Bats Go Cold Again as Vols Lose First Series of the Season

LEXINGTON– Top-ranked Tennessee baseball faced off against the Kentucky Wildcats in Kentucky Proud Park on Friday for game two of the weekend series. After dropping game one on Thursday, the Vols looked to even the series, but UT couldn't complete the task, losing 5-2 to the Wildcats.

With the loss, Tennessee has now lost a series and back-to-back SEC games for the first time this season, and their record falls to 41-6 (19-4 SEC). With the win, Kentucky now achieves their second series win of the season and improves to 26-20 (9-14 SEC).

The last 1.2 innings of the series finale were not played until Saturday, as heavy rain in Lexington caused the game's ending to be postponed. Per SEC rules, the postponement means that the series finale will only be seven innings on Saturday.

Tennessee has undoubtedly been the worst at the plate in the Kentucky series than any other, recording a mere nine hits in 22 innings played across the first two games.

Chase Dollander made his SEC return for the Vols and was excellent in four innings of work, but a lack of offense led to the first series loss of the season for top-ranked Tennessee.

Here's what all happened.

Cats Pounce First

After Tennessee and Kentucky traded 1-2-3 innings in the first, Drew Gilbert was the first baserunner of the evening with a leadoff single in the top of the second.

However, Lipscomb, Ortega and Moore couldn't do anything with it, as all three were retired in order. On the other side of the inning, UK's shortstop Ryan Ritter was the first to shake Tidwell as he cracked a one-out solo home run over the left-center wall to give Kentucky an early 1-0 lead.

Tidwell did not allow any more damage, but the Blue and White set the tone early.

The Vols got a baserunner in the third with a one-out walk from Cortland Lawson, but nothing came of it, allowing Kentucky to add to their lead in the bottom of the third.

And the Wildcats did. Blade Tidwell's unpleasant inning began with a leadoff single from Kentucky CF John Thrasher, who later stole second. Thrasher scored on an RBI double from UK catcher Alonzo Rubalcaba–the Wildcat who hit the walk-off RBI single in the series opener–who sent a 2-1 pitch down the right-field line for a double.

Rubalcaba advanced to third on a groundout from Chase Estep, giving the Wildcats a chance to tack on a run with a runner on third and one out.

Kentucky's second baseman Daniel Harris answered the call, sending a sac fly to right field to score Rubalcaba.

Tidwell got the final out with his fourth and final K of the evening, but not before Kentucky imposed their will to put Tennessee in an unfamiliar situation in rainy Lexington.

Vols Make Their Presence Known With Best Offensive Inning of the Series

Down 3-0, Tennessee desperately needed to get something going at the plate. And the Vols rang Kentucky's bell for the first time of the series offensively, recording three hits and scoring two runs off of back-to-back RBI doubles in the top of the fourth.

Jordan Beck drew a leadoff walk before Trey Lipscomb found his first hit of the series, driving Beck home with an RBI double to left-center.

Jorel Ortega then approached the dish with Lipscomb on second and one out. The sophomore saw the ball and hit the ball down the right-field line for an RBI double to easily score Lipscomb, cutting Kentucky's lead to a single run.

Tennessee freshman Christian Moore then made it three consecutive hits with an infield single, giving Tennessee runners on the corners with still the lone out.

However, the opportunity to take the lead was squandered by an Evan Russell strikeout and a fly out by Cortland Lawson.

Tennessee's pair of runners left on base brought the Vols' total to 20 on the series after 16 Big Orange runners had been stranded on Thursday.

Regardless, the Vols showed promise at the plate–something that had been lost for Tennessee across the span of 13 innings.

But it was short-lived for the top-ranked Vols up until the

Dolly Deals

Tennessee RHP Chase Dollander took over the mound to begin the bottom of the fourth in relief for Blade Tidwell, who had been rocked a bit in the third.

Dollander's appearance marked his first in an SEC game in a little under three weeks, the last time being when the sophomore took a comebacker from an Alabama player off the throwing elbow that held him out for 17 days.

The Georgia Southern transfer was terrific in extended relief for Tennessee, settling in with a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth before keeping himself at the minimum through the fifth. Kentucky's John Thrasher reached base in the fifth due to a catcher's interference, but Evan Russell later caught the center fielder stealing at second.

Dollander had already struck out three batters through his first two innings pitched.

