Stats/Story: #9/10 Vols Explode for 14 Runs to Take Series Finale at #1/1 LSU

Box Score (PDF) | Series Stats (PDF)

BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 9/10 Tennessee rode some red-hot hitting to snag a big win over top-ranked LSU in Saturday’s series finale at Alex Box Stadium.

The Volunteers plated 14 runs on 17 hits to take down the Tigers, 14-7, on a warm afternoon down on the bayou. All nine of UT’s starters recorded at least one hit on the day, led by a trio of three-hit performances from Jared Dickey (3-6, R, 2 RBI), Blake Burke (3-6, 2 R) and Kyle Booker (3-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI).

The Big Orange pounced all over the Bayou Bengals from the jump as the first six batters of the game reached base and scored as UT raced out to a 6-0 lead after one inning. LSU starting pitcher Thatcher Hurd was unable to record a single out before being pulled, allowing six runs on four hits and two walks in the opening frame.

UT added to its lead with four more runs in the second to take a commanding 10-0 lead. The Tigers got on the board with a run in the bottom of the second and made things interesting with five more runs over the next two innings to cut their deficit to four heading into the fifth inning.

The Vols got the bats going again thanks to a two-run shot from Zane Denton in the top of the sixth, his second of the series, extending the lead back to six. A sac fly by Christian Moore and an RBI single from Dickey in the seventh added two more runs for the Orange and White, making it 14-6 with two innings left to play.

The bullpen was lights out once again for Tennessee, as the foursome of Zander Sechrist, Camden Sewell, Kirby Connell and Aaron Combs held the potent LSU lineup to just one run over the final five innings to preserve the win.

Sewell picked up the win, his second of the season, after striking out three and scattering three hits over 2.2 innings of relief.

LSU stars Tre’ Morgan and Dylan Crews did their best to keep the Tigers in the game, combining for seven hits, three runs and five RBIs, but the Vols’ bullpen was able to escape a couple of jams in the middle innings to keep them at bay.

With the win, UT improved to 4-2 against ranked opponents this season and posted its seventh victory over a top-ranked team in the Tony Vitello era.

UP NEXT: Tennessee (21-8, 4-5 SEC) returns home for another marquee series against a top-five opponent as No. 2/3 Florida visits Knoxville next week. Game one of the series starts Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET on ESPNU.