HOOVER, Ala.– The top-ranked Vols will take on the 8-seed Commodores for their SEC Tournament opener on Thursday. Tennessee will send out sophomore RHP Blade Tidwell (2-1, 2.63 ERA) to face Vanderbilt’s freshman LHP Devin Futrell (8-2, 3.27 ERA).
The Vols and Commodores were originally set to play on Wednesday afternoon, but a series of weather delays in Hoover have pushed the game to Thursday evening. In fact, the delays have caused the SEC Tournament to lose an entire day of games, which will cause scheduling issues for the rest of the week.
As a double elimination game, the winner of Tennessee/Vanderbilt will face the winner of LSU/Kentucky while the losers of each game will play each other. Unless the SEC announces a change in the tournament layout, the double elimination will continue despite the delays.
Tennessee’s Blade Tidwell
Tidwell missed the first two months of the season due to a shoulder injury sustained in the Fall and didn’t make his first appearance of 2022 until March 30.
The sophomore only appeared in 10 games for the Vols, with six starts under his belt, posting a 2-1 record. In the regular season, he had a 2.63 ERA with 38 strikeouts and only 8 walks in 24 innings pitched.
Vanderbilt will be seeing Tidwell for the first time in 2022 due to Tidwell’s earlier injury that kept him out of the rotation..
Vanderbilt’s Devin Futrell
Futrell has put together a solid freshman season, posting an 8-2 record and a 3.27 ERA with 59 strikeouts and 10 walks in 55 innings pitched.
The 6-5, 195-pound southpaw didn’t throw against the Vols when Tennessee traveled to Nashville in 2022, meaning Tennessee will not be seeing a repeat arm from their series sweep.
Futrell was Vanderbilt’s main midweek starter, however he did start for the Commodores against Arkansas and LSU, where he struggled.
Starting Lineups
Tennessee:
1. Seth Stephenson LF
2. Jorel Ortega 2B
3. Jordan Beck RF
4. Drew Gilbert CF
5. Trey Lipscomb 3B
6. Evan Russell C
7. Luc Lipcius 1B
8. Christian Moore DH
9. Cortland Lawson SS
Vanderbilt;
1. Enrique Bradfield Jr. CF
2. Javier Vaz LF
3. Spencer Jones RF
4. Dominic Keegan 1B
5. Parker Noland DH
6. Jack Bulgar C
7. Carter Young SS
8. Tate Kolwyck 2B
9. Davis Diaz 3B
Game Updates
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey awards Tennessee with the SEC Regular Season Championship Trophy. before the game.
Top 1st
– Bradfield Jr. lines out to shortstop. 1 out.
– Vaz walks.
– Jones flies out to right field. 2 out.
– Vaz steals second base.
– Keegan pops up. 3 out.
Bottom 1st
– Stephenson hit by pitch.
– Ortega walks. (12 pitches)
– Beck grounds into double play to shortstop, Ortega out at second, Stephenson to third. 2 out.
– Gilbert doubles to left, Stephenson scores. Vols lead 1-0.
– Lipscomb grounds out to second. 3 out.
Tennessee leads 1-0 after first inning.
Top 2nd
– Noland strikes out. 1 out.
– Bulger grounds out to second. 2 out.
– Young grounds out to pitcher. 3 out.
Bottom 2nd
– Russell pops out to shortstop. 1 out.
– Lipcius reaches on groundball error by third baseman.
– Moore strikes out. 2 out.
– Lawson singles to left, Lipcius to third, Lawson advances to second on throw to third, Lipcius thrown out at home trying to advance on bad throw to second. 3 out.
Tennessee leads 1-0 after second.
Top 3rd
– Kolwyck deep fly out to center. 1 out.
– Diaz walks.
– Diaz advances to second on wild pitch.
-Bradfield Jr. grounds out to first, Diaz advances to third. 2 out.
– Vaz walks.
– Jones strikes out. 3 out.
Bottom 3rd
– Stephenson singles to center.
– Ortega RBI double to left-center. Stephenson scores (Tennessee 2-0).
– Beck flies out to left. 1 out.
