Tough loss, but these kind of games happen in baseball.
The first loss tends to be the hardest.
ETSU had previously beaten Tennessee 6-5 in 2019. History repeated itself on Tuesday night, ending the Vols’ winning streak by a score of 7-6. Here’s how the game went.
Recap
An RBI single into left field saw ETSU strike first with a 1-0 lead. A caught-breaking ball lifted to right field ended things with two hits for the Bucs.
The bottom of the first saw a few base hits and a Levi Clark walk to get the bases loaded with two outs. An error allowed two Vols to score runs to home base. Three runners were left stranded to end the inning, but UT took an early 2-0 lead to the next inning.
Brayden Sharp—freshman pitcher from The Woodlands, Texas—came in the top of 2nd for UT and got two quick outs, before a no-doubter by Tristan Curless sailed over right field to tie things up 2-2 before a strikeout ended things.
The offense was a no-show in the bottom of the second for UT. In the top of the third, a hit tucked just inside the left field pole as a two-run homer from Cody Miller to put ETSU up 4-2.
Austin Hunley came in to pitch for UT and guided the Vols to two quick outs to prevent further damage.
A Hunter Ensley base hit showed promise, but Andrew Fischer’s near home run was caught right against the wall, shutting down a chance to notch up the score.
At the top of the fourth, two got on very quickly for ETSU, prompting a Tennessee huddle and a new pitcher, Andrew Behnke, to try and clean things up. With men on third and first and only one out, UT needed to get out of the jam. They got one thanks to a huge double play by Ariel Antigua, sending UT back to the dugout in search of more runs.
Cannon Peebles got a strong hit down left field to cash in a one-out double, but the ETSU pitcher (and Knoxville native) Frederick shut things down.
The top of the 5th saw one quick out, but then two on, which led to more trouble for the Vols yet again. But UT was able to get two outs. Then a timely Gavin Kilen bomb cut things down to 4-3.
In the top of the 6th, Freshman Bryson Thacker started his collegiate career with back-to-back strikeouts, but then was relieved by Brayden Krenzel returned to the mound, and ended the inning. In the bottom of the 6th, Tennessee challenged a call from Peebles racing towards first base where the baseman appeared to have his foot down, the out stood.
The 7th inning saw another pickle for the Vols, one out and the corners filled, threatening to bump up the deficit further. But UT pulled off another massive double play. In the bottom of the 7th, Hunter Ensley was clutch, tying things up thanks to an RBI double. Soon after, a Reese Chapman hit nearly added more, but his hit ran right into first base, ending the inning.
Vols pitching had a clean eighth inning with three up and three down. Later in this inning for the offense, Manny Marin was interfered with and unable to reach second base; but it was not called since Tennessee burned its challenges, thus a tough break for the Volunteers.
Hunter Ensley was clutch yet again and hit deep into left field, (nearly a grand slam) earning two runs to give UT the lead back, 6-4.
Ryan Combs had the chance to shut the door for UT in the ninth. With one on, he struck out the next batter. But the Bucs didn’t go away; Jamie Palmese tied things in the 9th despite a two-strike count. Tanner Franklin, a junior transfer from Kennesaw State finished the job and got the remaining two outs.
As for the offense, Levi Clark saw a lead off first base thanks to a botched pitch, and stole to second thanks to a wild pitch later. But this went to no avail. With two outs, Jay Abernathy nearly walked it off, but a sliding catch in right field sent the game to extra innings. So close!
Grant Gallagher delivered the dagger for ETSU (despite a 1-2 count) to go up 7-6, which would be the final score. A clutch catch from Reese Chapman prevented worse and gave UT’s offense one last chance. But highway robbery (or rather, extremely clutch catches from ETSU) prevented the comeback.
Takeaway
It was disappointing for UT to lose its first game of the season after sweeping top-10 Florida. But, that’s baseball. Especially when better pitching is saved for weekend conference matchups.
Bottom line, it’s a long season. These kinds of games happen to every team every year. ETSU made clutch plays down the stretch which proved to be the difference. Midweek games can be tricky. Tip your cap and move on.
Up next
Tennessee travels down to Tuscaloosa on Thursday evening for a top-12 showdown with the Tide. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU at 7:30 Eastern time.