Tennessee falls to Vanderbilt in SEC Tournament

No. 1 Tennessee lost 13-4 to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament

May 22 2024; Hoover, AL, USA; Tennessee base runner Dylan Dreiling slides home with a run against Vanderbilt at the Hoover Met during the SEC Tournament. / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA

No. 1 Tennessee lost 13-4 to eight-seeded Vanderbilt in Wednesday's round two matchup in the SEC Tournament.

The Volunteers had a rough start to their playoff journey, losing 13-4 to the No. 8-seeded Vanderbilt in round two of the SEC Tournament. With this loss, the Volunteers will continue play in the losers bracket where they will take on Mississippi State tonight, 30 minutes after the conclusion of Kentucky and Arkansas' contest at 9:30 am CT.

The theme of tonight's matchup for the Volunteers was poor performances on the mound, the Vols pitching staff allowed 13 runs on 15 hits, causing a total of eight pitching changes throughout the night. Vanderbilt caused most of their damage in the third inning, scoring four runs courtesy of an RBI single hit by third baseman Davis Diaz, followed by a three-run home run hit by catcher Alan Espinal to give the Commodores a 5-1 lead to close out the third inning.

Vanderbilt would tack on an additional run in the fourth inning via an RBI single from center fielder Calvin Hewett, improving the Commodores lead to 6-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning. Tennessee and designated hitter Reese Chapman would respond in the bottom of the fourth with a three run home run of their own, cutting down their deficit to two runs entering the fifth inning.

Despite a spark in the fourth inning, the Tennessee bats would fall silent for the remainder of the game. Vanderbilt on the other hand would continue to pour on runs, with the final nail in the coffin being a three-run home run in the eighth inning hit by shortstop Jonathan Vastine, putting the commodores up 12-4.

Tennessee Head Coach Tony Vitello spoke with the media following the Vols loss. "The result was awful, especially for fans. I think the city of Hoover likes when we’re here because a lot of our fans will attend. So, again, a bad result, but as I look at the box score, it was good to get a lot of guys get their cleats in the dirt in a situation that might be new to them or certainly is new to our group this year." Vitello said.

Next up, Tennessee will take on the No. 5 seed Mississippi State in an elimination game taking place tonight, approximately thirty minutes after the conclusion No. 3 Kentucky and No. 2 Arkansas game at 9:30 am CT.