#1 Vols explodes in Mississippi State record win - University of Tennessee Athletics

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Last

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Mississippi state
MSU

26-28

Score per period

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	huh	E
Tennessee UT	3	0	5	0	3	3	7	2	4	27	25	0
Mississippi state MSU	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	5	0

W: Pursuit Dollander (8-0)
l: Smith, Brandon (3-5)

STARKVILLE, Miss — The highest-ranking Tennessee Volunteers homered three times in the first inning and never took their foot off the gas in a 27-2 destruction of Mississippi State in Thursday-evening’s series opener at Dudy Noble Field.

Tennessee (47-7, 23-5 SEC) had a perfect start to the road showdown. After a groundout to start the game, Luc Lipcius† Jordan Beck and Drew Gilbert hit back-to-back-to-back home runs to see the Big Orange take a 3-0 lead in an instant.

The Vols’ tied the single-game schedule record with seven long balls, scoring a total of 25 hits in the season. The 25-run victory margin was the largest for an SEC game in the program’s history.

As the attack fled, Chase Dollander mowed down Bulldog hitters in a dominant performance on the mound to improve to 8-0 on the year. The sophomore righthander struckout six in six no-hit innings and walked only one before leaving the game after a long top of the seventh inning.

That offensive attack continued into the third as Gilbert and Jorel Ortega drove in runs for standout freshmen Blake Burke hit his 10^e home run of the season, a three-point shot into the second deck of the porches in right midfield.

The Vols scored three more runs in both the fifth and sixth inning, highlighted by a three-run homer in Ortega’s dead end. The redshirt second infielder made his second homer of the night, and 14^e of the season, in the eighth inning. Ortega closed the evening with a game-high five hits and eight RBI’s, both of which were career-high.

UT had its biggest offensive outburst in the seventh inning, scoring seven runs. Lipcius crushed his second home run of the evening – a two-run shot to the left – before an RBI single by Ortega, a double by Evan Russell and an RBI single of Christian Scott†

Eight of UT’s nine starters singled in the game, while seven had multiple hits and three had four or more hits that night.

SEC Player of the Year candidate Trey Lipscomb hit a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, his second game this season with four or more hits and his 20^e multi-hit outing of the year. His strong at bats were mirrored by Russell, who was 4-of-5 with three doubles and three RBI’s. His doubles came in consecutive innings when he put on an extra bag in the fifth, sixth and seventh.

Mississippi State (26-28, 9-19 SEC) scored two runs in the last three innings, but all in all, it was a quiet offensive night for the Bulldogs, who dropped their ninth SEC game in their last 10 games.

The Big Orange will try to secure the series tomorrow night with a win. The first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed online on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app.

REMARKABLE

LARGE ORANGE BOPPERS: Tennessee tied the program record for home runs in one game for the second time this season, also hitting seven against James Madison on March 9. This comes after the Vols crushed six home runs in their midweek fight with Belmont on Tuesday, May 17 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

EIGHT WITH TEN: Blake Burke’s third inning homerun made him the eighth Volunteer hitter with 10 or more homeruns this season. Others on the list are three who had home runs tonight, Luc Lipcius† Jordan Beck andd Jorel Ortegaplus Trey Lipscomb† Evan Russell† Christian Moore and Cortland Lawson†

BIGGEST MARGIN VERSUS. THE COMPETITION: In the win, Tennessee surpassed its previous highest margin of victory in a 20-run SEC game done on May 8, 2010 against Georgia, 25-5.

RUN, RUN, RUN: 27 was the most runs Mississippi State has given up in a single game since 1966.

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