Reese Chapman set the tone in the opening frame. That allowed Tennessee baseball to take care of business and claim a road series.

Four runs across the first two innings boosted the Vols to a second win in as many days over Mississippi State, 6-2. It is Tennessee’s second conference series win of the season, and the first ranked series win since April 13, 2025, over No. 6 Ole Miss.

Tennessee (23-12, 6-8 SEC) utilized 13 hits, including six extra-base hits, to overcome the Bulldogs. It also received stellar pitching performances from Tegan Kuhns and Brandon Arvidson, who combined for 10 strikeouts.

No. 9 Mississippi State (26-8, 7-7) has now lost five conference games in a row.

Bats awaken early

Garrett Wright flew out in three pitches before Chapman worked a full count. Chapman blasted the payoff pitch over the right-field wall for a solo blast as the second batter of the game.

Tennessee took a quick one-run lead, which turned into more by the second inning. The Vols wasted little time before pouncing on the Bulldogs.

A three-hit, three-run second inning pushed the Vols’ lead to 4-0. Levi Clark added an RBI double, while Jay Abernathy and Wright pushed across runs on sacrifice hits. Abernathy reached based on a run-scoring fielder’s choice where he placed down a bunt. Wright flew out deep enough to right field to allow Clark to tag up from third.

More run support did not come until the sixth inning, though the Vols had at least one hit in every inning leading up to then.

Kuhns shoves best SEC appearance

The once-Friday night guy showed ace-like stuff in game two against the Bulldogs.

Kuhns finished with 6.0 innings of two-run baseball. He allowed four hits and one walk, striking out seven batters across 86 pitches. The Bulldogs had been no-hit until a leadoff double in the fifth inning.

The 6-foot-3, 193-pound right-handed pitcher delivered three innings were he retired the side in order. He fanned through all three Mississippi State batters in the third inning, striking out one looking and two swinging.

He ran into danger in the fifth after the double. Two more hits in the frame brought the first run across the plate, but Kuhns tallied a popout and flyout to limit the damage.

Kuhns’ leashed ended when he tried to carry the start into the seventh inning. Gehrig Frei, the Bulldogs’ No. 6 hitter, mashed the first pitch Kuhns delivered for a solo home run. That summoned Arvidson from the bullpen.

The six-inning outing is the first time in SEC play that Kuhns has made it through the fifth inning in a start. He went 4.2 at Georgia and 3.0 against Missouri before appearing out of the bullpen at Vanderbilt. He delivered 4.0 innings against LSU last weekend.

Three-hit trio

Tennessee’s order received sizable contributions around, particularly near the bottom of the order. While Trent Grindlinger put together a three-hit day from the No. 5 spot, Manny Marin and Abernathy did so from the seventh and ninth holes.

Grindlinger posted three singles — one to each crevice of the field. He pulled a second-inning single to left, smacked a third-inning single to right and punched a fifth-inning single up the gut.

Marin went 3-for-4 with a double, while scoring two runs. Abernathy’s day was most significant, buried at the bottom of the lineup card. The struggling sophomore, who had a pair of three-hit days in early-season nonconference play, mustered up a pair of doubles and a single to go with two RBIs.

Abernathy had been batting 2-for-29 in SEC play before Saturday.

Tennessee and Mississippi State wrap up the series on Masters Sunday with a 2 p.m. ET first pitch at Dudy Noble Field.