KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee dropped game two of its series to No. 22/25 Ole Miss, 8-1, in front of a record crowd of 7,430 on Saturday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Despite a dazzling 10-strikeout performance from starting pitcher Tegan Kuhns, the Vols just couldn’t get the bats going against Rebels’ starter Cade Townsend, who threw six shutout innings and allowed just one hit and two walks on the day.
For the first five innings of the game, it was all quiet from both sides as the starters from each team brought their best.
Kuhns was exceptional for the Big Orange on Saturday. The sophomore right-hander went 5.2 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts, matching his career high, a benchmark that he set earlier in the season versus No. 1 UCLA.
The Vols (25-14, 7-9 SEC) threatened for the first time in the sixth after Garrett Wright broke up Townsend’s no-hit bid with a single and Reese Chapman walked, putting two on with one out, but UT came up empty. Townsend retired the next two batters to thwart the threat and keep the game scoreless.
Ole Miss (29-11, 10-7 SEC) scored the game’s first run in the top of the seventh inning. Leadoff man Dom Decker got his squad on the board with a sac fly to the warning track in left field after the Rebels started the inning with back-to-back walks before both runners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch by freshman reliever Cam Appenzeller.
UM pushed across another run in the eighth with an RBI double from five-hole hitter Hayden Federico, giving the Rebels a two-run lead with two innings to play.
Ole Miss broke the game open with six runs in the top of the ninth inning to put the game away. Tristan Bissetta hit a grand slam, and Judd Utermark followed with a solo homer to go back-to-back for the second game in a row. Collin Reuter laced a double down the left field line to drive in one more to finish the six-run inning.
Freshman designated hitter Trent Grindlinger spoiled the Rebels’ shutout in the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run off the video board in right field to make 8-1, which would be the final score as Walker Hooks converted the save opportunity with two straight groundouts to end the game.
UP NEXT: Tennessee will look to salvage a game in Sunday’s series finale, which is slated to start at 1 p.m. and will be streamed on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app. Senior lefty Evan Blanco will get the start on the mound for the Vols.
