Tennessee outscored Ole Miss 35-15 this weekend during a three-game series inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium, yet the Volunteers didn't have a sweep to show for it.
The Vols earned their second run-rule victory over the Rebels with Sunday afternoon's 15-4 trouncing before a robust crowd of 5,677, and the memory of the previous night's stumble remained fresh on their minds. Tennessee took a 5-4 lead into the ninth inning of Saturday's contest before succumbing 8-5.
"Everybody was a little bit mad about yesterday," Vols sophomore pitcher Nate Snead said Sunday in a news conference. "We all were. We woke up with a little bit of extra anger, and I felt we put it out there today."
That extra anger came in the form of home runs by Christian Moore, Dylan Dreiling, Dean Curley, Billy Amick and Kavares Tears, and there were runners on base for all of them. Amick's grand slam to left field was part of a six-run fifth that turned a 9-3 lead into a 15-3 runaway, with Curley contributing earlier in the inning with a two-run blast that was part of his 3-for-3 showing that produced three RBIs.
Amick drove in five runs, while Dreiling matched Curley's three.
"Everything that led up to the start of this game was excellent," Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said. "Dean in particular was a guy who seemed like a guy possessed when he was in the cage warming up. In the team stretch, there was a much more loose environment. It was a much more relaxed group, yet there was a ton of determination and focus.
"Emotions were more level."
Tennessee improved to 21-4 overall and to 3-3 in Southeastern Conference contests, while Ole Miss dropped to 17-8 and 3-3. The Vols have won the Friday openers in each of their first two SEC series only to lose each of the Saturday games.
Alabama was able to take two of three from the Vols last weekend in Tuscaloosa with a 7-6 triumph in the Sunday finale on the strength of Gage Miller's three-run homer in the eighth inning.
"You can't hang your hat or hold on to frustration too long," Vitello had said Saturday night in Knoxville after enduring another three-run setback. "Everybody in this league is ultracompetitive."
Tennessee's five-run third inning in the finale against Ole Miss made a 2-1 lead a 7-1 advantage. Moore had a two-run homer to right and Dreiling a three-run homer to right as the Vols took control.
Zander Sechrist got the start and pitched into the third inning, with Snead taking it from there to pick up the win and improve to 5-1 this season.
"The bats were hot today, and Snead and Zander did their thing only giving up three or four," Moore said. "They put us in a good position to win. Coming out today after losing a hard one yesterday after having the lead in the ninth just shows you the type of team we are and the type of grit that we have.
"It's a staple of this program that we're never going to give up and that we're going to fight to the end."
The Vols will host Tennessee Tech on Tuesday night before hosting Georgia in a weekend series. Tennessee Tech has defeated Tennessee the past two seasons.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.