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Tennessee Volunteers Outlast Top-Seeded Texas 7–5 in 12-Inning SEC Quarterfinal Thriller

Matt TallariniMay 23, 20258 MIN READ
Tennessee Volunteers Outlast Top-Seeded Texas 7–5 in 12-Inning SEC Quarterfinal Thriller

HOOVER, Ala. – On an 87-degree evening under the lights at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, the top-seeded Texas Longhorns looked poised to advance in their SEC Tournament debut, jumping out to an early 4-0 lead behind timely hitting and aggressive base running.

But in a game that spanned 12 innings and lasted four hours and 20 minutes, the Tennessee Volunteers clawed back, tied it late, and eventually delivered the knockout blow in extras. The defending national champions stunned Texas 7-5 to advance to the SEC Tournament semifinals.

Texas fell to 42-12 overall and 22-9 in their first SEC season under head coach Jim Schlossnagle. Tennessee improved to 43-15 and 17-14 in SEC play under head coach Tony Vitello.

The Longhorns are ranked at No. 2 in the Top 25 Rankings that were published by D1Baseball.com on May 19 and the Volunteers are ranked at No. 21. 

Texas, ranked No. 2 by D1Baseball.com as of May 19, stranded 10 runners and will now await its NCAA Tournament seeding on Selection Monday, May 26, at noon EDT on ESPN2. Tennessee entered the week ranked No. 21.

Texas jumped ahead early. In the bottom of the first, first baseman Kimble Schuessler hit an RBI single to center, scoring second baseman Ethan Mendoza to make it 1-0.

In the fourth, Jalin Flores added a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Adrian Rodriguez to extend the lead to 2-0.

A few batters later, Mendoza ripped a two-run triple off the right field wall, scoring center fielder Will Gasparino and Casey Borba to extend the lead at 4-0.

Umpire David Savage replaced Jason Bradley behind home plate due to concussion protocol. In the top of the fifth inning due to being hit in the mask by a foul ball during Texas’ Max Belyeu in the bottom of the fourth inning.

In the top of the fifth inning, Tennessee finally got on the board when catcher Cannon Peebles poked a two-run single into center field, scoring second baseman Dean Curley and Reese Chapman to cut the deficit in half to 4-2. 

During the top of the sixth inning, the Volunteers offense got even with the Longhorns pitching staff, when second baseman Dean Curley drew a bases loaded walk, scoring first baseman Andrew Fischer to edge back at 4-3. 

The next batter, Reese Chapman lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring center fielder Hunter Ensley to tie the game up at 4-4. 

The game would go into the top of the 10th inning with the board even at four apiece, as Gavin Kilen crushed a solo home run, his 15th of the season, and helped Tennessee go up 5-4. 

In the bottom of the 10th inning, the Longhorns threatened to tie the game back up when catcher Rylan Galvan led off with a single into center field. 

During Schuessler’s at-bat, the Volunteers’ reliever threw over to first base in an attempt to pick off Galvan. Fischer did not look at Arvidson throwing the baseball over, and skidded past first base, resulting in Galvan heading to third base with no outs. 

Schuessler pounded an RBI single in between third base and shortstop, resulting in Galvan to come in to score to tie the game up at 5-5. 

Tennessee did not tack on more runs until the top of the 12h inning, when Kilen punished a two-run double to right-center field, scoring Jay Abernathy and Peebles to go up 7-5.

During the bottom of the 12th inning, Volunteers reliever Nate Snead was entering his second inning and retired the side in order 1-2-3 with getting Flores to fly out to center fielder Hunter Ensley for the final out of the game and win 7-5 over the Longhorns. 

Tennessee pitchers Liam Doyle, Brandon Arvidson, Dylan Loy, and Nate Snead combined to allow 10 hits, four earned runs, six walks, and struck out 18.

Texas starter Ethan Walker and relievers Grayson Saunier, Thomas Burns, Max Grubbs, and Dylan Volantis allowed nine hits, six earned runs, two walks, and totaled 12 strikeouts.

Postgame reactions

Jim Schlossnagle said he was proud of Texas’s effort and praised Ethan Walker’s start, but admitted, “Their bullpen was the difference.”

Walker said he was excited to start on a big stage and credited his catcher, Rylan Galvan, for keeping him focused.

Mendoza noted the Longhorns never got the big hit they needed but called the atmosphere “pretty special.”

Arvidson said his focus was on getting ahead in counts and that his curveball “was really sharp.”

