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Tennessee baseball tweaks lineup, gets revenge against Vanderbilt

By Colton Pickard

May 24 2024; Hoover, AL, USA; Tennessee closer Nate Snead pitches the final two outs in the game with Mississippi State at the Hoover Met during the SEC Tournament. Tennessee held on to win 6-5.
May 24 2024; Hoover, AL, USA; Tennessee closer Nate Snead pitches the final two outs in the game with Mississippi State at the Hoover Met during the SEC Tournament. Tennessee held on to win 6-5. / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA
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Tennessee baseball gets revenge on Vanderbilt after losing 13-4 on Wednesday. The BaseVols responded with a 6-4 win on Saturday afternoon to eliminate the Commodores and advance to the SEC Tournament championship game. 

Tony Vitello opted to make a few lineup changes ahead of the semifinal game. Ariel Antigua started at shortstop, Cannon Peebles manned the plate at catcher, and Dalton Bargo started at third, with Billy Amick moving to designated hitter. 

That’s a much different lineup than what Tennessee fans are used to seeing, but it seemed to work out for the Vols. Peebles went two-for-three with one RBI and two runs scored, but the other players inserted into the lineup didn’t do anything special. 

Peebles helped get the scoring started after Vanderbilt committed an error. His sac fly pushed across Tennessee’s second run in the fourth to jump out to a lead over the Dores. Vanderbilt responded in the bottom of the fifth with a couple of runs of their own, but a Christian Moore home run in the sixth was all Tennessee needed to finish off Vandy. 

Zander Sechrist pitched a gem for the Vols, who needed him to bring a little extra on the mound with a bullpen running on empty. He allowed two runs over six innings with five strikeouts. The offense gave Sechrist and Marcus Phillips, who came in to relieve Sechrist, a big enough lead to finish off Vandy. 

Phillips pitched the final three innings and allowed two runs, shutting down Vanderbilt’s offense and handing them their lone loss in the SEC Tournament. The offense gave Sechrist and Phillips some breathing room, and they were able to get the job done on the mound to relieve the rest of the bullpen and prepare for the SEC Tournament championship game. 

The Vols will look to add another trophy to their collection after winning the regular-season SEC Championship. After the Saturday afternoon win, Tennessee will face LSU in the championship game on Sunday at 3 PM ET.

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