KNOXVILLE – Another standout day at the plate and an impressive performance on the mound from Drew Beam led No. 19 Tennessee to a 10-5 victory over No. 2/4 Vanderbilt on Sunday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.  

With the victory, the Volunteers notched their seventh consecutive win over their in-state rival to complete the series sweep for the second straight year. UT’s seven straight victories over the Commodores marks its longest win streak in the series since winning eight in a row from 1993-94.

The Big Orange scored double-digit runs for the second straight game, including five in the second inning to jump out to an early lead. Tennessee added four more runs in the fifth to really break the game open and, despite some struggles in the seventh and eighth innings, held on rather comfortably for the win.

Hunter Ensley homered twice and went 3-for-5 with three RBIs to pace the offense while Griffin Merritt also had another big day at the plate with three runs scored and three RBIs on a pair of hits, including his 12^th home run of the year.

Beam bounced back nicely from a rough outing at Arkansas last weekend by pitching 6.2 innings to earn the win and improve to 5-2 on the year. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native scattered six hits and allowed just two runs (one earned) with three strikeouts on the day.

Much like Saturday’s game, the Vols were deadly with two outs, scoring all five of their runs in the second inning with two away. UT finished 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position while eight of the team’s 12 hits came with runners on base.

Devin Futrell suffered just his second loss of the season for Vanderbilt (29-11, 13-5 SEC) after allowing seven runs (two earned) on seven hits in 4.1 innings. Jack Bulger and Davis Diaz both homered for the Dores while Enrique Bradfield Jr. had a pair of late hits and an RBI after starting the series 0-for-12.

The series sweep was Tennessee’s 12^th in league play under Tony Vitello (2018-pres.). Prior to 2018, the Vols swept just 12 SEC series in the previous 15 seasons (2003-17).

UP NEXT: The Big Orange continue their homestand with a midweek contest against Bellarmine on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+ through the ESPN app.