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Tennessee's Griffin Merritt blasts walk-off home run to beat Vanderbilt in 12th inning

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•04/21/23
Griffin Merritt, Tennessee Volunteers baseball
Tennessee baseball player Griffin Merritt celebrates following a game against Florida on April 8, 2023. (Caitie McMekin / USA TODAY Sports)

The Tennessee baseball team used some late-game fireworks to knock off its in-state rival Vanderbilt in Griffin Merritt walk-off fashion in extra innings in the first game of a three-game series on Friday night.

Vanderbilt led the game 3-1 entering the bottom of the ninth inning when Tennessee mounted its comeback.

After Tennessee tied it up 3-3 in the ninth inning, Merritt decided he’d had enough of the game in the bottom of the 12th inning. Leading off, he split the first two pitches for a 1-1 count, then took the third and blasted it off the scoreboard in right field to give Tennessee a 4-3 win.

The walk-off home run was Griffin Merritt’s 11th dinger of the season.

“My second at-bat off of him, I understood more what he was trying to do with the cutter,” Merritt said. “I was on it first pitch, just early. Then he kind of showed the fastball up and he was going to go back to it. Just made sure I stayed through it, tried to take it to right-center.”

But Tennessee nearly didn’t get the chance for Griffin Merritt’s walk-off heroics.

First it needed some serious swings of the bat to level things up in the ninth inning after entering the frame trailing 3-1.

Designated hitter Kavares Tears cut into the deficit with a leadoff solo home run to center field, trimming the Vanderbilt lead to 3-2. But the Commodores came back and got a pair of outs to move one out away from closing out the win.

That’s when pinch hitter Dylan Dreiling stepped to the plate.

On a 1-2 count, Dreiling reared back and launched a bomb to right center field to tie the game, sending it to extra innings when the Commodores recorded the final out shortly after.

After blanking Vanderbilt in the top half of the tenth inning, Tennessee nearly ended it on the first pitch of the bottom of the inning when left fielder Jared Dickey came within inches of hitting a home run. He blasted a shot off the left field wall for a double.

Tennessee failed to bring him home, keeping the game rolling in extra innings until the Griffin Merritt walk-off could end it.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Merritt said. “My personal stats, my personal stuff, this is about this team and this team needed this win. I’m just happy I could play a part in that.”