UT Sports Information
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Another dominant pitching performance led No. 18 Tennessee to its fifth straight win as the Volunteers shut out Gardner-Webb 5-0 on Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The shutout was the ninth of the season for UT, which is two more than any other team in the country this season.
Freshman right hander Camden Sewell made his third start of the season and earned the win to improve to 4-0. The Cleveland, Tenn., native did not allow a run and gave up just three hits while striking out four batters on the night.
Andre Lipcius provided the majority of the offense for the Vols, driving in three runs on two hits to increase his team lead in runs batted in to 41 on the year. Ricky Martinez also drove in a run with a two-out single in the seventh inning.
Runnin’ Bulldogs pitcher Noah Davis was perfect through three innings but gave up a leadoff single to Jay Charleston to start the fourth. Charleston stole second and scored later in the inning when Lipcius blasted his 10th home run of the year to put the Vols ahead 2-0. Davis pitched well but was stuck with the loss after giving up two runs on just two hits in four innings of work.
The Big Orange added a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to double their lead. Martinez singled with two outs to drive in Alerick Soularie and came in to score on a double steal to put the Vols ahead 4-0 later in the inning. Lipcius drove in his third run of the night with a single in the bottom of the eighth to round out the scoring.
Tennessee’s bullpen was rock solid once again with seven pitchers combining to throw 4.2 shutout innings of relief. With the win, the Big Orange ran their record to 11-1 in midweek games this season and have outscored their opponents 88-22 in those contests.
NOTABLE
SHUTOUT NUMBER NINE: The Vols posted their NCAA-leading ninth shutout on Tuesday night against Gardner-Webb, putting them one shy of tying the program’s single-season record of 10 set back in 1994. UT’s pitching staff has allowed two or fewer runs in nine of the last 11 games with three shutouts in that span. The Vols’ record in those nine games is 9-0.
LIPCIUS HAVING CAREER YEAR: Junior infielder Andre Lipcius had another big night at the plate in Tuesday’s win, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and a game-high three RBI. The Virginia native moved into a tie for first on the team in home runs with his 10th of the season and needs just two more RBI to set a new single-season career high, breaking his previous high of 42 he set last year.
UP NEXT: Tennessee hits the road to take on No. 6 Arkansas this weekend. First pitch for Friday’s series opener is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. The first two games of the series will be streamed online via SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN app while Sunday’s series finale will be televised live on the SEC Network. Fans can also listen live as John Wilkerson call the action for the Vol Radio Network (FM 99.1/AM 990).