KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 4 Tennessee exploded for seven runs in the second inning to erase an early deficit and cruise to a 14-4 series-opening victory over Kentucky on a damp Thursday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Every player in UT’s starting lineup recorded a hit with Pete Derkay (3-for-4, 2 runs), Jordan Beck (2-for-4, 3 runs, HR, 3 RBI), Luc Lipcius (2-for-5, 2 runs, HR, RBI), Jackson Greer (2-for-4, 2 runs, HR, 2 RBI) and Liam Spence (2-for-5, run, 2 RBI) all finishing with multiple hits on the night.

Chad Dallas battled through a rocky start and a 20-minute rain delay to settle in and provide the Big Orange with another quality start. The junior right hander finished with seven strikeouts in six innings of work and earned the win to improve to 7-1 on the year.

Kentucky jumped out to a quick 3-0 with a pair of home runs in the first two innings. T.J. Collett opened the scoring with a solo shot in the first, his 15th homer of the season, and Jacob Plastiak added to the Wildcats’ lead with a two-run homer in the second.

Tennessee would not be outdone, however, hitting two long balls of their own in a seven-run second inning to take a 7-3 lead. Jordan Beck tied the game with a three-run blast to left center and two batters later, Jackson Greer hit a two-run bomb to put the Vols ahead. Drew Gilbert capped the scoring in the inning with a two-run single up the middle.

After UK scratched across a run in the top of the third, the Big Orange added five more runs in the home half of the inning despite recording just one hit. Spence, Jake Rucker and Gilbert all drove in runs in the inning.

Lipcius joined in on the home run parade with a solo blast in the fourth while Spence picked up his second RBI of the night later in the inning to give UT a 14-4 lead that would hold for the remainder of the night as neither team scored over the final five innings.

Kirby Connell, Christian Delashmit, Will Mabrey and Elijah Pleasants combined to pitch three scoreless innings out of the bullpen for UT, allowing just one hit in that span.

The Vols (33-10 // 13-6 SEC) and Wildcats (25-14, 9-10 SEC) will square off again tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app.

NOTABLE

SCORING IN BUNCHES: After scoring 20 runs in last Sunday’s series finale at Texas A&M, the Vols exploded for 14 runs on Thursday night against the Wildcats, marking the first time that Tennessee has scored double-digit runs in back-to-back SEC games since 2010 at Georgia. UT defeated the Bulldogs 25-5 on May 8 and completed a series sweep with a 14-11 victory on May 9.

After scoring 15 runs over the final three innings against the Aggies, Tennessee nearly matched that output with 14 runs over a three-inning stretch from the second to the fourth on Thursday.

MORE DINGERS PLEASE: The Vols blasted three more home runs in Thursday’s win and came agonizingly close to hitting a couple more. The Big Orange have now hit multiple homers in five of their last eight games. Their 57 home runs on the year are the most since hitting 81 in 2010 and the most in a single season since the NCAA switched to the BBCOR bats in 2011.

Box Score (PDF) | Vitello, Dallas & Beck Postgame

-UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee rising senior Rae Burrell, who had a breakout junior campaign, is among 25 women garnering attention in ESPN’s first college basketball player rankings for the 2021-22 season.

The 6-foot-1 guard/forward from Las Vegas is ranked No. 24 in a listing compiled via votes from ESPN’s Charlie Creme and Mechelle Voepel.

Here’s what Creme and Voepel wrote about Burrell: “From spot minutes as a freshman to role player as a sophomore to surprising breakout star this past season, Burrell is now Tennessee’s best player. At times, she carried the Lady Vols in 2020-21. They might not have overcome the early season struggles of Rennia Davis without her. While Burrell’s game is primarily built on energy and outworking the opponent, all of her shooting numbers have made huge improvements, most notably her 3-point percentage, which went from 32.8% as a sophomore to a team-leading 40.2% last season.”

An All-SEC Second Team selection in 2021, Burrell helped Tennessee to a 17-8 overall record, a third-place finish in the SEC at 9-4, an NCAA appearance as a No. 3 seed and final national rankings of No. 14 and 16 in the AP and USA TODAY Coaches polls, respectively.  She averaged 16.8 ppg. and 4.6 rpg., ranking second on the team in scoring and fourth in rebounding as the only Lady Vol to start all 25 contests.

Burrell scored in double figures in 22 of 25 games, fired in 15 or more points 17 times and hit 20+ on seven occasions, leading the team in the first two categories and ranking second in the third. She posted career best percentages from the field (45.8), three-point arc (40.2) and charity stripe (82.5). Impressively, she made a perfect 16 of 16 at the charity stripe in the final four minutes of games in 2020-21.

ESPN Player Rankings | Burrell Bio

-UT Athletics