Timely hits and strong pitching fueled Tennessee on Sunday as it defeated No. 19 Mississippi State 7-2 in Game 3 of the series to hand the Bulldogs their second SEC sweep in a row.
The loss pushed Mississippi State (26-10, 7-8 SEC) to below .500 in conference play and gave Tennessee (24-12, 7-8) its first SEC sweep of the season.
Like in the first two games of the series, Tennessee struck early with the top of its lineup. Leadoff hitter Garrett Wright was hit by MSU starting pitcher Charlie Foster to get on base in the first at-bat of the game, Reese Chapman hammered a centerfield double to put Wright in scoring position, and Henry Ford got on first with a single to send home Wright. Blake Grimmer grounded into a double play, but Chapman still managed to scramble home to put the Volunteers up 2-0 in the first inning.
After going hitless in Game 2, the top of MSU’s batting line up again struggled to put a ball in play – this time off Vols starting pitcher Evan Blanco. The senior hurler pitched three innings of no-hit baseball with five strikeouts before leadoff hitter Aiden Teel singled in the bottom of the fourth to snap the streak. Ace Reese followed up with a double, and Noah Sullivan grounded out to first to send Teel home for MSU’s first score of the game.
In the top of the sixth, Tennessee pulled ahead by three runs as a pitching change brought in Ben Davis to replace Foster after 5 1/3 innings of four hits, two earned runs, one walk, one batter hit and five strikeouts. Davis walked Wright then gave up a double to Chapman to put a runner in scoring position, who was brought home by a groundout by Ford. A wild pitch was too much for catcher Chone James to handle and Chapman managed to scramble to the plate during the sequence.
State responded with one run in the bottom of the seventh when James doubled to get on base and Stallman singled up the middle for the RBI. The score prompted Tennessee to replace Blanco, who finished with five hits given up, two earned runs and six strikeouts, with junior right -hander Brady Frederick. He closed the seventh and was then replaced by Chandler Day in the bottom of the eighth, where the Bulldogs had a chance to close their deficit. Teel and Gehrig Frei both smacked singles to get on base, but Tennessee reliever Bo Rhudy managed to shut the door with a ground out and fly out. The Vols stabbed in the dagger in the top of the ninth inning with three more runs to complete the stunner.
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