KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 11 Tennessee baseball capitalized on No. 3 Florida's struggles on the mound while Vol pitcher Drew Beam turned in a stellar performance to help UT avoid the sweep in Saturday's eight-inning series finale at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Tennessee chased Flordia starter Jac Caglianone off the bump in the first inning without even recording a hit in Saturday's 14-2 run-rule win. Caglianone went just 0.2 innings while walking six batters and allowing three runs on a bases-loaded walk, a wild pitch and an RBI groundout.
The Vols plated 11 runs on just seven hits, but UT saw 18 batters draw a base on balls in the contest. Griffin Merritt shined on offense with a three-for-four day at the dish with two home runs and six RBI's. Cal Stark also left the yard for a two-run home run in the third innings.
Defensively, Tennessee pitcher Drew Beam posted one of his strongest pitching outings of the season. The sophomore righty struck out a season-high ten batters in seven innings of work and started the day with six shutout innings.
Tennessee improved to 22-10 following the strong performance against the Gators. The Vols will take a break from SEC play to host Eastern Kentucky for a mid-week game at LNS on Tuesday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m.
