KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee dropped game one of its weekend series to No. 22/25 Ole Miss at Lindsey Nelson Stadium Friday night as three early solo home runs sparked the Rebels en route to a 7-4 win.
There were early fireworks for the Vols in the bottom of the first inning as senior Reese Chapman launched a solo homer over the bullpen in right field to give his squad a quick 1-0 lead.
UM responded with a solo jack of its own in the top of the second inning, when centerfielder Hayden Federico sent one off the video board in right field to tie the ballgame at one apiece.
With two outs in the top of the third inning, Tristin Bissetta and Judd Utermark hit back-to-back solo homers to give the Rebels a two-run lead they would not relinquish.
After a single, a walk and a fielder’s choice put runners on first and third with two outs, junior leadoff man Dom Decker pushed a ground ball single the other way into left field to drive in a run, extending the Rebels’ lead to three.
Ole Miss (28-11, 9-7 SEC) added two more in the top of the fifth inning when an RBI single plated one and another run scored from third on a double play ball, making the score 6-1.
The Big Orange (25-13, 7-9 SEC) cut into the deficit in the bottom half of the inning on a Henry Ford bloop single to shallow left field that scored Jay Abernathy from second to make it 6-2.
The Rebs tacked on another run in the top of the seventh, but the Vols got two of their own in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run home run from Abernathy, closing the lead to just three runs heading to the eighth. The sophomore speedster led the Vols at the plate on Friday night, going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs to go along with his two RBIs.
That would be as close as UT would get, however, as it went down in order in the eighth and ninth innings against Ole Miss relievers Hudson Calhoun and Walker Hooks.
Landon Mack battled through 5.1 innings but did not have his best stuff, allowing six runs on seven hits to fall to 3-3 on the year.
The Vols did get solid performances from three young bullpen arms as the trio of Nic Abraham, Chandler Day and Will Haas combined for five strikeouts and surrendered just one hit and one unearned run over the final 3.2 innings of the game.
UP NEXT: The Vols will be back in action on Saturday at 4 p.m. as they look to even the series in game two of this three-game set. The start time for Saturday’s contest has been moved up two hours due to the threat of potential inclement weather.
As announced on Monday, Tennessee will hold its second ever Checker Lindsey Nelson Stadium game when the Vols and Rebels square off on Saturday, showcasing UT’s iconic checkerboard pattern throughout the ballpark.
To find your assigned color, visit CheckerLNS.com and enter your section, row and seat number. Students, as well as any fans with standing room only tickets, are encouraged to wear orange.
For more information, click HERE.
