COLUMBIA, S.C. (WATE) – After splitting the first two games with No. 10 South Carolina and battling hard in both, according to Vols head coach Dave Serrano his team didn't show up to play Sunday. The Gamecocks scored four unearned runs in the fifth inning and never looked back, beating the Vols 6-1 in the rubbermatch and claiming the series.
Tennessee's only tally came on a solo home run by Chris Fritts in the seventh inning, it was his second homer of the season.
"I was very disappointed in how we showed up today," Tennessee head coach Dave Serrano said. "I thought both teams were feeling each other out and we didn't do what we needed to do today to come out on top in this series.
"What's so disappointing for me today is the opportunity we had to kind of separate ourselves from other teams in our division and we didn't take advantage. It's just going to make it harder for us down the line and I hope we don't look back and kick ourselves for not taking advantage of the opportunity we had."
Sophomore Nick Williams (2-3) suffered the loss for Tennessee (20-12, 6-6 SEC), yielding four unearned runs on three hits in 4.2 innings. Junior Drew Steckenrider was stellar out of the bullpen once again, striking out four in 2.2 frames. Over the weekend, Steckenrider finished with 10 punchouts in five total innings against the Gamecocks.
Up next, Tennessee will travel to Johnson City on Wednesday to take on in-state rival East Tennessee State at 7 p.m.
