Stats/Story: Denton’s Five RBIs Help #11/12 Vols Complete Series Sweep of #12/21 Aggies

Box Score (PDF) | Series Stats (PDF)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 11/12 Tennessee completed the weekend sweep of No. 12/21 Texas A&M with a 9-6 victory in Sunday’s series finale at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

The sweep was UT’s sixth in SEC play since the start of last season and could not have come at a better time after dropping its first three league games at Missouri last weekend.

The Volunteers (19-6, 3-3 SEC) got contributions from up and down the lineup as eight different players recorded a hit.

Senior third baseman Zane Denton was the star of the day with his first-career multi-homer game and drove in five runs for the Big Orange. The Brentwood, Tennessee, native reached base in all four of his plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored from the nine-hole.

The bottom three of UT’s batting order combined to go 6-for-8 on the afternoon, accounting for half of the team’s 12 base hits.

Blake Burke and Hunter Ensley both had multi-hit days as well, finishing with two base knocks apiece while freshman Dylan Dreiling had a clutch pinch-hit double with two outs in the bottom of the fifth to give the Vols a 6-3 lead.

Drew Beam was effective in 4.2 innings of work, scattering six hits while allowing three runs (two earned) to go along with a pair of strikeouts. Seth Halvorsen picked up the win after tossing 0.2 innings in relief of Beam.

Aaron Combs, Zander Sechrist, AJ Russell, Jake Fitzgibbons and Camden Sewell also pitched scoreless outings on the afternoon as Tennessee used nine different pitchers in the win.

Hunter Haas and Jace LaViolette both had multiple hits for Texas A&M (15-9, 1-5 SEC) while Jack Moss capped his impressive weekend with a solo home run and a pair of RBIs.

Aggies’ starter Justin Lamkin struggled in his third start of the season, giving up six runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings to fall to 1-2 on the year.

UP NEXT: The Vols cap their five-game homestand on Tuesday against UNC Asheville before hitting the road for a big series at No. 1/1 LSU next Thursday-Saturday in Baton Rouge.

Tuesday’s midweek contest against the Bulldogs will start at 4:30 p.m. and be streamed on SEC Network+ through the ESPN app.