University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Ole Miss
Tennessee Defeated by Ole Miss, 10-7
April 03, 2015 | Baseball
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Tennessee Volunteers began their Friday night contest with a three-run lead over Ole Miss, but the Rebels came from behind to take a 10-7 win in the series opener at Oxford-University Stadium.
With the loss, Tennessee moves to 12-14 on the season and 2-8 in SEC play, while Ole Miss is now 16-14 with a 5-5 league record in 2015.
"I'm very proud of [the team] for their efforts tonight. They didn't quit," Head Coach Dave Serrano said. "We lost the game, but we haven't lost the series and I'm very proud of what these guys did. They sustained energy throughout, which is hard to do when [Ole Miss] had some long innings on their offensive side, and we never quit."
The Vols combined for 11 hits on the Rebels. Sophomore Nick Senzel got things started for Tennessee's offense in the first with a leadoff line drive to left field. Left fielder Christin Stewart then continued his recent power streak, launching a two-run homer over the right field wall to give the Vols a 2-0 lead. The home run marked Stewart's third over his last two games, having hit two longballs in a Wednesday night contest at Arkansas State.
Tennessee furthered their early lead to 3-0 in the second, as catcher David Houser and first baseman Parker Wormsley hit back-to-back singles before Senzel ripped an RBI-double down the left field line.
Righthander Kyle Serrano began the night for the Vols on the mound, tossing 3.0 innings before taking a hard-hit liner off of his shin. Serrano exited in the top of the fourth, allowing six runs on eight hits with two strikeouts, and was relieved by righty Steven Kane.
Ole Miss kept their bats going over the next several frames, chipping away at the Vols' lead and taking a 9-3 advantage by the sixth inning. The Rebels plated their nine runs before Tennessee got back on the boards in the seventh, as designated hitter Andrew Lee hit a towering two-run homer over the right field wall to make it a 9-5 ballgame in favor of Ole Miss.
In the eighth, Tennessee made another call to the bullpen and brought in freshman lefty Aaron Soto for his first career appearance as a Vol. Despite inheriting a four-run deficit, Soto threw 1.0 inning, allowed one run and struck out two batters in his collegiate debut.
"I keep seeing really good signs out of this team," Serrano said. "Unfortunately, it's not always resulting in wins on the scoreboard but I can see we're so close. It hurts me to say that, but it's reality. It's a lost day but we can't dwell on it. I really feel we got some momentum late in the game for tomorrow and I truly believe in that. I like the way our guys are battling for each other right now and it's going to pay dividends for them."
The Vols continued to battle and staged a ninth inning comeback, loaded the bases for Stewart and Lee in back-to-back at-bats. Tennessee pushed two runs across but the rally fell short as Ole Miss shut down the Vols to secure a 10-7 win.
Senior right-handed pitcher Bret Marks (3-3) makes his first Saturday night start of the year tomorrow night, April 4, facing Ole Miss righthander Brady Bramlett (4-1) in a 5 p.m. ET contest on SEC Network +.
For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee baseball, visit UTSports.com/Baseball and follow @Vol_Baseball on Twitter.
