STARKVILLE, Miss. – Tennessee opened its weekend in Starkville with a tightly-contested 6-5 victory over No. 8/9 Mississippi State on Friday night at Dudy Noble Field.
A three-run eighth inning was the difference as an RBI fielder’s choice by Levi Clark broke the deadlock before consecutive RBI infield singles by Nate Eisfelder and Garrett Wright gave the Volunteers (22-12, 5-8 SEC) a 6-3 lead.
Wright provided a major spark for UT’s lineup with three hits, a walk and a run scored from the leadoff spot. Henry Ford also had a multi-hit night, going 2-for-5 with a solo home run in the third inning.
Clark also went deep with a solo blast to left field in the top of the fifth and finished with a pair of RBIs.
Cam Appenzeller once again provided the Big Orange with an outstanding relief appearance, earning the win to improve to 5-0 on the year after pitching the final five innings and striking out a career-best eight batters, including back-to-back punchouts of Andrew Raymond and Aidan Teel to end the game following a homer by Reed Stallman that pulled the Bulldogs (26-8, 7-6 SEC) within one run in the ninth.
The freshman left-hander did have his streak of scoreless innings in SEC play come to an end when Noah Sullivan singled to left field with one out in the eighth inning. Appenzeller started conference play with 21.2 shutout innings before surrendering his first run.
Landon Mack gave the Vols another solid starting effort, racking up six strikeouts over four innings before handing the ball off to Appenzeller.
Tennessee was able to find some success against MSU ace Tomas Valincius, who entered Friday’s game with a 6-1 record and 1.15 ERA. The Vols’ eight hits and three runs scored were both season highs against the sophomore lefty.
With the win, UT extended its winning streak against the Bulldogs to nine games and will look to earn their second consecutive series win in Starkville with a win on Saturday or Sunday.
UP NEXT: Game two of the series between Tennessee and Mississippi State is slated for a 7 p.m. ET first pitch on Saturday night on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app.
