Tennessee Softball, Baseball come away with big series wins Sunday

(WCYB) — Tennessee baseball and softball both came away with big series wins this weekend as the Vols headed to Lexington, Kentucky to take on 3rd ranked Kentucky while the Lady Vols stayed at home to host 7th ranked LSU.

Baseball opened up the series with a tough 5-3 loss on Friday. The team was able to bounce back on Saturday with the 9-4 win with five homeruns helping propel them to the victory. The Sunday rubber match was a high scoring affair, with Christian Moore's three homeruns helping carry the Vols to victory.

Two local talents helped out in Sunday's win, with Daniel Boone's Colby Backus snagging an out in center-field in the bottom of the ninth after subbing in in the eighth inning. On the mound, Kirby Connell picked up his fourth win of the season, giving up five runs while collecting three strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work.

The 2nd ranked Vols picked up the series win to help boost their resume.

On the softball diamond, the Lady Vols were hosting 7th ranked LSU. They were able to secure the 3-0 win on Friday, but dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 game on Saturday to tie the series. Another Daniel Boone product in Camryn Sarvis saw an at bat in Saturday's loss.

All coming down to Sunday's performance, this one once again proved to be a pitching battle. Scoreless through five, Tennessee was able to get something going in the sixth as Giulia Koutsoyanopulos knocked in two with an RBI-double. That was followed up by a single from Gabby Leach to give the Lady Vols the 3-0 lead and they would carry it to the end.

Softball will now stay at home to host Belmont on Tuesday before heading to Tuscaloosa for a series with Alabama next weekend, while baseball is at home for a mid-week with Western Carolina on Tuesday before a home series with Mizzou next weekend.