University of Tennessee Athletics
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Vols Take 5-4 SEC Tournament Loss vs. LSU
May 25, 2016 | Baseball
HOOVER, Ala. -- After battling to gain a four-run advantage over No. 5 seed LSU, Tennessee's lead slipped in late innings as the Vols took a 5-4 defeat in the first round of the SEC Baseball Tournament on Tuesday night.
With the loss, Tennessee finishes it's 2016 season with a 29-28 record, while LSU moves to 40-17 and advances to the second round of the SEC Tournament.
The Volunteers recorded seven hits against the Tigers, led by Chris Hall (2-for-3), Tyler Schultz (1-for-4, RBI), Jordan Rodgers (1-for-4, RBI) and Max Bartlett (1-for-4, RBI).
Center fielder Brodie Leftridge (1-for-4) got the Vols' offense started in the first, with a leadoff single up the middle. Leftridge went on to work his way to third with two outs, but was stranded after a strikeout ended the inning.
Over the first three frames, Tennessee and LSU held each other to just one hit, trading 1-2-3 innings until Hall began the fourth with a single up the middle. After stealing second with two outs, Rodgers knocked an RBI-single through the right side, scoring Hall to make it a 1-0 UT advantage.
Senior Schultz kept the momentum going in the fifth, beating the throw from third on a bunt single and stealing second base with one out. Bartlett then laced an RBI-single into right field and plated Schultz, putting the Vols ahead 2-0.
LSU threatened in the bottom of the fifth, putting runners on the corners with one out. Schultz then made tags at the plate on huge back-to-back assists from Rodgers and Leftridge, preventing two LSU runners from scoring to hold the score at 2-0.
The Volunteers went on to scratch two runs across in the sixth, furthering their lead to 4-0, but the Tigers came back to score three runs in the bottom of the seventh to make it a one-run ballgame (4-3).
UT worked a quick, 1-2-3 inning in the eighth before a solo home run by LSU's Greg Deichmann tied the game at 4-4 in the ninth. The Tigers went on to load the bases and with one out, LSU shortstop Kramer Robertson hit an RBI-single down the left field line, providing the go-ahead winning run for the Tigers in a 5-4 final.
Freshman and Knoxville native Will Neely got the starting nod in Tennessee's 2016 SEC Tournament debut, tossing 6.0 one-run innings while striking out three Tiger batters.
Lefthanders Andy Cox (0.2) and Aaron Soto (0.2) shared time on the mound in the seventh before junior Hunter Martin was called upon in the eighth. Martin allowed two runs on two hits in the ninth to receive the loss.
Vol Baseball Quick Hits
- With the loss, Tennessee moves to a 25-24 all-time record in SEC Baseball Tournament play and 1-3 all-time in SEC Tournament matchups vs. LSU.
- Tennessee's 2016 SEC Tournament bid marked their third-consecutive appearance in Hoover. The last time Tennessee appeared in the league postseason tournament in three straight years was 1995-97 as a part of the SEC's six and eight-team playoff formats.
- Tennessee's four runs scored vs. LSU are the most in an SEC Tournament game for the Vols since 2007, when UT won a 6-4 decision vs. Vanderbilt.
- Combined with his regular-season start vs. LSU on May 13, Will Neely has allowed just two runs over 13.0 innings pitched against the No. 7-ranked Tigers in 2016.
- The Vols swiped six bags against the Tigers on Tuesday night, tying a single-game season high (also, six vs. UC Irvine on 3/11/16)
- Following a 1-for-4 effort vs. LSU in Hoover, Jordan Rodgers improved his season RBI count to 56, ranking T-4th in the league entering the SEC Tournament.
- Tuesday night's attendance at the Hoover Met: 7,287
For the most up-to-date information about the Tennessee baseball program, visit UTSports.com/baseball and follow @Vol_Baseball on Twitter.
