The Tennessee Volunteers got off to a good start in SEC play on Friday.
In the first of a three-game series, the Vols defeated the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, winning 7-4. The Vols received timely hitting and solid pitching, and looked like they were in for a good weekend.
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Unfortunately, Saturday was different. The Vols had seven hits that day, but turned them into just two runs. As a result, the Bulldogs won the second matchup 4-2, setting up an important game for Sunday.
The rubber match couldn’t have started better for the Vols. Reese Chapman got the Vols on the board in the first with a two-run double. Manny Marin then came up and singled, scoring Chapman and giving the Vols a 3-0 lead before the Bulldogs even came close to bat.
There were no more runs from either team until the top of the third inning. Henry Ford hit a two-run opposite-field bomb to extend the Vols’ lead to 5-0. The Bulldogs would add three runs of their own, and Marin drove in another run to give Tennessee a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh.
The bottom of the seventh turned into a disaster for the Vols. The team went from a three-run lead to a two-run deficit after an offensive explosion by the Vols.
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The Vols fought back and a Blake Grimmer home run made it a one-run game. However, Georgia’s Justin Byrd was able to get the final out, securing his second save of the season and a series victory for the Bulldogs.
This will be extremely frustrating to deal with. The Vols had the series within their reach, but some big Georgia defensive plays and timely hits will end up making the difference.
It’s disappointing to start conference play with a series loss, but it’s far from time to panic. As Elander said after the game, the difference in this series was “a swing of the bat and a couple of defensive plays.”
Now, the Vols will have a midweek game against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels before preparing for their SEC home opener with Missouri next weekend.