Kilen credited the team’s scouting and said he just got good pitches to hit. “Brandon’s breaking ball? He throws it from the moon,” he added.

Vitello called it “an ESPN Classic” and emphasized the confidence gained from beating Texas’s bullpen.

When asked to compare playing in Hoover to last year’s conference environment, Mendoza said, “This is definitely an upgrade.” Walker added, “I came from a JuCo… it’s night and day. From 15 people to 15,000—it’s more exciting.”

Tennessee will play No. 4 Vanderbilt in the semifinals of the 2025 SEC Tournament at 1 p.m. EDT on May 24 on SEC Network. 

2025 SEC Baseball Tournament Schedule 

All Game Start Times Are Eastern Daylight Time

*Second Game Of Each Session Will Begin Approximately 30 Minutes After The Conclusion Of First Game  

Tuesday-Sunday, May 20-25

Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Hoover, Ala.

Tuesday, May 20 – First Round

Game 1: No. 9 Alabama 4, No. 16 Missouri 1 – Final 

*Game 2: No. 12 Oklahoma 5, No.

 13 Kentucky 1 –  Final 

Game 3: No. 10 Florida 11, No. 15 South Carolina 3 – Final 

Wednesday, May 21 – Second Round

 Game 4: No. 14 Texas A&M 9, No. 11 Mississippi State 0 – Final – First Round 

 Game 5: No. 8 Tennessee 15, No. 9 Alabama 10 – Final  

*Game 6: No. 12 Oklahoma 3, No. 5 Georgia 2  – Final 

Game 7: No. 10 Florida 1, No. 7 Ole Miss 3 – Final 

 Thursday, May 22 – Quarterfinals

Game 8: No. 14 Texas A&M 3, No. 6 Auburn 2 – Final – Second Round 

*Game 9:  No. 8 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Texas – 4 p.m. – SECN 

*Game 10: No. 12 Oklahoma vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt – 7 p.m. – SECN 

 Friday, May 23 – Quarterfinals        

Game 11:  No. 7 Ole Miss vs. No. 2 Arkansas – 4 p.m. – SECN

*Game 12: No. 14 Texas A&M vs. No. 3 LSU – 7 p.m. – SECN 

 Saturday, May 24 – Semifinals       

Game 13:  Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 –  1 p.m. – SECN 

*Game 14: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – 4 p.m.- SECN 

 Sunday, May 25 – Championship Game    

Game 15:  Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14 – 3 p.m. – ESPN2 

 SEC MLBPipeline.com Top 150 Draft Prospects 

No. 7 – OF – Jace LaViolette – Texas A&M 

No. 8 – RHP – Kyson Witherspoon – Oklahoma 

No. 9 – LHP – Kade Anderson – Louisiana State 

No. 10 – LHP – Liam Doyle – Tennessee 

No. 16 – 2B – Gavin Kilen – Tennessee 

No. 20 – OF/C – Ike Irish – Auburn 

No. 24 – SS – Wehiwa Aloy – Arkansas 

No. 28 – OF – Max Belyeu – Texas 

No. 33 – RHP – Riley Quick – Alabama 

No. 35 – 1B/3B – Andrew Fischer – Tennessee 

No. 36 – OF/3B – Ethan Petry – South Carolina 

No. 44 – LHP – Zach Root – Arkansas 

No. 54 – SS/3B – Dean Curley – Tennessee 

No. 55 – RHP – A.J. Russell – Tennessee 

No. 60 – OF – Charles Davalan – Arkansas 

No. 66 – 2B – Daniel Dickinson – Louisiana State 

No. 69 – RHP – Marcus Phillips – Tennessee 

No. 72 – LHP – J.D. Thompson – Vanderbilt 

No. 78 – RHP – Chase Shores – Louisiana State 

No. 79 –  LHP- Jared Spencer – Texas 

No. 90 – 1B – Jared Jones – Louisiana State 

No. 99 – LHP – Justin Lamkin – Texas A&M 

No. 100 – OF – RJ Austin – Vanderbilt 

No. 101 – C – Easton Carmichael – Oklahoma 

No. 102 – LHP – Pico Kohn – Mississippi State

No. 113 – RHP – Nate Snead –  Tennessee 

No. 116 – RHP – Mason Morris – Mississippi 

No. 117 – SS – Jalin Morris – Texas

No. 123 – OF/1B – Tre Phelps  – Georgia 

No. 131 – SS – Colby Shelton – Florida 

No. 133 – RHP – Malachi Witherspoon – Oklahoma 

No. 141 – 3B – Brent Iredale – Arkansas 

 

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