KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee's Levi Clark hit a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 3-3 tie and lift the fourth-ranked Volunteers to a 7-3 win over Samford in the second game of a three-game series Saturday afternoon at Lindsay Nelson Stadium.
 
With the loss, Samford fell to 3-3 on the season. Tennessee improved to 6-0 with the win.
 
Cameron Keshock started the game on the mound for Samford, pitching 5.0 strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits. Austin Tommasini pitched an inning in relief giving up one run. Joseph Lee (0-1) tossed the final 2.0 innings, allowing five runs, just four earned, on two hits to take the loss for the Bulldogs.
 
Samford was led at the plate by Gatlin Pitts, going 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Jackson Harris also drove in a run for the Bulldogs.
 
For Tennessee, Nate Snead (1-0) pitched 4.1 innings in relief, allowing one unearned run on one hit to earn the win for the Volunteers. Jay Abernathy went 2-for-4 with a double for Tennessee. Clark hit his grand slam in his lone at bat of the game.
 
Samford jumped on top first with a run in the top of the first inning. Jeffrey Ince walked to lead off the inning and later scored on a ground out by Harris for a 1-0 lead. In the top of the fifth inning, Samford's Trey Higgins walked, stole second and then stole third and scored on an error for a 2-0 Samford advantage.
 
Tennessee put its first run on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning when Gavin Kilen grounded out to drive in Ariel Antigua to cut the lead to 2-1. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Dalton Bargo hit a solo homer to knot the score at 2-2.
 
Samford answered in the top of the seventh inning when Pitts doubled to center field to drive in Matthew Strand for a 3-2 Samford lead. Tennessee evened things up again in the bottom of the seventh inning when Abernathy scored on a wild pitch to make the score 3-3.
 
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Tennessee took control of the game with four runs. Andrew Fischer walked to lead off the inning. With one out, Bargo reached base on a fielder's choice, but Fischer advanced to third base on an error due to interference. After Reese Chapman walked to load the bases, Clark hit a grand slam to left field for a 7-3 Tennessee lead.
 
The teams will wrap up the series with a game on Sunday. The first pitch is set for 12 p.m. (CT).
 
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