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Tennessee rides 9th-inning HR to series win over Ole Miss
By Paul Harvey
Published:
SEC baseball has delivered massive weekend series all season long, and this weekend was no different. In Oxford, Ole Miss hosted Tennessee in another top-10 showdown that lived up to the hype.
Last week, Tennessee and Ole Miss were No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, in the latest D1Baseball rankings. Both squads lived up to their status all weekend long, culminating in a wild rubber match on Sunday.
Things opened up on Friday when former Rebel Liam Doyle nearly went the distance in a 14-strikeout masterpiece for the Vols. The star southpaw was magnificent in shutting down his former squad to give Tennessee a Game 1 win.
Game 2 was a different story with Ole Miss striking early and eventually pulling away for an 8-5 win. But, on Sunday, neither team would pull away.
The rubber match would go back-and-forth the entire way, including the bottom of the 8th inning when Ole Miss retook a lead at 8-7. A wild pitch by Nate Snead allowed the go-ahead run to score, but the Vols were able to escape without further damage.
In the top of the 9th, Tennessee put the pressure on with the lead-off man getting aboard, and that brought Reese Chapman to the plate. He did the damage, putting the Vols back on top for good with a 2-run home run.
Hunter Ensley would eventually tack on an insurance RBI, and Snead came back out to slam the door shut. Tennessee took the rubber match, 10-8, giving the Vols a key SEC series win.
Both programs are in the mix to potentially host a regional site in the NCAA Tournament in the race to the College World Series, but it is Tennessee riding high for now. After No. 1 Arkansas dropped its series to Georgia, we are likely in for a new No. 1 on Monday, and it will be interesting to see who grabs that spot.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
