Outstanding Ben Joyce Outing, Beck's Homer Leads to Vols Tenth Series Win of Season

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– No. 1 Tennessee faced off against No. 19 Auburn in Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Sunday for the rubber match of the weekend series. 

The Vols came away victorious with a 5-3 win over the Tigers, earning their 10th series win on the season in as many series played. UT is now 2-0 in Sunday rubber matches.

Tennessee's bats caught fire early, as the Vols recorded three hits and scored three runs in the first inning.

Luc Lipcius got on base first for Tennessee, sending a double down the left field line. The hit didn't go deep into left field, as Lipcius quickly rounded first to beat the throw to second.

Jordan Beck then knocked a single to left field to give Tennessee runners on the corners with one out with Drew Gilbert up to bat. Gilbert added to his impressive RBI total on the season with a sac fly to center to score Lipcius. Gilbert was followed by the true RBI and HR machine in Trey Lipscomb, who did what he does best.

Lipscomb clobbered a two-run shot to right center to score himself and Jordan Beck, giving Tennessee an early 3-0 lead. Lipscomb's homer brings his season HR total to 18, giving him the SEC lead. 

The Vols bats then went cold, however, as the Orange and White failed to score a run until the eighth inning. Auburn's starting pitcher Joseph Gonzalez gave Tennessee's bats fits in the middle innings, retiring all but three batters from the second inning through the seventh. 

However, the NCAA home run leaders in the Big Orange eventually wore down the Tigers' sophomore and found success in the eighth inning, when Jordan Beck crushed a two-run to give the Vols the lead that was the dagger for Auburn. 

On the mound, freshman RHP Drew Beam got the start per the usual for a Sunday, and Beam was at the minimum through four innings, having only given up one hit.

But the freshman started to get rocked in the fifth, when Auburn's Bobby Pierce hit a leadoff solo homer. The Tigers would then go on to load the bases, allowing for Cole Foster to get a sac fly to tack on another run.

The Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native stayed on the mound in the sixth, where the Tigers tied things up with an RBI single with runners on first and second with nobody out.

Beam's day was over after allowing his third run of the game, and the 'Volunteer Fireman' in Ben Joyce took over the mound. 

Ben Joyce was the highlight for Tennessee, and Jordan Beck was the difference in Tennessee's two-run win. Joyce had his best outing in orange, dealing 4.0 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and zero walks with six strikeouts on 53 pitches. 

But that wasn't all. The redshirt-junior made college baseball history, throwing a 105.5 mph fastball, which is the fastest pitch recorded ever in college baseball. It is second in baseball history, as Aroldis Chapman recorded a 105.8 mph fastball in the MLB. 

And the 105 mph pitch was commonplace for Joyce on Sunday, as he threw 28 of his 33 fastballs (84.8%) 103 mph or higher, with 15 being 104 or higher and three 105 or higher. 

Joyce prevented Auburn from scoring any once he took the mound, but it was star junior outfielder Jordan Beck who gave Tennessee the go-ahead home run to win it. 

Beck worked his way back from an 0-2 count and went on to smack a two-run missile well over the left field wall to give the Vols a 5-3 lead. 

Joyce did his thing in the ninth and retired the Tigers in order to end it, and the Vols improved to 40-4 on the season with a win, becoming only the second collegiate baseball team since the 1992 expansion to reach 40 wins in 44 games. 

Tennessee's series win comes against a hot SEC team in the Tigers, who arguably pushed Tennessee harder than any other team this season. 

"I knew it was coming," Vitello said of the ultra-competitive series. "It'd be pretty interesting to see both teams at a neutral site, both sides healthy, what kind of series you would have, not that this one wasn't phenomenal. But we expected it. They are well-coached, play hard and have a lot of talent up and down the lineup. It's pretty good for our guys to know they are not invincible. They're a confident group that likes to compete, but everyone needs to know you can be humbled quickly in this game."

And after a tough Saturday loss, the Vols came to the park on Sunday having to fight for a series only the second time this season, something Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello sees as a big positive moving forward. 

"Showing up today was kind of the first time you showed up to the park and it felt like an elimination-type game. It's phenomenal for our guys to experience that," Vitello shared. 

Tennessee found success at the plate when it needed to in order to get the series win, and Ben Joyce showed why he may be a key piece in Tennessee's pitching staff heading into the postseason. 

Up next for Tennessee is a midweek game on Tuesday night in Knoxville at 6 p.m. ET against Alabama A&M. 

Photo Credit: Saul Young of the Knoxville News Sentinel

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