Tennessee Vols Baseball Battles Back to Even Series Against Missouri

Freshman pitcher Cam Appenzeller shines in relief as Vols win 4-2

Mar. 22, 2026 at 3:23am

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The Tennessee Vols baseball team battled back from an early deficit to defeat the Missouri Tigers 4-2 on Saturday night and even the series at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Freshman pitcher Cam Appenzeller came in with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth inning and got the Vols out of the jam, going on to pitch a career-high 4.2 innings with seven strikeouts to earn the win. The Vols got key RBIs from Trent Grindlinger, Manny Marin, and Levi Clark to overcome an early 2-0 deficit.

Why it matters

This was an important bounce-back win for Tennessee after losing the series opener on Friday night. The Vols were able to even the SEC series against Missouri and avoid falling into an 0-3 hole in conference play. The performance of freshman Cam Appenzeller in relief was a major bright spot, as he continues to emerge as a key part of the Vols' pitching staff.

The details

Tennessee starter Landon Mack ran into trouble in the fifth inning, loading the bases with no outs. But Appenzeller came in and got the Vols out of the jam, going on to pitch 4.2 strong innings. Offensively, the Vols chipped away, getting RBIs from the bottom of the order to rally back. Trent Grindlinger, Manny Marin, and Levi Clark all drove in runs, while Garrett Wright scored on a wild pitch.

  • The game's first pitch was pushed back one hour to 7 p.m. ET due to lightning in the area.
  • Cam Appenzeller came on in the fifth inning to bail Landon Mack out of a bases loaded and nobody out jam.

The players

Cam Appenzeller

A freshman pitcher for the Tennessee Vols who came in with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth inning and pitched 4.2 strong innings in relief, striking out a career-high seven batters to earn the win.

Trent Grindlinger

A Tennessee player who drove in a run from the bottom of the Vols' order.

Manny Marin

A Tennessee player who drove in a run and extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single in the seventh inning.

Levi Clark

A Tennessee player who drove in a run from the bottom of the Vols' order.

Bo Rhudy

The Tennessee pitcher who earned the save, coming in to get the final out of the game.

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What they’re saying

“He's not a normal freshman. I think we've all seen that, and maybe I'm being mean to him because every time I bring him in he's got the bases loaded or some kind of fire going on. But he's growing up. It's really good stuff. It's slow heart rate, good poise, and he's very excited for moving forward to the next week with how he's been able to kind of stack these outings up.”

— Josh Elander, Tennessee Head Coach

“Trent was great. I mean, again, he's hitting over .500, taking advantage of all the opportunities that he has. Just a great make-up kid. It's an easy guy to bet on, and just staying on the ball in the four-hole, not trying to do too much, gets the first run of the game (in) and taking his walks and just quality, quality, quality. That's what he seems to keep bringing, and the moment it wasn't too big for him, so it was good.”

— Josh Elander, Tennessee Head Coach

What’s next

Tennessee and Missouri will cap the three-game SEC series on Sunday in Knoxville with a 1 p.m. ET first pitch. The game will be streamed on the SEC Network+.

The takeaway

This win was an important bounce-back for the Tennessee Vols, as they were able to even the series against Missouri and get a strong performance from freshman pitcher Cam Appenzeller, who continues to emerge as a key part of their pitching staff. The contributions from the bottom of the Vols' lineup were also crucial in overcoming an early deficit.