Jorel Ortega Commits Costly Throwing Error

Kentucky's second baseman Daniel Harris approached the plate in a one-out situation with none on base at the bottom of the sixth, with Dollander still having faced the minimum.

Harris dribbled a ground ball to Ortega's glove, but Tennessee's star second baseman could not make the routine throw, as he fired it too far left of Lipcius' glove and in the vicinity of Tennessee's dugout. Harris did not have enough time to attempt the run to second, but Ortega's error would be costly for Tennessee.

A groundout from Kentucky's first baseman Jacob Plastiak's groundout moved Harris to second, who scored on an RBI double from UK's DH Oraj Anu. The Wildcats had scored their first run since the third inning unearned and took a 4-2 lead. Ritter flied out to right field to strand Anu, but enough damage had already been done to help guide the Cats to their series win.

Vols Bats Go Cold, Miss Opportunity to Strike in Seventh

In Tennessee's series-opening loss to Kentucky, the Vols recorded five hits in 13 innings and only had one hit in the final 42 plate appearances.

While the fourth inning indicated the tide may have turned for Tennessee's offense in the series, Kentucky's bullpen stymied the Big Orange bats yet again.

In the fifth and sixth innings, Tennessee went down in order but started to brew something in the seventh. The Vols had runners at first and second after a pitch hit Seth Stephenson with two outs and Evan Russell worked a one-out walk.

The Cats went to the bullpen for the second time of the night after Tennessee's leadoff man was plunked, and UK head coach Nick Mingione went with what worked in game one: Daniel Harper.

Harper came out of the pen to face Luc Lipcius with two on and two outs, a big moment for UT to try and cut the lead or tie the game. Or at least load the bases for Mike Honcho.

Lipcius saw a full-count pitch and hit it hard to the right side, but Daniel Harris dove to his left and stopped it before tossing it to first to get the final out of the frame.

Since the fourth inning, Tennessee had their best chance to get another run on the scoreboard, but they came up empty heading into the stretch.

Rain Delay in the Eighth

Dollander handled Kentucky's bats in the bottom of the seventh to keep the deficit at two runs heading into the eighth. The meat of the Vols order was due up, but heavy rain in Lexington caused a rain delay with one out and none on in the top of the frame.

The delay lasted 40 minutes before NCAA officials decided to postpone the remainder of the game to Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, the original start time for the series finale.

According to SEC rules, game three of the series will be shortened to seven innings due to the postponement. First pitch for the series finale will happen 40 minutes after the conclusion of game two.

Kentucky Coasts to the Delayed Win

The two sides resumed play in (still) rainy Lexington at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday. Drew Gilbert returned to the plate on a 2-2 count with one out and none on in the top of the eighth. The junior quickly grounded out before Trey Lipscomb flied out to right to end the top of the frame. Kentucky chose to put Sunday starter Sean Harney on the mound in the eighth, pulling out all the stops to try and get their best series win of the season. 

Kirby Connell came on to pitch for the Vols in the bottom of the eighth. The Wildcats quickly got a pair ISP with one out, allowing for Oraj Anu to deliver an RBI groundout to Cortland Lawson, who mishandled the grounder to prevent him from potentially making the throw home. 

Connell made an excellent play to get the final out of the inning, tagging Daniel Harris who was attempting to score on a bunt. 

However, Kentucky added an insurance run to help the Cats coast to the win. 

Tennessee had some life in the top of the ninth with a two-out single from Evan Russell, but Cortland Lawson grounded out to end the ball game. 

Kentucky wins their second series of the season, and the Vols lose their first. Tennessee entered the weekend having not lost a road game all year, and they've lost two consecutively. The Vols road series loss is the first for Tony Vitello's squad since 2019, when they were swept by Arkansas in Fayetteville. 

Up Next

The Vols and Wildcats will play a seven-inning series finale 40 minutes after the conclusion of game two in Kentucky Proud Park. Although the Vols dropped their first series of the season, they'll look to avoid getting swept for the first time since 2019 against Arkansas. 

Did you know Volunteer Country on SI does Podcasts? Check out the staff's latest breakdowns here.

Volunteer Country on SI is also on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Check out any of the links to ensure you do not miss any of the coverage of your favorite Tennessee teams!

You can follow the staff, Matt, Jake, Dale and Jack on Twitter by clicking any of their names.

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Vols targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects

Sports Illustrated also offers insight, information and up to the minute details for gamblers. Check it out here.