CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Interstat) — The VCU Rams defeated the Tennessee Volunteers 5-4 on Saturday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium in an NCAA tournament playoff game.

Tennessee struck first in the third inning when Reese Chapman homered to left field, scoring two runs for a 4-0 lead. VCU answered in the bottom of the third on Trent Adelman’s solo home run. The Rams tied the game in the fourth on a Quinn Maher groundout and an Alec Warden sacrifice fly, then took the lead in the fifth when Nate Kirkpatrick doubled to left field, driving in two runs to make it 5-4.

Stone Lawless homered for Tennessee in the sixth and added a sacrifice fly in the eighth, but VCU’s pitching held. Elias Holbert earned the win, tossing six innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs while striking out 10. Zach Peters earned the save with three innings of one-run relief. For Tennessee, Tegan Kuhns took the loss after four innings, allowing three earned runs with six strikeouts, while Cam Appenzeller struck out five in 2.2 hitless innings. Chapman finished 2 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs, and Lawless went 1 for 3 with a homer and two RBIs.

Tennessee’s record fell to 38-22, while VCU improved to 38-24.