The Tennessee Volunteers won in Josh Elander’s debut against a Southeastern Conference opponent.
Henry Ford made sure of it.
The junior third baseman and former Baylor School standout drove in three runs and launched a two-out home run to left field in the seventh inning that broke a 4-4 tie and propelled the No. 21 Vols to a 7-4 topping of No. 6 Georgia on Friday at Foley Field. Tennessee improved to 14-4 overall in Elander’s first season as head coach, while the host Bulldogs dropped to 15-4.
“This was a big win and a huge team win,” Ford told reporters afterward. “Everybody contributed, and I thought we came out with a good mindset and really played together. I thought we executed really well.”
The Vols added two more solo homers to left in the eighth inning, with Stone Lawless and Manny Marin accounting for the insurance. Both Ford and Lawless went deep on 0-2 pitches.