KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee baseball erupted for a nine-run rally with two outs in the first inning to earn a dominant run-rule victory against No. 2 Vanderbilt and claim the SEC series win at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Vols saw ten straight batters get on base and the first nine of those runners come through to score in a convincing 17-1 win over the Commodores in a seven-inning effort.
Redshirt freshman outfielder Kavares Tears started the rally with a two-RBI single, followed by clutch hits from Zane Denton, Cal Stark, Maui Ahuna and Jared Dickey. Ahuna hit a three-run home run during that stretch to chase Vandy's starting pitcher Bryce Cunningham off the mound in just two-thirds of an inning of work.
Ahuna finished the day 2-for-4 with five RBIs in the win and was one of five Tennessee players to drive in multiple runs. Blake Burke also hit a home run in the third inning to make it a 13-1 game.
Tennessee pitcher Chase Dollander shook off a first-inning home run to turn in a stellar effort on the bump. He got out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning and went the whole seven innings while striking out nine batters and allowing just five hits to earn the win.
The Vols and Vanderbilt will wrap up the series on Sunday, April 23 at 1 p.m. Tennessee has won the last six games against the Commodores and will be looking for a seventh in a row along with the series sweep.
