No. 5 Tennessee Sweeps No. 1 Ole Miss

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

No. 5 Tennessee completed the sweep over No. 1 Ole Miss with a 4-3 victory on Sunday.

Following a three-run homer by Hayden Dunhurst in the eighth, Ole Miss’ (16-7, 2-4 SEC) attempted comeback to avoid being swept came up short.

Starter Derek Diamond came out sharp against the Vols on Sunday through the first three innings. Diamond allowed two hits in the first nine outs.

Tennessee (23-1, 6-0) got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning as they manufactured three runs against Diamond. The Vols opened the frame with back-to-back base knocks followed by a triple off Drew Gilbert’s bat. Third baseman Trey Lipscomb drove Gilbert in on an RBI groundout.

Tennessee’s hurler Drew Beam made it difficult for the Rebel hitters to get going on the afternoon. Beam worked 7.1 innings 

Diamond (3-2) worked 4.2 innings and surrendered three earned runs on six hits and struck out two hitters.

Head coach Mike Bianco brought freshman right-hander Riley Maddox into pitch out of the bullpen. Maddox tossed 2.0 innings allowed a run on three hits with a walk and retired four by strikeout.

In the second inning, Dunhurst delivered the first Ole Miss hit of the afternoon. Dunhurst finished the game going 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

Tennessee tacked on a run in the sixth off the bat of Luc Lipcius that scored Lipscomb.

In the home half of the frame, Hayden Leatherwood hit a double but could not come around to score and was stranded at third base.

Ole Miss’ closer Brandon Johnson made an appearance in the seventh and closed the game out. Johnson went 2.1 innings with no runs on a hit and two strikeouts.

Ole Miss returns to action on Tuesday, playing host to North Alabama. The first pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed on SEC Network +.