Late Rally Leads #12 Kentucky to 10-2 Win over Tennessee

Sunday, April 3

Knoxville

2:00 PM

University of Tennessee

Kentucky

Late Rally Leads #12 Kentucky to 10-2 Win over Tennessee

April 03, 2016 | Baseball

April 3, 2016

Box Score

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- In their Sunday series finale against No. 12-ranked Kentucky, the Tennessee Volunteers struggled to find a rhythm as the Wildcats rallied late to take a series-clinching 10-2 win at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

With the loss, Tennessee moves to 17-11 on the season and 3-6 in conference play, while Kentucky is now 20-8 and 6-3 in SEC contests this year.

Kentucky struck first in the second inning on Sunday, bringing two runs across on a two-run double from nine-hole hitter Troy Squires.

With bases loaded and two outs, the Wildcats scratched one run across via walk delivered by starter Andy Cox to make it a 3-0 UK advantage.

After being held to just one hit through three innings, the Vols got on the boards in the fourth following a leadoff double by Nick Senzel (2-for-4). A base hit by Vincent Jackson (1-for-3, RBI) made it runners on the corners with no outs for Jordan Rodgers (1-for-3, RBI), who recorded his team-leading sixth sacrifice fly of the season and allowed Senzel to score.

Tennessee and Cox held UK to a two-run lead until the eighth frame, when four base hits and a fielding error by Tennessee right fielder Benito Santiago brought four runs across for the Wildcats to make it a 7-1 ballgame.

The Volunteers staged a comeback in the bottom of the eighth, loading the bases with no outs against Kentucky reliever Zach Strecker. With the table set, Jackson knocked an RBI-grounder, scoring Santiago (1-for-4). A 6-4-3 double play ended the Orange and White's rally.

Cox worked 7.1 innings in his start, allowing five runs on eight hits with four strikeouts. Despite the loss, his 7.1 innings marked the second-longest outing of his career for the Big Orange and was the third-straight 7.1 innings start by a UT starter in the series (also, Aaron Soto and Zach Warren).

Jon Lipinski threw 0.2 inning in relief and was tagged with two runs (one earned) before freshman Daniel Vasquez was called upon in the ninth. With bases loaded and no outs, Alex Harper-Cook then made his SEC debut and struck out two of his four batters faced.

Stay tuned for more coming soon to UTSports.com.

Vol Baseball Quick Hits

Tennessee's Sunday loss vs. Kentucky brought their all-time series to 156-137 vs. the Wildcats, including a 56-38 mark in games played in Knoxville.
Entering Sunday's series finale, Tennessee had three players in the SEC's Top 10 for most RBI on the season: Jordan Rodgers (1st - 47), Nick Senzel (2nd - 40) and Vincent Jackson (T-4th - 33).
With his leadoff double in the fourth, Nick Senzel has now reached base safely in 17 straight games.
Senzel's double in the fourth also improved his season count to 14 doubles, tops in the SEC.
Jordan Rodgers went 1-for-3 with one RBI vs. Kentucky, furthering his NCAA-leading RBI count to 48 over 28 games.
Sunday's attendance at Lindsey Nelson Stadium: 2,670
Up Next for the Vols: Tennessee is scheduled to play a midweek matchup against Morehead State (16-11, 5-6 OVC) on Wednesday, April 6, beginning at 6 p.m. ET at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.