Vols baseball bounces back to take series finale from No. 1 Florida

Tennessee baseball opened its series against top-ranked Florida about as badly as imaginable Friday night.

But barely 12 hours after losing 22-6, the Vols returned to Lindsey Nelson Stadium and were in position to sweep a double-header from the nation’s top-ranked team Sunday.

Instead, the Vols split the pair against No. 1 Florida, dropping a late lead and losing 6-4 extra innings in the opener before beating the Gators 6-4 in the series finale.

“It’s good to get one,” first baseman Pete Derkay said. “We are a little bitter. We should have had two. We are just one play away. That’s how baseball works.”

Tennessee (19-14, 5-7 SEC) used a six-run third inning in Game 2 to avoid being swept. UT batted around in the inning, taking advantage of a wild outing from Florida starter Tyler Dyson.

Dyson allowed seven Vols to reach via walk or hit by pitch – four of which came in the third. Derkay made the Gators pay, drilling a three-run double into the rightcenter gap to spark a 6-1 lead.

“You win as a team and lose as a team,” Vols coach Tony Vitello said. “You also respond as a team and I think our guys did a good job of shaking that (first game) off and coming out. It was a little stale in the dugout the first two innings, but then all of a sudden a little bit of action happens and a big at-bat by Pete Derkay. …

“Now, the tide turns and we start feeling good about ourselves.”

Florida (28-6, 9-3) chipped away with two runs in the sixth and threatened in the seventh when Wil Dalton sent a flyball all the way to the wall with two on in the seventh, but it fell harmlessly into Evan Russell’s glove to preserve the win for Will Neely. Neely allowed four runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts in a complete game.

Sophomore starter Garrett Stallings gave the Vols a great effort in Game 1, throwing 6.1 innings and allowing only three runs despite allowing 11 hits. But UT could not hold onto a game it led 3-0, giving up a pair of runs on a Dalton liner over right fielder Justin Ammons — who initially took steps in — when it needed only one out to end the seven-inning game.

The Vols tied the Gators in the bottom of the seventh, giving Florida closer Michael Byrne his first blown save of the year. The Gators ended it with a pair of runs in the 11th, but the Vols had the final say with the win in the finale.

“It goes to show you that if we play ball, we can compete with anybody,” Vitello said. “Because that's a pretty dynamic group over there."

Hitting 'em around

Tennessee had a tall task in facing Florida’s stout weekend rotation of Brady Singer, Jackson Kowar and Dyson.

But the Vols had decent success against all three, especially against Kowar and Dyson on Sunday.

“I think we talked all along about rising to the challenge,” Vitello said. “If you’re a true competitor, you want it tough. … You want to measure yourself up against the best. Those three guys are going to pitch in the big leagues at some point. What better way to go out on a baseball field and see whether you can handle your bat and get in the box and compete with some confidence.”

Tennessee knocked Singer out of the game after five innings Saturday night, scoring three runs on four hits and three walks. They tagged Kowar for seven hits – matching his season-high – in six innings.

Dyson was pulled after 2.2 innings, allowing six runs on three hits and five walks.

“They are great pitchers,” Derkay said. “They put up the numbers they do for a reason. They are going to be high draft picks for a reason. We just tried to go out there and battle as best as we could. When you do that, good things happen.”

To walk or not to walk?

Vitello made a pair of decisions that didn't go in Tennessee's favor in the first game Sunday.

The first-year UT coach opted to walk Florida's Jonathan India after Vols reliever Zach Linginfelter fell behind 2-1 in the count with two outs and a runner on second in the top of the seventh.

The Vols still led 3-2 at the time, making India the go-ahead run as Vitello put him on base.

“Jonathan India right now is going to be SEC Player of the Year,” Vitello said. “We don't want the SEC player of the year beating us if we've got a choice. But we did get ahead of him, so we said, 'Let's roll with it.' Then you get in a 2-1 count. The numbers favor the hitter in that situation. We decided to move on.”

Dalton made UT pay, lining a double over Ammons — who initially took steps in — and bringing home two runs to give Florida a 4-3 lead.

In the 11th, Florida put two runners on with no outs and bunted them to second and third. JJ Schwarz came to the plate and Vitello elected to pitch to the senior instead of walking him to create a force out at every base.

“We had been pitching well to him in specific all weekend long,” Vitello said. “It made him seem kind of human.”

Schwarz roped a fly ball to the warning track in right for a sacrifice fly to bring home the go-ahead run.

Just a bit outside

Vols football coach Jeremy Pruitt threw out the first pitch before Game 1 on Sunday.

His offering was well outside, bouncing away from a sliding effort from freshman outfielder Cal Gobbell.

“I think what happened was we put as big of a Vols fan back there as you could imagine and he probably got a little nervous,” Vitello said. “Cal is a diehard Vol and that's growing up as a kid and here, too. I think he needed to do a better job of getting in front of that thing because coach Pruitt at least got it around the plate.”