Vols Pick Apart Tide, Score 15 Runs to Take Series

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- No. 1 Tennessee entered Saturday's game against Alabama on their first two-game losing streak of the season and looked vulnerable.

The Vols put those thoughts to bed with a 9-2 win in game two without head coach Tony Vitello by their side after his ejection.

Approximately 14 hours later, the Vols followed up their performance with a 15-4 annihilation of No. 24 Alabama, drubbing the Crimson Tide 15-4 on Sunday.

Tennessee did so once again with hitting coach Josh Elander serving as acting head coach with Vitello and pitching coach Frank Anderson suspended following their ejections.

The Vols lineup gave Alabama starting pitcher Grayson Hitt and the Tide's bullpen plenty of fits, connecting for 15 hits and four home runs.

Vols' home run leader Trey Liscomb was responsible for two leaving the yard, extending his season total to 15 bombs. Jorel Ortega and Jordan Beck were the other Vols to hit homers, with Ortega's being a three-run shot in the fourth and Beck's missile giving Tennessee a 10-run lead in the bottom of the eighth.

Ortega's bomb continued an excellent weekend for the sophomore at the plate, as the Puerto Rico native finished the series 8-12 at the plate with five RBIs, rive runs, two home runs and a triple.

Ortega and Lipscomb were the MVPs for the electric day Tennessee had at the dish, combining to go 7-12 with seven hits, three home runs and nine RBIs.

Ortega also set a career-high on Sunday with four hits. His previous high was three against Georgia Southern in the season opener.

As for Tennessee on the mound, freshman RHP Drew Beam was composed in his eighth start of the season, earning the win to bring his record to 8-0. Beam delivered a career-high 10 punchouts, topping his previous career-high of seven he set against Missouri last weekend.

Beam allowed three of Alabama's four runs, and all were from solo home runs in the first, third and sixth innings. Despite the fact Beam's home runs allowed went from one entering Sunday to four after the game, the freshman only allowed four hits, with his final batter faced connecting for the only hit on Beam that was not a homer.

Beam's final line from another impressive Sunday performance is below:

Drew Beam: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 10 K, 74 strikes on 105 total pitches against 25 batters.

The Vols used four arms from the bullpen on their path to victory, including Kirby Connell, Ben Joyce, Will Mabrey and Wyatt Evans.

Connell made his third appearance of the weekend and did not last long, walking one batter on a 4-0 count then getting pulled in favor of the Volunteer Fireman. Joyce retired all three batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings, striking out two. Will Mabrey entered the game in a two-out situation in the eighth inning and took care of business, getting a K to end the top of the frame.

Wyatt Evans closed it out for Tennessee on the bump, forcing a double play and logging the game-ending K to secure the win.

With the win, the Vols move to 33-3 on the year with a 14-1 SEC record, keeping firm hold of their No. 1 spot in the SEC and more than likely all six major College Baseball polls. After Sunday, Tennessee has scored 10 or more runs in 15 of their 36 games this season. In ten of those games, the Vols have beaten their opponent b double digit runs.

The Vols will face Bellarmine for a midweek battle inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Tuesday before traveling to take on SEC rival Florida for a weekend series in Gainesville. Tony Vitello will not be available to coach for Tennessee until the series finale against Florida, while pitching coach Frank Anderson will be back in the dugout for the Vols on Tuesday.

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Photo Credit: Saul Young of the Knoxville News Sentinel