Tennessee opened the Southeastern Conference portion of its baseball schedule last season with 12 consecutive wins.
That won't be happening again.
The No. 2 Volunteers were blistered in their SEC opener at Missouri 9-1 on Friday afternoon, as the Tigers racked up 11 hits while holding Tennessee to three. Vols starter Chase Dollander gave up nine hits and six runs in his nearly six innings of work.
Dollander was greeted in Missouri's four-run first inning with Dalton Bargo's RBI double, Trevor Austin's RBI double and Hank Zeisler's RBI trips in consecutive at-bats. Christian Moore accounted for Tennessee's lone run with a home run to right-center field in the sixth inning, which pulled the Vols within 5-1.
Moore had two of Tennessee's hits, with Maui Ahuna providing the other.
The Vols opened SEC play last year by sweeping South Carolina, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Missouri, topping the 1994 Florida Gators for the best start in league history. They are 15-4 overall following Friday's loss, while Mizzou improved to 14-3.
Due to Saturday's expected windy conditions and temperatures in the upper 20s, Tennessee and Missouri will complete their three-game series with a Sunday doubleheader that is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Eastern. Chase Burns and Drew Beam are the scheduled starters for the Vols.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.