, Tennessee baseball used a late offensive push to pull ahead of Ole Miss.

However, a response in the final frame from the Rebels was enough to hand the Vols an 8-5 loss.

This ties the series and forces a winner-take-all on Sunday afternoon.

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Drew Beam got the start for Tennessee (20-4, 2-3 SEC) and went 5.1 innings while allowing three earned runs on six hits, no walks and five strikeouts. AJ Russell and Aaron Combs attempted to close things out but Russell and Combs combined to allow four ninth inning runs. Each was officially credited to Russell.

The only home run for Tennessee came off the bat of Hunter Ensley on a two-run shot in the second inning. This was the only hit until the bats woke up in the seventh against Ole Miss (17-7, 3-2)

It was Blake Burke who delivered the biggest swing for the Vols, though, after he drove in the run that gave the Vols the lead it eventually surrendered.

This was Tennessee's first home loss of the season.

Tennessee

1) Christian Moore (R) - 2B

2) Blake Burke (L) - 1B

3) Billy Amick (R) - 3B

4) Kavares Tears (L) - RF

5) Dylan Dreiling (L) - LF

6) Robin Villeneuve (R) - DH

7) Hunter Ensley (R) - CF

8) Dean Curley (R) - SS

9) Cal Stark (R) - C

RHP - Drew Beam

Ole Miss

1) Jackson Ross (R) - 1B

2) Andrew Fischer (L) - 3B

3) Ethan Lege (R) - LF

4) Ethan Groff (R) - CF

5) Treyson Hughes (L) - RF

6) Luke Hill (R) - SS

7) Will Furniss (L) - DH

8) Campbell Smithwick (L) - C

9) Brayden Randle (L) - 2B

LHP - Liam Doyle

Ole Miss didn't waste any time getting runs on the board. The Rebels used a solo shot in the top of the first from Andrew Fischer off Beam. However, in the bottom of the second, the Vol snapped right back.

Ensley sent a ball into the porches to score Dylan Dreiling and take a 2-1 lead. This would be Tennessee's only hit of the game until the seventh inning.

During the stretch of cold bats, southpaw pitcher Liam Doyle was dominant on the mound. He limited the Vols to just one hit through six innings of work. He would get chased in the seventh after allowing back-to-back singles, though.

On the other side, Beam was knocked out of the game in the sixth inning. He finished with 5.1 innings pitched while allowing three earned runs on six hits, no walks and five strikeouts.

Pushing Ole Miss back into the lead was a solo home run by Brayden Randle in the third and another home run and throwing error to score another pair in the sixth.

Replacing Beam was Russell. This almost certainly burns his arm for the next game and will force Tony Vitello to go in a different way for a starter. He went three full innings but allowed four runs.

The Vols tied the game back up in the seventh on a series of fortunate events. With the bases loaded and no outs, Dalton Bargo pinch hit and appeared to line out to first. However, it was ruled that the ball hit the ground and an errant throw scored a pair while only retiring one.

To push the Vols ahead in the eighth, Cal Stark drew a walk and was moved to second on a wild pitch and third on a Christian Moore single. Then, Burke singled to bring him home and take the lead.

However, Ole Miss retied the game in the ninth after Jackson Ross doubled to knot it up at five. Then, Ethan Groff and Treyson Hughes used swings to add three more runs of support. Combs came in late but the runs were credited to Russell.

Tennessee wasn't able to push across any in the bottom of the frame despite putting two aboard leading to the loss.

1) Amick comes up with his bare hand

2) Ensley finds the porches

3) Burke claims the lead

The final match of the series against Ole Miss is set for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon.

Then, the Vols will stay home for a Tuesday clash with Tennessee Tech before moving onto another home SEC series with Georgia.

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