Well, that was an unfortunate end to what had looked to be a promising series for the Tennessee Vols in Baton Rouge over the weekend.
Tennessee got shellacked by the Tigers on Sunday, losing 12-2 in run rule fashion in eight innings to lose the series 2 games to 1. The Vols got on the board first with sac fly and a double, but they missed the chance to really do early damage by stranding runners and 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. LSU would fight back off starter AJ Russell to tie the game at 2 before taking a 5-2 lead in the second inning they wouldn’t give back after Jake Brown crushed a three-run homer over the right field wall off of Michael Sharman, who took the loss. The Vols could get nothing else going against LSU starter Casan Evans, who went 6 innings allowing just the two runs.
The Vols opened the series with a sickening loss, allowing 6 runs in the bottom of the ninth to get walked off 6-3, with the final blow coming on a 3-run homer by Jared Jones off Nate Snead. Tennessee’s Dean Curley committed two errors in the inning that put base runners on that fueled the rally.
They managed to bounce back on Saturday with a 9-3 win behind a stellar outing from Marcus Phillips, who went 6.2 innings, allowing 2 earned runs with 6 strikeouts. A 6-run outburst from Tennessee in the 8th, powered by Cannon Peebles’ 3-run shot to left, put Tennessee in cruise control late at 9-2.
Up next for the Vols is a midweek game against Northern Kentucky on Tuesday before welcoming in Auburn on Friday.