Tennessee’s 14-year run of futility in the Southeastern Conference Tournament has come to an end.
The No. 2 seeded Volunteers were offensive Thursday in its elimination game against No. 3 Mississippi State.
Tennessee recorded 15 hits en route to defeating the Bulldogs, 12-2, in a contest called after eight innings due to the SEC Tournament run rule.
The Vols (43-15) lost an extra-inning tilt to No. 10 Alabama, 3-2, after having the potential winning run wiped away on an interference call in the bottom of the ninth.
Less than 24 hours later, Tennessee eliminated the Bulldogs (40-15) at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Alabama.
After a scoreless first inning, the Vols put up four runs in the bottom of the second as Pete Derkay hit a three-run homer and Liam Spence drove in Connor Pavolony with an RBI single to give Tennessee a 4-0 lead.
Mississippi State pulled to within 4-1 in the third before Tennessee produced a solo home run by Jordan Beck.
Drew Gilbert had a scoring single in the fifth and Max Ferguson knocked a run with a hit to give the Vols a 6-1 advantage.
Mississippi State tallied again in the eighth to make it 6-2 before the Vols brought an early finish to the contest.
The game ended on another RBI single by Gilbert. Spence drew a walk with the bases loaded in the frame and Ferguson came up with a two-run double for the Vols, who face another elimination game Friday at 11 a.m. EDT in Hoover.
Tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET on the @SECNetwork.
Rematch between the Vols and Tide…#GBO 🍊 #OTH #BeatBama pic.twitter.com/KcOkB6fENG
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) May 28, 2021
On the mound, Chad Dallas posted a solid effort en route to improving to 10-1 on the season.
He pitched 6.2 innings, giving up one run, six hits and a walk. He struck out two.
Redmond Walsh closed things out, yielding one run, two hits and one walk.