– Gilbert RBI single to center. Ortega scores (Tennessee 3-0).
Pitching change: Nick Maldonado (2-1, 3.38 ERA) in w/ 2-2 count and one out to Lipscomb
– Lipscomb hit by pitch. Gilbert to second.
– Russell RBI double to left. Gilbert scores, Lipscomb to third (Tennessee 4-0).
– Lipcius sac fly to center, Lipscomb scores, Russell to third (Tennessee 5-0). 2 out.
– Moore RBI single to shortstop, Russell scores, Moore to second on error by second baseman (Tennessee 6-0).
– Lawson strikes out looking. 3 out.
Tennessee leads it 6-0
Top 4th
– Keegan strikes out swinging. 1 out.
– Noland singles to center.
– Noland caught stealing. 2 out.
– Bulger grounds out to third. 3 out.
Bottom 4th
– Stephenson reaches on error by third baseman.
– Ortega grounds out to shortstop, Stephenson to second. 1 out.
– Beck walks
– Gilbert reaches on fielder’s choice to second baseman, Beck out at second, Stephenson to third. 2 out.
– Lipscomb RBI single to left-center, Stephenson scores, Gilbert to third (Tennessee 7-0).
– Russell grounds out to third
Tennessee leads 7-0.
Top 5th
– Young hits a solo home run (Tennessee 7-1).
– Kolwyck flies out to right. 1 out.
– Diaz singles to center.
Pitching Change; Kirby Connell (3-0, 1.17 ERA) w/ one out and a runner on first.
– Bradfield Jr. grounds into 6-3 double play. 3 out.
Bottom 5th
Pitching Change: Grayson Moore (1-0. 4.48 ERA).
– Lipcius strikes out swinging. 1 out.
Pinch Hitter: Blake Burke for Moore
– Burke homers to left (Tennessee 8-1).
– Lawson strikes out, reaches on drop third strike/error on throw from catcher.
– Stephenson pops out to first. 2 out.
– Ortega walks.
– Beck strikes out. 3 out.
Tennessee leads 8-1.
Top 6th
– Vaz grounds out to shortstop. 1 out.
– Jones strikes out swinging. 2 out
– Keegan singles to center.
– Noland walks, Keegan to second.
– Bulger singles to third. Noland to second, Keegan to third.
– Young grounds out to third. 3 out.
Bottom 6th
Pitching Change: Donye Evans (0-0, 6.17 ERA)
– Gilbert strikes out looking. 1 out.
– Lipscomb strikes out swinging. 2 out.
– Russell walks.
– Lipcius flies out to left. 3 out.
Tennessee leads 8-1
Top 7th
Pitching Change: Camden Sewell (5-1, 3.02 ERA)
– Kolwyck strikes out. 1 out
– Diaz strikes out. 2 out
– Bradfield Jr. flies out to left. 3 out
Bottom 7th
pitching Change: Ryan Ginther (0-0, 6.75 ERA)
– Burke grounds out to pitcher. 1 out
– Lawson homers to left (Tennessee 9-1).
– Stephenson fouled out to right. 2 out.
– Ortega grounds out to third. 3 out
Tennessee leads 9-1
Top 8th
– Vaz lines out to first. 1 out
Pitching Change: Will Mabrey (2-0, 2.31 ERA)
– Jones flied out to center. 2 out.
– Keegan struck out swinging. 3 out.
Bottom 8th
– Beck flied out to left. 1 out
– Gilbert walked.
– Lipscomb walked, Gilbert to second.
– Russell walks, Gilbert to third, Lipscomb to second.
– Lipcius RBI groundout to first, Gilbert scores (Tennessee 10-1). 2 out.
Pinch Hitting: Christian Scott
– Scott strikes out. 3 out.
Tennessee leads 10-1
Top 9th
Pitching Change: Ben Joyce (2-1, 1.98 ERA)
– Noland strikes out. 1 out.
– Espinal flies out to center. 2 out.
– Young flies out to center. 3 out
Bottom 9th
– Not needed
Final: Tennessee 10, Vanderbilt 1