KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Griffin Merritt's 12th-inning home run lifted Tennessee baseball to a comeback win against its in-state foe and No. 4 ranked Vanderbilt inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Friday night.
The Vols entered the bottom of the ninth inning trailing by two runs, but Kavares Tears hit a leadoff home run and then Dylan Dreiling blasted a pinch-hit home run to tie the game 3-3 with two outs. The two teams battled to a stalemate in extra innings before Merritt capped off the comeback with a solo home run in the 12th to clinch a 4-3 win for UT.
Tennessee posted just six hits in the victory and four of those hits were solo home runs. Zane Denton opened scoring with a home run in the second inning to give the Vols and early lead, but Vanderbilt answered to take a 2-1 advantage in the top of the third. The Vols did not lead again until the walk-off winner.
Tennessee improved to 24-14 following Friday's victory. This is the first time the Vols have won the first game in an SEC series since Friday, March 24 against Texas A&M and UT went on to sweep the Aggies in that series.
The Vols will try and earn their first SEC series win since beating TAMU in Saturday's game against Vanderbilt. The first pitch in Lindsey Nelson Stadium is slated for noon.
