Griffin Merritt and Tennessee played some extra baseball Friday night against Vanderbilt. The two sides are facing off in Knoxville for a 3-game weekend series, and the first game provided plenty of drama to the finish line.

For much of the game, Vanderbilt held a 3-1 lead that the Commodores established in the 5th inning. Vanderbilt could not hold that lead in the 9th inning with Tennessee tying the game on solo home runs by Kavares Tears and Dylan Dreiling.

Once into extra innings, the Vols turned to Chase Burns out of the bullpen. Burns kept things locked at 3-all by going 3 scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts against the Commodores to set the table for Merritt.

Leading off the bottom of the 12th inning, Merritt got a 1-1 breaking ball out over the plate. He was able to hit it with authority to the opposite field, delivering the walk-off HR for a 4-3 victory for the Vols.

The win snaps a 4-game losing streak for Tennessee and now gives the Vols a great shot at a much-needed series win in SEC play. The two sides will face off again Saturday at 12 pm ET before a Sunday finale at 1 pm ET.