HOOVER, Ala. (Interstat) — Garrett Wright went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs, and seed Tennessee defeated seed South Carolina 11-6 on Tuesday in the first round of the SEC Baseball Championship at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

Wright, playing center field and right field, singled in the first and third innings, added an RBI single in the third and homered leading off the eighth. His eighth-inning shot extended the Volunteers’ lead to 10-6. Henry Ford added a solo home run later in the same inning. Ford finished 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and two RBIs.

Tennessee starter Cam Appenzeller worked five innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits while striking out five. He left with a 9-3 lead after the bottom of the fifth. Reliever Will Haas pitched 2⅓ scoreless innings, yielding one hit and striking out six. Haas entered with one out in the seventh and retired the side in order in the eighth.

Patrick Evans led South Carolina, going 3-for-5 with a home run, a triple and three RBIs. Evans tripled in a three-run third inning that gave the Gamecocks a 3-2 lead, then homered in the seventh to spark a three-run rally that pulled South Carolina within 9-6. Will Craddock added a two-run homer in the seventh.

Tennessee grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Wright singled and Grimmer reached on a bunt single that was thrown into right field, putting runners at second and third. Ford lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Wright. Lane Clark followed with an RBI single up the middle.

South Carolina answered in the top of the third. Jonny Yuhasz singled, walked by Nolan Harman, and a bunt moved both runners into scoring position. Evans tripled to right center, scoring Yuhasz and Harman. After a walk, James LeCroy’s sacrifice bunt brought in Evans to put the Gamecocks ahead 3-2.

Tennessee erupted for six runs in the bottom of the third. Grimmer singled, Ford singled and Jake Grindlinger singled to right to tie the game. After a strikeout, Matthew Marin singled to right, scoring Ford for a 4-3 lead. Nate Eisfelder doubled to right center, plating Marin and Grindlinger. An error at shortstop put runners on, and Wright singled through the right side to drive in two more unearned runs, making it 8-3.

Ford doubled to lead off the fourth and scored on a throwing error by the catcher, extending the lead to 9-3.

South Carolina crept back in the seventh. Evans led off with a solo home run to left. With one out, Mason Randolph singled and Craddock homered to left, cutting the deficit to 9-6. Haas entered and struck out the next two batters to end the threat.

Tennessee put the game away in the eighth. Wright led off with a homer to right, and Ford followed two batters later with a home run to left. Parker Marlatt pitched a scoreless eighth for the Volunteers.

South Carolina went down in order in the ninth. The Gamecocks, who entered on a six-game losing streak and tied for the fewest conference wins, finished their season at 22-35.

Tennessee improved to 38-19 and advanced to face the winner of Tuesday’s later game.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Tennessee 7, South Carolina 0. Interstat’s ELO system gave Tennessee a 74.00 percent probability to win, and the Volunteers were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-2.5.