Tennessee Storms Back To Beat Georgia Southern for First Series Win of 2022

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Evan Russell snuck a two-out, two-strike single into left field on Saturday.

The play couldn’t have come at a better time for Tennessee, which tied Georgia Southern at 3 in the bottom of the sixth inning at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Quipped Tony Vitello on Russell, who has been known to come through in such situations before: “It was another Evan Russell-esque type of moment.”

The Vols didn’t stop there, either.

Fueled by a strong veteran presence and a comeback offense, Tennessee responded from its first deficit of the season to clinch a 10-3 win over the Eagles — its first series win of the year.

Former Georgia Southern right-hander Chase Dollander got the start for the Vols, and he cruised for four innings before running into trouble and exiting after the fifth.

During the frame, the Eagles plated two runs and used a double steal for a third to put themselves ahead of a Tennessee offense that had struggled to that point.

Dollander finished the day with 5.0 innings pitched, four hits and one run allowed, one error and 11 strikeouts against 20 batters.

He strolled to the dugout amidst applause from a sold-out crowd of 4,615 — a number that even surpassed the orange waves that flooded into Lindsey Nelson during the Vols’ 2021 postseason run.

“They told me it was going to be crazy, and I knew it would be sold-out, so it was really fun,” Dollander said.

Moments later, Kyle Booker slapped an RBI groundout to put the Vols on the board.

Russell’s knock scored Luc Lipcius and Gilbert, then Lipcius connected on an RBI double for the first lead of the day at 4-3 before UT took a 5-3 advantage.

Between Russell’s game-tying knock and Tennessee’s lead, the Vols’ senior also showed his defensive prowess. When a Jordan Beck laser landed near home plate in the top of the seventh, Russell managed a tag-out at home to prevent Georgia Southern from scoring a go-ahead run.

Jorel Ortega followed suit with his second bomb of the season for a 6-3 lead, then Gilbert provided the exclamation point with a grand slam to put UT at 19 runs through the first two games.

Aside from Dollander’s debut, Tennessee also saw action from another newcomer on Saturday: Vanderbilt transfer Ethan Smith.

Smith, who was granted his NCAA waiver earlier this week, picked up his first win after an inning of work.

He found out Wednesday night that he would be able to pitch this weekend.

“It felt great getting in this orange and white,” Smith said. “Had some butterflies at first, but I think I did alright.”

How did Tennessee fans treat him now that he isn’t wearing a Vanderbilt jersey?

“It’s a better experience over here on the first-base side,” Smith quipped.

Smith added that Dollander “brought it” against his former team, but it was the Vols’ veterans who finished the job.

“I think it helps to have a lot of older guys that’s been through it,” Russell said. “With guys that have been through it and have leadership, combined with guys that haven’t but are as talented as us, it’s a good recipe for success.”