TennesseeUT
27-1, 9-0 SEC
5
final
0
Vanderbilt VU
20-7, 4-5 SEC
| team | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| TennesseeUT | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| Vanderbilt VU | 0 | 2 | 0 |
W: Beam drawn (6-0)
L: Patrick Reilly (2-1)
NASHVILLE – It was another stunning pitching performance from Drew Beam that led No. 1/1 Tennessee to a 5-0 shutout win and a series win over No. 3/9 Vanderbilt at Hawkins Field on Sunday afternoon.
Beam continued his incredible freshman campaign by going the distance and scoring the first full shutout by a UT pitcher since Garrett Stallings vs. Ole Miss on May 16, 2019.
The Murfreesboro, Tenn. native conceded just two hits, faced a batter over the minimum and didn’t allow a Vanderbilt player to advance past first base for the entire game. Beam retired the last 16 batters he faced in the contest.
The Vols’ batsmen were kept in check in the early days by Commodores starter Patrick Reilly – who allowed just one run and two hits in five innings – but picked up momentum in the second half of the game to help Tennessee retire late.
The Big Orange (27-1, SEC 9-0) had four runs in the last three innings after going 1-0 into the seventh lead in the fourth inning thanks to a solo home run from Drew Gilbert.
Lipcius doubled the UT lead with a two-off RBI clutch hit in the top of the seventh to put the Vols 2-0 up. Christian Scott led the inning and stole second place with two games away to get into goal position before hitting midfield on the Lipcius singles.
Tennessee struck again in the eighth, adding another insurance run to its tally. Trey Lipscomb hit in the middle with an out before Evan Russell pulled his third walk of the day to put him in goal position. Jorel Ortega made the Commodores (20-7, 4-5 SEC) pay for the free pass with an RBI single to left center to make it a 3-0 game.
The Vols added two more runs in ninth place when Gilbert drove into right field with a double in his second and third heats of the day. The Stillwater, Minnesota, junior was one of only two UT players to finish the game with multiple hits. Lipcius was the other, ending the 2-on-5 with a run made and an RBI.
Spencer Jones and Dominic Keegan had the only two Vanderbilt hits in the afternoon as both finished the game 1-on-3.
NEXT: Tennessee is bringing its 19-game winning streak back to Knoxville for a game against another opponent in the state of Alabama at Lindsey-Nelson Stadium on Tuesday, April 5 at 6:30 p.m. in Lipscomb.
REMARKABLE
BEAM IS GREAT: True novice right-handed Drew Beam keeps improving with every launch. Beam became the first vol pitcher to score a complete shutout since Garrett Stallings in 2019 with his dominant performance on Sunday against the Commodores.
The Murfreesboro native has pitched at least 7.1 innings in each of his three SEC starts this season and conceded just six hits and one run in those three games combined.
HISTORICAL START TO THE SECONDS GAME: Tennessee’s 9-0 start to the SEC game is the best in program history, beating an 8-0 start at the 1966 Vols. The start is also the second-best of any SEC team since the league expanded in 1992. The only squad with a better record starting conference play is Florida in 1994 (10-0). UT will have a chance to get that start next Friday against Missouri.
PLAY AHEAD: It’s been quite a while since Tennessee has lagged behind this season. The last time the Vols were behind in a game was during the first inning against Rhode Island on March 13. UT are clean for 116.0 consecutive innings played.
Strike first, strike hard, no mercy: The Vols opened the first in all three games this weekend and now stand 24-1 if they opened the first this season. UT’s opponents have only opened the scoring three times all season.