Vols Hit Two Homers, Ease Past In-State Rival Lipscomb
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– The No. 1 Tennessee Vols eased past Lipscomb in a 5-1 midweek contest in rainy Knoxville weather on Tuesday night.
Blade Tidwell got the starting nod on the mound, and eight total Vols saw time on the bump in Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Tidwell's start marked his first of the season and second appearance, and the sophomore threw four Ks and allowed one hit in his two innings pitched, retiring six of seven batters faced. Typical midweek starter Zander Sechrist replaced Tidwell at the top of the third. Sechrist pitched one 1-2-3 inning before Ben Joyce took over on the mound.
Joyce threw for a pair of innings before five more guys in the UT bullpen saw time on the hill.
Tennessee logged two solo home runs and three more single-run innings at the plate.
With the win, Tennessee improves to a 28-1 record. Below are storylines from the Vols' 20th consecutive win and 20th home victory of the season.
Beck Scores Quickly
The Vols got started early with a triple from newly acquired Mike Honcho, and Beck gave the Vols their first run by advancing to home on a wild pitch.
Beck's triple marked his first of the season and third of his three-year career on Rocky Top.
Tennessee logged their second hit of the evening in the bottom of the second courtesy of a double down the right field line from Trey Lipscomb to mark his 11th double and 37th hit of the season. Fellow senior Luc Lipcius scored Lipscomb with an RBI single to right center to give UT a two-run lead after two.
Ben Joyce Pitches Two, Shows Off Slider
Joyce saw time in the third and fourth innings, stringing together consecutive 1-2-3 innings. On the final strike of the last out in each inning, Joyce threw an 82 mph slider directly after pumping 101 on a fastball, further showing off his impressive arsenal of pitches.
Joyce's two innings thrown ties a career-high for the redshirt junior in orange and white. The Knoxville, Tennessee, native also achieved the first win of his career on Tuesday, giving him a 1-0 record.
Cortland Lawson and Honcho Leave the Yard
After two scoreless innings, Tennessee shortstop Cortland Lawson drove a solo bomb over the left center wall in the bottom of the fifth to extend the Vols' lead to three runs.
The homer marks Lawson's seventh season and the 70th of the season for Tennessee until Jordan Beck annihilated a baseball over the left field porches to give the Vols 71 homers.
Beck's one-out solo shot in the bottom of the sixth is his sixth of the year, and it traveled 451 feet into the meat of Todd Helton Dr. at an exit velocity of 110 mph.
The Vols' fifth run came in the bottom of the eighth inning when Drew Gilbert hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to score pinch-runner Kyle Booker.
Bullpen Does Its Job, Mark McLaughlin Gets Vols Out of a Jam and Logs First Career Save
The Tennessee bullpen allowed no hits after Tidwell's first two innings until the eighth when Kirby Connell allowed a hit and Trey Lipscomb committed an error to get a pair of Bison in scoring position.
The next Lipscomb batter hit an RBI groundout to give the Bison their first run of the game.
Mark McLaughlin then took over on the mound for Tennessee and put together a pair of strikeouts on back-to-back at-bats to keep Tennessee's lead at three runs.
McLaughlin remained on the bump in the ninth, retiring the Bison to secure the win and log his first career save in his junior year.
Up Next
The No. 1 Vols will take on the Missouri Tigers for a weekend series in Knoxville, Tennessee's first home weekend series in three weeks.
This season, Tennessee has swept every true weekend series opponent and will enter the weekend with a perfect 9-0 conference record. The Vols' six series sweeps so far this season mark a Tony Vitello-era record.
Stat Corner, Notes
-The weather had an effect on Tennessee's defense, but the Vols were not their sharpest selves against the Bison.
-Tennessee leads the NCAA in home runs by 13 over No. 2 Old Dominion.
-Tennessee avenged their 2021 4-1 loss to Lipscomb with the 5-1 victory on Tuesday.
-Jared Dickey cracked a single to right field in the eighth inning and is still bothered by the bone bruise. No setback occurred, as Dickey was just used by Vitello to hit, and Kyle Booker pinch ran for the freshman.
-The Vols' win marked their 20th in a row and 20th at home this season.
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