KNOXVILLE – Florida sophomore Will Dalton stepped into the batter’s box with two runners on base and his top-ranked Gators trailing Tennessee by three runs in the final inning of a Sunday doubleheader at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Florida had already erased a three-run deficit for a comeback win in the day’s first game, and the standout designated hitter was riding the confidence of a home run in his previous at-bat when he lifted a fly ball deep to left-center field in this pivotal situation.
For Tennessee, another blown lead and a second consecutive empty-handed weekend of Southeastern Conference play seemed all too possible for a moment. Then the ball fell from its flight just short of the porch in left field, settling in Evan Russell’s glove against the wall as pitcher Will Neely offered a sigh of relief.
“Once I saw Russell catch it, I was like, ‘OK, we got this,'” Neely said.
The next three Florida batters brought drama of their own, but there were no more bombs to the warning track and no more blown leads as Neely persisted through a tense final frame of a seven-inning complete game that lifted the Volunteers to a 6-4 win over the SEC-leading Gators, last season’s national champions.
“It goes to show you that if we play ball, we can compete with anybody, because that’s a pretty dynamic group over there,” Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said.
The Gators (28-6, 9-3) beat Tennessee (19-14, 5-7) by 16 runs Saturday night and could have deflated the Volunteers with a 6-4 in Sunday’s first game, which was also scheduled for seven innings but went 11.
Instead, Neely recovered after allowing a leadoff home run and Tennessee exploded for six runs in the third to help the Vols salvage a crucial conference victory. Tennessee is in a five-way tie for eighth in the 14-team SEC standings, and only the top 12 qualify for the conference tournament at season’s end.
“A lot of stress today,” Vitello said. “Some of it is the nature of competing against an SEC opponent, plus the number-one team in the country. The rest of it is some self-inflicted damage where we could have finished that first game off.”
Tennessee came within two outs of winning the day’s first game before Dalton doubled over Justin Ammons’ head in right field to score the go-ahead run in the seventh. The Vols sent the game beyond regulation, and that’s when their bats went silent.
Florida’s Deacon Liput led off the second game with a home run, but that was before the unwavering Vols chased Gators starter Tyler Dyson in the third. Tennessee’s big inning was highlighted by Pete Derkay’s three-run double to the gap in right-center.
Tennessee’s sophomore first baseman tried to apply some advice from student coach and former MLB catcher J.P. Arencibia.
“I just tried to go up there and grind out an at-bat for our team,” Derkay said. “J.P. has always been talking about just hunting a fastball and don’t be late for the fastball, and I wasn’t late for the fastball.”
Vitello perceived it as a positive that his young team’s excitement was somewhat measured after their win. It was simply what the Vols expected to do, even against the country’s top-ranked team.
“It feels great,” Derkay said. “You don’t want to get swept. It’s good to get one. We are a little bitter. We should have had two. We are just one play away. That’s how baseball works.”
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.