Ole Miss took the series at Tennessee with an 8-1 win Saturday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, closing out the road set after a 7-4 victory in Friday’s opener. The Rebels, ranked No. 23 in the Sports Coaches Poll, improved to 29-11 overall and 10-7 in the SEC, while Tennessee fell to 25-14 and 7-10 in league play.
Cade Townsend gave Ole Miss the start it needed. He worked six innings, allowed one hit, two walks and no runs, and struck out seven while throwing 88 pitches, 52 for strikes. Tennessee starter Tegan Kuhns was almost as sharp in defeat, striking out 10 over 5.2 innings and allowing five hits, one walk and no runs on 96 pitches, 67 of them strikes. But the game turned when Ole Miss broke through and never let Tennessee back in it, leaving the home team with just two hits for the day.
The Rebels did most of their damage before the ninth. Tristan Bissetta hit a grand slam off Cam Appenzeller, and Judd Utermark added a solo home run off Brady Frederick in the ninth. Tennessee’s only run came on Trent Grindlinger’s ninth-inning solo shot, with Stone Lawless behind the plate for the inning. Walker Hooks finished it off for Ole Miss, recording his fourth save of the season.
The result gave Ole Miss its first baseball series win at Tennessee since 2016, a hard-earned mark in a place that has not given the Rebels much over the years. The series finale was scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, but the bigger story was already settled: Ole Miss left Knoxville with the series in hand.
