HOOVER, Ala. (TVC) — No. 23 Tennessee opened SEC Tournament play with an 11-6 win over South Carolina on Tuesday at the Hoover Met.
Cam Appenzeller made his first start of the season for the Vols after earning another SEC Freshman honor to begin the postseason. He recorded two strikeouts in the first inning to set the tone for Tennessee.
The Vols struck first in the bottom of the first when Garrett Wright stole home following a shot to left field by Henry Ford. In the next at-bat, Levi Clark singled up the middle to score Blake Grimmer and give Tennessee a 2-0 lead heading into the second inning.
Jay Abernathy helped Tennessee quickly escape the top of the second with a double play, tagging the runner before making the throw to first.
South Carolina responded in the top of the third. Patrick Evans tripled to right-center for a two-run RBI, tying the game at 2-2. Evans later scored to give the Gamecocks the lead.
Tennessee answered immediately at the plate. Trent Gindlinger scored Grimmer, Manny Marin brought home Ford and Nate Eisfelder blasted a two-run double to put the Vols ahead 6-3. Tennessee added two more runs before the end of the inning to extend its lead to 8-3, while defensive errors by South Carolina proved costly throughout the game.
After five innings, Appenzeller closed out his start with five strikeouts. Brayden Krenzel then entered in relief and added two strikeouts of his own.
The game remained quiet until the top of the seventh inning, when South Carolina’s Will Craddock hit a home run to left field to cut the deficit to 9-6. Tennessee responded by going to freshman left-hander Will Haas out of the bullpen. Haas finished the game with five strikeouts.
Back-to-back home runs helped seal the win for the Vols. Wright recorded his ninth homer of the season, followed by Ford.
Tennessee, the tournament’s No. 10 seed, will face No. 12 Arkansas, the No. 7 seed, on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. ET. The last time the two teams met was in the 2025 Super Regionals, when the Razorbacks eliminated Tennessee from advancing to Omaha.
