Bullpen Shines Again To Lead #3 Vols To Sweep of Mizzou

No. 3/3 Tennessee finished off its second consecutive home sweep in Southeastern Conference play with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Missouri on Saturday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

The Vols got another impressive performance from their bullpen, which held the Tigers scoreless over the final five innings to lock up the win.

Nate Snead picked up his team-leading seventh victory of the year after being the first one out of the pen, tossing 1.2 innings in relief of starter Zander Sechrist, who was solid in his own right, striking out four and giving up two runs on three hits and three walks in four innings.

The duo of Aaron Combs and Kirby Connell brought home the win for the second straight day, combining to allow just three hits and one walk over the final 3.1 innings.

Connell was especially impressive, tossing two shutout frames while striking out a pair to earn his third save.

The bullpen's performance was magnified by the fact that UT's normally high-powered offense was held in check for the second straight day. The Vols started fast, recording four of their seven hits and all three of their runs in the bottom of the first inning after Mizzou took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

A two-run single by Dean Curley was the highlight of Tennessee's three-run first inning. Chrisitan Moore and Kavares Tears finished with two hits apiece and each scored a run in the win, as well.

After posting two more hits in the second inning, the Vols (37-7, 15-6 SEC) did not record their next base knock until a Tears one-out double in the bottom of the eighth, which was also their final hit of the afternoon.

Carter Rustad got the start for the Tigers (19-26, 6-15 SEC) and rebounded well from his rocky start to strikeout out four batters over six innings. Reliever Bryce Miller was impressive as well, allowing just one hit in three scoreless innings.

Jackson Lovich went 2-for-4 with an RBI double to cut Missouri's deficit to one in the top of the fifth inning, but that was the final run that the Tigers would score on the day.

STATS OF THE GAME: For the series, UT's bullpen allowed just one run over 13.0 innings pitched for a 0.69 ERA while combining for 11 strikeouts and just four walks.

With its three victories this weekend, Tennessee posted its 15 SEC sweep and its third series sweep of Missouri under head coach Tony Vitello.

UP NEXT: The Vols host in-state foe Lipscomb on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. before another Thursday-Saturday series next week on the road at Florida.