OXFORD, Miss. — The Tennessee baseball team thumped Mississippi 10-3 on Saturday night to open Southeastern Conference play 5-0 for the first time since the 1966 season.
The Vols (22-1 overall) piled up 17 hits — including six doubles — but were held without a home run for just the third time this campaign.
Chase Dollander (4-0) pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed just four baserunners, giving up three singles and walking one batter. He struck out 10 before giving way for Will Mabrey, who entered with runners on second and third.
Mabrey, a left-hander, struck out the first hitter he saw on a breaking ball with the count at 3-2. He then coaxed a popup in foul territory for the final out of the inning.
The Rebels (16-6, 2-3) got their runs against Ben Joyce and Wyatt Evans.
Tim Elko broke up the shutout with a two-run homer off Joyce in the bottom of the eighth, his second shot of the series. Evans gave up a solo shot to Kemp Alderman in the ninth, but the freshman lefty struck out the final two batters to end the game.
Drew Gilbert and Trey Lipscomb both recorded three-hit, two-RBI games for Tennessee, which won Friday’s series opener 12-1.
Ole Miss, which managed only three hits Friday and five Saturday, will try to avoid the sweep when the teams close out the series Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
LOOKING BACK
Tennessee went 22-9 in the 1966 season and won the SEC East after posting an 11-2 league mark.
UT opened this year’s SEC slate last weekend with a sweep of South Carolina in Knoxville, winning by margins of 8-3, 5-2 and 10-0.
RANKINGS
Ole Miss is ranked No. 1 in both the D1Baseball.com and Baseball America polls. UT is No. 5 in the D1Baseball poll and No. 7 in the Baseball America rankings.
Collegiate Baseball has the Vols at No. 2 and the Rebels at No. 8, and USA Today lists Ole Miss as No. 2 and UT as No. 5.