KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Jordan Beck hit a walk-off three-run home run—his second homer of the day—and No. 10 Tennessee defeated in-state foe ETSU in 10 innings Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, 9-6.
Beck came to the plate with two outs and runners on first and second base in the bottom of the 10th inning and sent the 2-1 pitch into the night sky, driving in Pete Derkay and Jake Rucker in the process.
Beck’s walk-off marks Tennessee’s first walk-off home run since April 25, 2010 when Blake Forsythe gave the Vols a walk-off win over Vanderbilt with a two-run shot in the 11th inning. It was also the sophomore’s second home run of the day, as he led off the second inning with a solo shot that just cleared the left-field wall.
On the mound for Tennessee (15-3), Sophomore Connor Housley got a career-high three innings of work out of the bullpen—giving up one hit and striking out a career-high seven batters. Junior Camden Sewell started for the Vols, tossing 3.1 innings and striking out three batters.
Kirby Connell (1-0) picked up the win for Tennessee, striking out three batters and giving up just one hit over the final two innings.
With three hits and a career-high five RBIs, Beck was the Vols’ most effective hitter on the night. Derkay and Max Ferguson each had two hits apiece, as well.
Tennessee held a 5-4 lead entering the eighth, but two ETSU runs in the top of the inning gave the Buccaneers (10-6) a one-run lead heading into the inning’s bottom frame. A Drew Gilbert sacrifice fly drove in Christian Scott from third to even the score at 6-6 in the bottom of the eighth.
The Vols had an opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the ninth with a runner on third base and only one out, but were unable to capitalize.
Next up, Tennessee is slated to play their first SEC series since 2019 as they travel to face Georgia this weekend in Athens. First pitch for the series opener on Friday is 6 p.m. and all three games will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.
IN-STATE DOMINANCE: Tennessee has now won eight straight games over in-state opponents. The streak includes wins over ETSU, Vanderbilt, Belmont, Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay and Lipscomb.
EXTRA-INNING SUCCESS: With Tuesday’s win, the Vols improved to 3-0 in extra innings this season and have won four straight extra-inning games dating back to 2019.
Box Score (PDF) | DOWNLOAD: Postgame Media Videos (Vitello, Housley & Beck)
-UT Athletics
