Vols Drop Series Finale Against No. 5 Mississippi State, 7-5

Sunday, April 7

Knoxville

2 P.M. ET

University of Tennessee

23-10, 4-8

#5 Mississippi State

27-6, 7-5

Mississippi State

Tennessee

Photo by: Kelly Gerdin/Tennessee Athletics

Vols Drop Series Finale Against No. 5 Mississippi State, 7-5

April 07, 2019 | Baseball

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee came up on the wrong end of a back-and-forth affair in Sunday's rubber game against No. 5 Mississippi State, losing 7-5 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Alerick Soularie led the Volunteers offensively with a 4-for-4 afternoon. The four hits for the sophomore were a new career high. Soularie also had an RBI and drove in a run. Andre Lipcius, Pete Derkay and Zach Daniels drove in the other four runs for UT.

Tanner Allen and Rowdey Jordan had big days for the Bulldogs as both finished with three hits and a home run. Elijah MacNamee and Justin Foscue also had multi-hit games while Jake Mangum had a big two-run double in the sixth inning that ended up being the difference.

UT starting pitcher Will Neely had to leave the game early after being struck in the ankle by a line drive in the top of the fourth. The senior right hander was able to jog off the field under his own power and the injury is not expected to be anything that will keep him out long term. Neely allowed three runs on seven hits before exiting the game.

The Big Orange scored in the first inning for the eighth time in their last nine games, plating two runs to take an early 2-0 lead over the Bulldogs. Lipcius doubled home Justin Ammons before scoring himself on an RBI ground out by Derkay.

MSU cut its deficit in half with a leadoff solo home run by Jordan in the top of the third. The Vols answered right back with an RBI single by Soularie in the bottom half of the inning to regain their two-run advantage.
A bloop single by MacNamee and a bases-loaded walk by Marshall Gilbert tied the game at three in the top of the fourth before the Bulldogs took their first lead of the afternoon with a solo home run by Tanner Allen in the fifth.

The Bulldogs scored the eventual game-deciding runs in the sixth when Mangum drove in two with a two-out double down the left-field line to put MSU ahead 6-3.

Tennessee got itself right back in the game in the bottom of the inning, courtesy of a pinch-hit, two-run homer by Daniels to cut the deficit to one. It was the first home run of the season for Daniels, who had five as a freshman in 2018. UT looked poised to retake the lead or at least tie the game later in the inning with runners on second and third with one out, but a ground out back to the pitcher and a strikeout ended the threat.
State went back up by two runs in the eighth after Jordan led off the inning with a double and came in to score two batters later on a sacrifice fly to make it 7-5.

Ammons singled to bring the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, but Bulldogs' reliever Jared Liebelt struck out Jay Charleston and Lipcius to end the game and pick up his third save of the year.

NOTABLE
CAREER HIGH FOR SOULARIE : Despite the loss, Alerick Soularie finished with a career-high four hits on the day, surpassing his previous high of three which he had in wins over Middle Tennessee, Fresno State and South Carolina earlier this season. The Houston native has been the Vols' best hitter in conference play this season with a team-leading .419 batting average, 18 hits, four doubles, eight RBI, 25 total bases, .581 slugging percentage and .519 on-base percentage in SEC play.

DANIELS GOES DEEP: Sophomore slugger Zach Daniels hit his first home run of the season on Sunday with a pinch-hit, two-run shot over the left-field porches in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was the first pinch-hit home run since Brodie Leftridge went deep on April 27 last season at Georgia.

UP NEXT: Tennessee continues its nine-game homestand with another midweek matchup against an in-state opponent as Lipscomb will visit Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Tuesday night. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN app.

Colton Underwood, star of the most recent season of ABC's hit television show "The Bachelor", will be on hand to present an Afflovest to Molly Claire Stephens, an active 11-year-old with cystic fibrosis from Summertown, Tenn. The Colton Underwood Legacy Foundation is a non-profit organization that was created by Underwood, a star collegiate athlete and former NFL player, to empower people with cystic fibrosis to live fully, dream big and support each other. The Foundation provides equipment, resources and inspiration for people of all ages living with cystic fibrosis.
As a part of the evening's festivities, Tennessee Baseball fans will have the rare opportunity to enter for a chance to meet Colton at the game.