Easy night.
Tennessee baseball opened their final conference series of the season on Thursday night with a convincing win. The Volunteers handled the Gamecocks without any drama.
Tennessee and South Carolina traded first inning homeruns to kick things off. It was Christian Moore going deep for Tennessee, nodding things up at 1-1 in the bottom of the first.
Tennessee would quickly blow things open in the bottom of the third. Another Christian Moore homerun would break the tie, giving the Volunteers a 2-1 lead. Kavares Tears would follow that up with a three-run shot of his own, driving in Hunter Ensley and Dylan Dreiling.
MAMA, THERE GOES THAT MAN!**
**Not a replay of his first at-bat.
https://t.co/2xLaqxc973 (SECN+)#GBO // #OTH // #BeatSC pic.twitter.com/yn0N36YKy6
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) May 16, 2024
KT KABOOM!
https://t.co/2xLaqxc973 (SECN+)#GBO // #OTH // #BeatSC pic.twitter.com/AnLTyzW6rA
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) May 16, 2024
Very quickly, it was a 5-1 lead for No. 1 Tennessee.
Tony Vitello turned to AJ Causey on the mound in the fourth, relieving starter Chris Stamos.
Blake Burke drove in Cal Stark in the bottom of the fourth, drilling a line drive to the opposite field all the way to the wall. Tennessee carried a 5-1 lead into the fifth inning, and Causey was rolling.
Tennessee came back in the bottom of the seventh with plenty of insurance. Billy Amick doubled down the line to score Christian Moore, then Dylan Dreiling smacked a homerun to right center. The Volunteers were cruising from here, holding a 9-2 lead entering the eighth inning.
South Carolina would eventually get to Causey, forcing him out of the game in favor of Kirby Connell. The Gamecocks would drive in one, but that’s all they got.
Connell close things out in the top of the ninth without any issues. Tennessee went on to win, 9-3.
Tennessee and South Carolina will meet again tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. ET. SEC Network + will have the coverage.