NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee baseball found itself on the wrong side of history. 

​The Vols fell 6-5 to Vanderbilt in a matchup that lasted 16 innings, dropping their second SEC series of the year. ​Cam Appenzeller pitched six innings of scoreless relief for Tennessee (18-9, 3-5 SEC), allowing four hits while striking out four batters. He didn’t award the Commodores (16-12, 4-4) any free passes. 

​Garrett Wright posted the only multi-hit outing for the No. 21 Vols, notching a trio of knocks. 

​Landon Mack’s start derailed 

Tennessee starting pitcher Landon Mack had been inconsistent in his last two outings, walking seven hitters over 9.1 innings.

​His outing against Vanderbilt began with two hits in the first inning, but he persisted and struck out the side to avoid any damage. ​Mack kept things rolling, sitting down the Commodores in order in the second.

​By the time the bottom of the fourth inning rolled around, Mack had still allowed no runs. His groove didn’t last long. 

Rustan Rigdon reached safely due to a fielding error at second base. The very next at-bat, Chris Maldonado hit a single to right field that Reese Chapman mishandled, allowing Rigdon to score. ​The floodgates stayed open as Ryker Waite and Mike Mancini tallied hit home runs, and before the Vols knew it, they trailed 5-0 with no hits to their name. 

“You got a standard ground ball that we throw away, and a ball just uncharacteristically kind of kicks off from behind our outfielder,” head coach Josh Elander said. “Our guys are playing hard, but those are things when you play on the road in the SEC, make baserunning mistakes, or you do things like that, it’s not going to put you in a position to win because somebody can leave the yard right after.” 

Vols’ offense awakens

Trailing by a sizable margin, Tennessee entered the top of the sixth frame with little momentum, so the bats decided to spark some.

“Starter had good stuff out of the gate,” Elander said. “Fastball was really taking off, and then the breaking ball. Had some really good top-to-bottom depth today. Just a high-handed guy.”

After Levi Clark reached via a hit-by-pitch, Garrett Wright moved him over to third after a fielding error put both runners in scoring position. ​Blake Grimmer drove the two home the next at-bat to start carving into the deficit. Manny Marin kept the parade moving with a soft single to the left side before Henry Ford brought everyone home with a three-run game-tying longball. 

Bats go quiet when it counts

After Tennessee’s offensive outburst, the momentum at Hawkins Field completely shifted. 

The Vols went ice cold at the dish, and they wouldn’t score again for the rest of the marathon. Tennessee left 12 runners on base in the process as the likes of Blaine Brown, Jay Abernathy and Levi Clark combined to go 0-for-15 at the plate.

The Vols will try to avoid being swept for the first time this season on March 29. 

“That’s a tough one,” Elander said. “Our guys competed well. Getting walked off two nights in a row is not a good feeling. We need to make the adjustments, and how we go about our business and execution to make sure when we’re in those spots, our guys just relax and get it done.”