Tennessee defeats Oklahoma 9-4, clinches series
Tennessee catcher Trent Grindlinger (30) points to the outfield after hitting a solo home run during a NCAA baseball game between Tennessee and Ole Miss at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on April 18, 2026. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Tennessee Volunteers made another nice addition to their NCAA Tournament resume. The Vols took Game 2 9-4 to claim the series, which is Tennessee’s second straight series win after they took two out of three from the Texas Longhorns last weekend.
Evan Blanco toed the rubber and picked up the win for Tennessee. He went six innings and allowed three earned runs with six strikeouts on 99 pitches. And it was a tough start for Blanco that he had to rally from.
OU’s Camden Johnson hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the first for a 2-0 lead. The Sooners tacked on one more on a rally-killing double play that plated a run. And then, it was Tennessee’s turn thereafter.
The Vols plated four in the top of the third to secure the lead. Manny Marin legged out a triple to plate a run and came home on an infield single by Jay Abernathy. And Trent Grindlinger (who else?
) drove home two more on a single. Tennessee tacked on another in the fifth when OU’s third baseman committed a fielding error that brought home Blake Grimmer. The game was suspended in the bottom of the seventh due to weather and was restarted on Saturday at 2:00 pm ET.