Vols Set to Host No. 22 Ole Miss After Road Sweep of No. 8 Mississippi State

Image: Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics

By Aidan Sidoti

KNOXVILLE – Fresh off its first SEC series sweep of the year against No. 8 Mississippi State at Dudy Noble Field, Tennessee enters the weekend riding a five-game winning streak as it welcomes the other SEC program from the Magnolia State in No. 22 Ole Miss. The Vols sit at 25‑12 overall and 7‑8 in SEC play, while the Rebels arrive at 27‑11 and 8‑7 in the league.

Tennessee’s pitching staff delivered its best collective performance of the season in Starkville, combining to strike out 32 Bulldog hitters across the three-game set. Freshman left-hander Cameron Appenzeller set the tone Friday night, throwing 5.0 innings and striking out a career high 8 hitters in relief. Left-hander Evan Blanco followed with his strongest outing as a Volunteer since transferring from Virginia, working 6.2 innings with 6 strikeouts and allowing only 2 runs to help secure the Sunday sweep.

Head coach Josh Elander is sticking with the same rotation he has used the past two weekends Right-hander Landon Mack gets the ball tonight, followed by sophomore Tegan Kuhns on Saturday and Blanco in Sunday’s finale.

First pitch tonight is set for 6:30 p.m. Eastern on SEC Network+.