Vols Can't Get Bats Going in Loss to No. 8 Ole Miss

Sunday, March 18

Oxford, MS

1:00 P.M. ET

University of Tennessee

13-8, 1-2

#8 Ole Miss

19-2, 2-1

Tennessee

Ole Miss

March 18, 2018 | Baseball

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OXFORD, Miss. – Tennessee was never able to get the bats going in Sunday's 5-0 loss to No. 8 Ole Miss in the series finale at Oxford-University Stadium Swayze Field.

Junior right hander Will Neely turned in another solid outing on the mound for the Vols, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out four in 6.1 innings of work.

Unfortunately, Neely was unable to outduel Rebels' starter James McArthur, who gave up just two hits over six scoreless innings. Reliever Parker Caracci shut the door by striking out seven in the final three innings to earn his first save of the year.

Brandon Chinea, Zach Daniels, Justin Ammons and Jay Charleston recorded the only hits for the Vols with four singles.

Rebels' second baseman Jacob Adams continued his big weekend with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning to give Ole Miss an early 1-0 lead. Neely did well to recover later in the inning after giving up back-to-back singles, striking out Cole Zabowski looking to end the frame and strand a pair of runners in scoring position to limit the damage.

After the Vols missed out on a chance to tie the game in the top of the fifth, Ole Miss added to its lead in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI double by Ryan Olenek to score Adams, who reached on an error one batter earlier.

A solo homer by Zabowski extended the Rebels' lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth. It was the second home run of the day for Ole Miss and the fourth of the year for Zabowski. Another long ball for the Rebels made it 5-0 in the bottom of the eighth as Thomas 5Dillard launched a two-run shot to left center.

The Vols had a pair of runners reach base in the ninth after singles by Ammons and Charleston but were unable to drive them in as Caracci struck out Daniels to end the game.

Notables
Neely Strong Despite Loss
UT starting pitcher Will Neely was a bright spot for the Vols in their loss to Ole Miss on Sunday afternoon. The junior right hander struck out four and did not walk a batter in 6.1 innings of work. The Knoxville native gave up three runs, only two of them earned, and kept the Big Orange within striking distance before handing it off to the bullpen in the seventh inning. At one point in the game, Neely had retired nine batters in a row.

Neely has now put forth two consecutive strong performances after throwing the first complete game of his career in last Sunday's 2-1 win at Cincinnati.

Next Up
The Vols return to Knoxville to begin a four-game homestand when they host ETSU on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The game will be streamed live on SEC Network + (WatchESPN).