The good news for the Missouri Tigers on Friday night was that Tennessee went without hitting a home run.
The bad news for Mizzou was that Drew Beam showed up to Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Beam racked up eight strikeouts and worked into the eighth inning as the No. 3 Volunteers topped Mizzou 3-2 for their 12th victory in the last 13 games. Tennessee improved to 36-7 overall and to 14-6 in Southeastern Conference play, while Missouri dropped to 19-25 and 6-14.
"It's nice knowing that as the season goes on that we can win in a lot of different ways," the junior pitcher said after improving to 6-1. "That will be important when we get to the postseason. I think I've found some things, but there are some things I want to continue working on.
"I do feel a lot better than I did at the start of the season."
With one out in the eighth inning, Beam allowed a two-run home run to left field by Trevor Austin. Kirby Connell replaced Beam and retired all four batters he faced before Aaron Combs entered to record the game's final out.
"Drew is a tough one," Vols coach Tony Vitello said. "He's going to fight you for the ball, and then he's going to be the boy next door and be the best teammate in the world. It's a delicate balance, and he's our guy."
The Vols broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning, when a Dylan Dreiling two-out infield hit and a Dean Curley single to right field put runners on the corners. A wild pitch brought Dreiling home, and Hunter Ensley made it a 2-0 game with a double to left.
Tennessee extended its advantage to 3-0 in the seventh, when Cal Stark led off with a double to right-center, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Blake Burke groundout.
An announced crowd of 5,504 attended Friday's game. The Vols will seek the series sweep Saturday at noon.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.