Volunteer Country

Vols Take Game One Against Vanderbilt on Wild Night in Music City

Vols Baseball Takes Game One Against Vanderbilt on Wild Night in Music City

Jack Foster

NASHVILLE, Tenn.– The No. 1 Tennessee Baseball Volunteers knocked off No. 9 Vanderbilt in Nashville on Friday night with a 6-2 victory. 

Tennessee improves to a 25-1 record (7-0 SEC) and has broken the program record for most wins in a row with 17. 

In another highly anticipated weekend series, Chase Burns and the Vols rose to the occasion once again. 

Furthermore, Tennessee's bullpen delivered excellent innings to help the Vols ride their 6-2 lead after the fifth inning all the way to the final pitch. 

Below are takeaways from the Vols' win under the seemingly blinding lights in Charles Hawkins Field. 

Jordan Beck Hits a Homer to Get Things Started, But Wait...

Just when Tennessee thought they got on the board in a hurry against Vanderbilt... April Fools!

The umpires in Charles Hawkins ruled Jordan Beck's two-out solo homer an out because he used an illegal bat. The bat supposedly had an approval sticker on it from the ECU game and not from the Vanderbilt game, therefore deeming it an illegal bat when making a play in the game. 

Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin apparently called for the bat to be inspected, as it is something that happened in the SEC last week, but Tony Vitello gave the umpires a piece of his mind on the field, trying to grab the bat out of the officials hands. 

Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin and Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello's explanations can be found below, including Vitello's legendary quote comparing Jordan Beck to Mike Honcho. 

The Volunteers were therefore retired in order in the top of the first, but UT didn't stay scoreless for long. 

Luc Lipcius Booms a Two-Run Shot in the Second Inning

This one wasn't inspected. 

Luc Lipcius drilled a two-run shot over the right field wall in the second inning to put the Vols on the board, and the senior made sure to inspect the bat in his own way upon touching home plate. 

After that, it was all Vols. 

Vanderbilt Mistakes Allow Vols to Open it Up in the Fifth Inning

The Vols plated four runners in the fifth inning to extend their lead over Vanderbilt. 

Christian Moore kicked off the top of the fifth with a single, and Seth Stephenson followed it up with a double to give Tennessee two in scoring position with one out. But Stephenson's double was no ordinary double. 

Stephenson skied one to left center, and the Vanderbilt outfielders could not see the ball in the lights, resulting in the baseball plummeting to the turf. 

To make matters worse for the black and gold, it happened again. 

This time it was a triple. Trey Lipscomb sent a shot to right field, and Jones lost it, resulting in an RBI triple for the Vols' RBI leader. 

The Vols led 5-1 after Lipscomb's hit, as Jordan Beck delivered a 2 RBI double in between Vanderbilt's fielding mishaps. Lipscomb ultimately scored on a wild pitch to extend Tennessee's lead to five runs heading into the bottom of the fifth. 

Owen Shuts Down Tennessee, But the Vols' Bullpen Returns the Favor 

Vanderbilt reliever Hunter Owen gave up zero runs and pitched the rest of the game after taking over for starter McElvain in the Vols' red-hot fifth inning. 

However, the Tennessee bullpen made their presence known. 

Chase Burns pitched 5.1 innings and allowed the Dores' lone two runs, throwing 7 K's and 58 strikes on 88 total pitches in the process. 

To follow up the freshman's solid performance, Will Mabrey, Kirby Connell and Camden Sewell were incredible for Tennessee on the bump. 

Mabrey pitched a scoreless 1.2 innings with 17 strikes on 23 pitches, Connell struck out one of Vanderbilt's best bats in Enrique Bradfield in three pitches, and Camden Sewell finished out the game with a 1.2 IP, 2 K, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 22 strikes on 36 pitches line to help the Vols coast to the win. 

The defensive struggle made for a quick game from the fifth inning on, and Tennessee will look to make it 18 in a row on Saturday in game two of the series against Vanderbilt. 

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Jack Foster
JACK FOSTER

Jack is a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville majoring in Journalism/Electronic Media. Jack grew up in Paris, Tennessee, but now spends the majority of his time in Knoxville doubling as a student and sports journalist for Volunteer Country. Jack has been a sports junkie since he was a young kid and always watched NFL football with his dad on Sundays. Jack still follows the NFL religiously, as he is an avid fantasy football player. Jack started with Volunteer Country in May of 2021 and has since helped provide full coverage of football, baseball and men's and women's basketball. Jack also works as a recurring member of WUTK's Rock Solid Sports show on Wednesdays and Fridays, and he also serves as head sports producer of The Volunteer Channel's Vol News, a student-run show at the University. When Jack is not watching or covering sports, find him on the golf course or back home spending time with his parents, younger sister and friends. Follow Jack on Twitter and Instagram by clicking "Twitter" and "Instagram" to see all of his work with Volunteer Country as well as student media.

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