Vols Rally Past MTSU, 4-2

Recap, photo courtesy of University of Tennessee

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Following a ninth inning rally, the Tennessee Volunteers pushed past the MTSU Blue Raiders, 4-2, in Tuesday night's matchup at Reese Smith Jr. Field. Seniors Derek Lance, Chris Hall and Vincent Jackson led the Big Orange in the effort, combining for seven hits, three RBI and two runs scored.

With the win, Tennessee moves to 21-16 (4-11 SEC) on the year while the Blue Raiders are now 16-21 (4-11 C-USA).

Middle Tennessee State grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI-double hit down the
left-field line off the bat of centerfielder Brad Jarreau.

After a quick second inning, Benito Santiago (2-for-5) led off the Volunteers in the third with a double to right field. In the next at bat, Chris Hall (2-for-4) laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Santiago to third base. Nick Senzel (1-for-3, RBI) then batted Santiago home on a 6-3 groundout to tie the game at 1-1.

To start the fifth, Senzel took first on Tennessee's third full-count walk. Vincent Jackson (3-for-5, 3 RBI) then proceeded to rope an RBI-single to center to score Senzel and give Tennessee a 2-1 lead. Keeping the bats hot, Jordan Rodgers (1-for-3) put a high chopper between third base and shortstop to reach first safely and advance Jackson to second. A 5-4-3 double play ended the inning.

MTSU responded in the bottom of the fifth by putting runners on the bases via timely hits against left-handed reliever Alex Harper-Cook. Advancing to third and second on a stolen base and wild pitch, respectively, the Blue Raiders then tied the game up, 2-2, on a sacrifice fly by shortstop Riley Delgado.

Heading into the ninth with the game tied, senior Derek Lance (2-for-4) started Tennessee off with a single to right field. Hall then knocked a ball through the left side to send Lance to second, bringing up Senzel. On another full-count walk, Senzel reached first. With bases loaded, Jackson drove a ball into left field to score Lance and Hall and push Tennessee ahead of the Blue Raiders, 4-2.

In his fifth start of the season, right-hander Eric Freeman tossed 3.0 innings, allowing one run on three hits and striking out a career-high four batters. Reliever Alex Harper-Cook (1.1 IP) entered the game to start the fourth. He fanned one MTSU Blue Raider and gave up one run on two hits in the appearance.

Freshman Will Neely took to the mound in the middle of the fifth with one out. He got out of the inning via a fly ball to center and putout on the throw. Neely went on to toss 2.0 more shutout innings, recording one strikeout.

Steven Kane came in to pitch in the eighth, throwing 1.0 scoreless inning to earn his first win of the season. Murfreesboro nativeHunter Martin recorded the save after taking the mound in the ninth and tossing a scoreless inning.

Vol Baseball Quick Hits

• With the victory, Tennessee moves to 35-23 in the all-time series against Middle Tennessee, as well as a 17-7 mark in games played in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
• With their 12 hits versus the Blue Raiders, the Vols have recorded double digit hits in six of their last 10 games.
• Steven Kane improves to 1-3 on the season with the win.
• Eric Freeman fired four strikeouts in his 3.0 inning appearance to tie his career high.
• With a single to left-center field in the first inning, Chris Hall extended his reached base streak to 15 games.
• Tuesday's attendance at Reese Smith Jr. Field: 2,156
• On Deck for the Vols: The Volunteers return home to Rocky Top to host in-state SEC rival Vanderbilt for a weekend series on Friday, April 22 - Sunday, April 24 before playing back-to-back midweek matchups on Tuesday, April 26 and Wednesday, April 27 against Eastern Kentucky and Alabama State, respectively.

For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee Baseball, visit UTSports.com/Baseball and follow @Vol_Baseball on Twitter.