A strong weekend for Tennessee baseball.
After dropping a midweek game to ETSU and losing the opener in Tuscaloosa on Thursday night, Tennessee bounced back in a big way to secure the series win on Saturday. The No. 1 team in the nation got things back on track on Friday and Saturday, taking two of three from the No. 10 team in the country.
Thursday — Alabama wins 6-5
The Crimson Tide gave up three early runs to Tennessee on Friday before storming back and getting to ace Liam Doyle. Alabama scored five in the bottom of the 2nd inning, thanks to a single, an error and a couple of walks.
Doyle didn’t have it on Friday night, but still gutted out six innings on the mound. He threw 110 pitches and gave up five earned runs.
Andrew Fischer and Hunter Ensley would drive in a couple in the 7th to cut the Alabama lead down to 6-5, but Tennessee couldn’t find anymore. The Tide would go on to take game one.
Friday — Tennessee wins 10-7
Tennessee quickly got to Alabama starter Riley Quick, scoring three runs in the 1st and two more in the 2nd. Fischer, Chapman, Abernathy and Ensley all found RBI hits to give Marcus Phillips a nice early cushion.
Hunt gives us an early lead!
https://t.co/LnuONqKxir#GBO // #BeatBama pic.twitter.com/va9loAaFwz
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) March 21, 2025
Alabama didn’t go away though. The Tide chipped away all day, eventually getting to Phillips for two runs in the 3rd. Phillips went 4.2 innings on the day. Nate Snead did hit thing for the next three innings, but gave up two runs in the bottom of the 9th. Andrew Behnke and Tanner Franklin finished it off with Alabama down three and threatening.
Tennessee scored four in the top of the 8th, which included a Dean Curley two-run blast.
The Volunteers held on to win a wild one, 10-7.
Saturday — Tennessee wins 9-2
With the series on the line, it was no contest — Tennessee came through with a huge, convincing win to take the series. The Volunteers put runs on the board in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th innings to build a 5-0 lead.
CRUSHED!
Fisch not making many friends here in Tuscaloosa, but he’s got plenty in Knoxville!
https://t.co/YOpsDMBXlb (SECN+)#GBO // #BeatBama pic.twitter.com/SRHSGUw23H
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) March 22, 2025
Tegan Kuhns went 4.1 innings, allowing just one hit and two walks. Brayden Krenzel would also go 4.1 innings in relief.
Tennessee put Alabama away in the 7th. Hunter Ensley cleared the bases with a double after a failed diving catch attempt. The Volunteers would put up four in the inning, and that was that.
Up next
Tennessee improves to 22-2 on the year and 5-1 in conference play, bouncing back from a couple of losses. The Volunteers will be back in action on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET against Queens. They’ll travel to South Carolina next weekend for another three-game series.