Stallings' Gem Not Enough as Vols Drop Series Opener to Bulldogs in Extras

Friday, April 5

Knoxville

6:30 P.M. ET

University of Tennessee

22-9, 3-7

#5 Mississippi State

26-5, 6-4

Mississippi State

Tennessee

Stallings' Gem Not Enough as Vols Drop Series Opener to Bulldogs in Extras

April 05, 2019 | Baseball

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Despite an incredible performance from starting pitcher Garrett Stallings, Tennessee was unable to hold off No. 5 Mississippi State in Friday night's series opener at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, falling 6-3 in 11 innings.

Stallings turned in one of his best outings of the year, holding one of the country's top hitting teams to just six hits and two runs in 7.2 innings of work. The junior right hander added six strikeouts and retired 12 straight batters at one point in the middle innings.

Bulldogs' ace Ethan Small was dominant as well, allowing two runs on seven hits in seven innings. The SEC leader in strikeouts entering the night added to his impressive season total with 11 punchouts in the game.

Andre Lipcius had a pair of doubles and tied a career high with four hits on the night while also scoring two runs. Alerick Soularie, Ricky Martinez and Pete Derkay also drove in runs for the Vols.

Senior Jake Mangum had a big night at the plate to lead MSU, finishing with four base knocks to become the Bulldogs' career leader in hits. Elijah MacNamee was also a thorn in the Vols' side, reaching base four times and driving in a pair of runs.

A pair of doubles from Mangum and MacNamee spotted the Bulldogs an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. The Vols didn't flinch, however, responding immediately with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, marking the seventh straight game that they have scored in the first.

A single by Jay Charleston and a double by Lipcius put runners on second and third for Soularie, who executed a squeeze bunt to perfection for an RBI single to tie the game at one. Two batters later, Martinez drove in Lipcius with an infield single to put UT ahead 2-1.

After six scoreless innings, MSU was able to scratch across a run in the top of the eighth to tie the game at two. Mangum started a two-out rally with a single and came in to score the tying run on a bases-loaded walk off of relief pitcher Garrett Crochet.

The Big Orange had the go-ahead run on second with two outs in the eighth, but a ground out ended the threat before both teams went down in order in the ninth to send the game to extra innings.

After a scoreless 10^th, the Vols ran out of gas in the top of the 11^th as the Bulldogs were able to get to Crochet for four runs on four hits and a walk to take a 6-2 lead. Tennessee got a run back in the bottom of the inning on a pinch-hit RBI double by Derkay, but Cole Gordon retired the next two batters to end the game.

NOTABLE
SUPER START FOR STALLINGS : Garrett Stallings had his best start in SEC play this season on Friday night, limiting one of the best lineups in college baseball to just two runs on six hits. After allowing a run on two hits in the first inning, Stallings allowed just three batters to reach base over the next six innings before running into trouble in the eighth. The Virginia native had separate stretches of eighth and 12 consecutive batters retired but had to settle for a no-decision.

FOUR HITS FOR LIPCIUS: Junior third baseman Andre Lipcius was nearly impossible to get out on Friday, going 4-for-5 on the night. His four hits were a season high and also tied a career high.

UP NEXT: The Vols and Bulldogs will square off again tomorrow night in game two of the weekend series at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed online via SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN app. Fans can also listen to the Vol Network radio broadcast (FM 99.1 / AM 990) as John Wilkerson and Vince Ferrara call the action.