Leads after the seventh inning in SEC play haven’t been safe for Tennessee baseball. It was barely on Friday night.
The Vols traveled to Dudy Noble Field for the first of a three-game set, and left with a 6-5 win. Landon Mack contributed a strong start before a pair of longballs hindered his outing. He went 4.0 innings, allowing six hits and three runs while striking out six batters.
For just the third time in SEC play, the Vols (22-12, 5-8 SEC) contributed double-digit hits in a game with 10.
Tennessee’s three-run eighth propelled it to a win. Levi Clark started it with an RBI groundout with the bases loaded in the eighth inning. He grounded into what should have been an inning-ending double play, but first baseman Reed Stallman didn’t have his foot on the bag, allowing the run to score. Tennessee added two RBI infield singles afterward, including Garrett Wright’s third hit of the night against the Bulldogs (26-8, 7-6).
Vols force moderately uncharacteristic outing from Tomas Valincius
Mississippi State’s ace has been among the conference’s best pitchers this season. He was second in ERA at 1.15 and fourth in strikeouts with 66 on the season. He held opponents to a .170 batting average in 47 innings pitched, also No. 2 in the conference.
Yet the struggling Vols offense managed to put together a day that hurt those numbers. Tennessee tallied eight hits off the ace, plated three earned runs and blasted two home runs — all of which are more than Valincius has allowed in a game this season.
Tennessee opened with a two-hit first inning, but did not plate any runs. The third inning was the most successful, as Wright mashed a one-out triple off the top of the wall in center. A Reese Chapman RBI groundout broke the scoreless tie. Henry Ford then walloped a solo home run to left-center to put the Vols ahead 2-0.
Levi Clark put the next blemish on Valincius’ line with a solo shot on the first pitch of the fifth inning. That was the last run he allowed before being pulled in the seventh inning.
Valincius’ line finished with 6.0 innings pitched, eight hits allowed and three runs across 80 pitches. He struck out a season-low six batters.
Back-to-back Mississippi State jacks
Mack had been rolling through his start, then the Bulldogs rallied in the bottom of the fifth.
Stallman struck first blood when he poked a solo homer off the top of the wall in right field to cut the deficit to one run. Nine-hole hitter Kevin Milewski then tied the game with a straightaway center blast on Mack’s 2-2 pitch.
That ended Mack’s night in favor of freshman Cam Appenzeller with no outs in the bottom of the fifth.
Amazing Appenzeller
The true freshman relief arm continues to prove why he never should’ve made it to a college campus. Though his first earned run in conference play scarred the plate, Appenzeller still closed the door on the Bulldogs.
Appenzeller entered without an out recorded and a fresh slate in the fifth, and retired nine batters in a row before his first blemish. Aidan Teel tallied a leadoff single in the bottom of the eighth inning, breaking up Appenzeller’s streak. He had retired 24 straight batters, starting with his emphatic entrance against LSU a weekend ago.
The Bulldogs brought him home on an RBI single after a walk moved Teel into scoring position. Eventually, Mississippi State moved the tying runs into scoring position with just one out. Appenzeller recorded a strikeout and a deep flyout to end the threat.
Stallman plastered a ninth-inning home run to the fair side of the right-field pole. Appenzeller finished it with a pair of strikeouts to secure the win.
