Tennessee Edged by South Carolina, 6-3

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Tennessee was edged by South Carolina, 6-3, in the final game of the series at Founders Park on Saturday.

With the loss, the Volunteers are now 17-12 overall and hold a 4-5 record in conference play while the Gamecocks are 17-11 on the season and own a 4-5 SEC record.

South Carolina scored the first run of the game in the third inning, using two hits and a Carlos Cortes sacrifice fly to go up 1-0.

In the top of the fourth, Tennessee scored three runs to take its first lead of the series. Sophomores Justin Ammons and Jay Charleston led off the frame with back-to-back walks. Andre Lipcius then knocked a two-RBI double down the left field line. Two at-bats later, designated hitter Evan Russell drove in Lipcius with a single to center, giving UT a 3-1 advantage.

The Gamecocks trimmed Tennessee's lead in the sixth, plating one run on two hits, a sacrifice bunt and infield groundout.

Threatening in the seventh, UT loaded the bases on two hits and a walk with two outs, but a strikeout ended the inning before the Big Orange could plate a run.

South Carolina scored the tying run in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk before right-handed reliever Zach Linginfelter caught Hunter Taylor looking for the final out of the frame.

In the eighth inning, South Carolina took a permanent 6-3 lead. The Gamecocks used two RBI doubles to add the final three runs of the game to the board.

On the mound, starter Will Neely worked 5.1 innings in the no-decision. The junior allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out five batters before handing the ball over to the bullpen.

Linginfelter faced two batters to finish the sixth frame and went on to toss 2.0 complete innings. Charged with the loss, he gave up three runs on three hits and struck out three. Freshman Chase Wallace and sophomore Andrew Schultz each threw 0.1 innings to close the game. In the eighth, Wallace allowed one run on one hit before Schultz came in to strike out the final batter faced.

Ammons Stands Out vs. South Carolina
Sophomore Justin Ammons led the Volunteers at the plate during the South Carolina series, batting .333 (3-for-9) with three runs scored. The right fielder also drew four walks and advanced to first on two errors to reach base a total of nine times throughout the three games.

Up Next
The Vols welcome the Belmont Bruins to Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Tuesday, April 3 for a 6:30 p.m. ET midweek contest that will be aired on SEC Network + (WatchESPN). John Wilkerson and Vince Ferrara will have the call on Sports Radio WNML (FM 99.1/AM 990) and UTSports.com.