ARLINGTON, TX – AJ Russell galloped off the mound to a large ovation by the sector of Tennessee fans in Globe Life Field before embracing his teammates in the dugout.
Russell’s second career start was a memorable one. His nearly flawless first four innings of work highlighted a big win for Tennessee to get their season started off on the right foot.
Ninth-ranked Tennessee baseball picked up a 6-2 win over No. 21 Texas Tech in Arlington on Friday night. In their first of three games in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown, the Vols used a three-run fourth and three-run eighth inning to best a ranked Red Raiders team in their home state.
Tennessee struck first in the fourth inning when Clemson transfer third baseman Billy Amick hit the Vols’ first home run of the season with a two-run shot to right field.
Later, Tennessee took a 3-0 lead in the fourth after Bradke Lohry reached on a throwing error by Texas Tech second baseman Tracer Lopez, allowing Kavares Tears to score from second.
The Vols’ three-run inning felt massive considering AJ Russell’s dominance on the mound.
Russell was nothing short of phenomenal in his first weekend start in a Tennessee uniform. The Franklin, Tennessee, native was especially dominant early in the night, retiring 12 of 13 batters and logging 10 strikeouts through four frames.
“I think fastball was definitely the best pitch,” Russell said on what was working for him. “I was kind of babying the off-speed a little bit early. I don’t know if that was nerves or just wasn’t trusting it completely. Later in the game, I thought the slider and changeup got a little bit better. Fastball got a little bit worse, but overall, I thought all together it was pretty good.”
He eventually ran into trouble in the fifth, surrendering a leadoff walk and back-to-back singles to give Texas Tech a pair of runners in scoring position with no outs. If it weren’t for a base running blunder by the Red Raiders, Russell would’ve given up an RBI double before being pulled for AJ Causey.
Still, Russell’s first outing as the Friday night guy proved he deserves that role. The sophomore finished with 10 strikeouts and allowed three hits and two earned runs in 4.1 innings against 16 batters.
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In a high leverage moment, Causey logged a strikeout but gave up a two-run triple afterwards. Texas Tech had plated two and cut the lead to one entering the final four innings.
The Vols wasted a big opportunity in the top of the sixth stranding the bases loaded, but Causey cruised the rest of the way on the mound to make what could’ve been a highly significant moment in the game anything but.
Causey retired the heart of Texas Tech’s lineup in order in the sixth before displaying his defensive skills in the seventh. After failing to execute what would’ve been an above-average play to record the second out of the inning, Causey redeemed himself by snagging a hard-hit line drive from Red Raiders left-fielder Damian Bravo and tossing it to Burke for the double play.
“It was great because he was so close to making that one catch and then it just took an awkward bounce,” Vitello said when reflecting on the seventh-inning sequence. “Coach (Frank) Anderson… he’s always said the guys that work hard and are a good teammate and do the things you’re supposed to, just tend to get breaks. That could be considered luck or a break or anything like that. But a guy or a player who does what he does is going to find himself getting some breaks.”
Causey stared down Burke after the play, who then dapped up his pitcher before the two trotted back to the dugout.
“When I was growing up, a dog was a bad thing,” Vitello said. “A dog was a lazy guy and things like that. And now, a dog is a warrior and a guy you trust and a guy who is competitive. Whether it’s in the weight room, it could just be stretching, he’s got some dog in him. Not just according to me, but to some of his teammates, too, in a good way.”
Tennessee opened it up late by doubling their score in the eighth. Amick and Dylan Dreiling each worked a walk to leadoff the inning, and Kavares Tears worked a one-out walk to load the bases.
Lohry brought Amick home with a sac fly before a wild pitch scored Dreiling. Hunter Ensley then drove the knife in with an RBI single into left field to score Tears and take a four-run lead.
Causey did not allow a baserunner in eighth or ninth inning, as Tennessee kept their four-run lead in the final stages to close it out.
“All night he was really good except for that one pitch (two-run triple),” Vitello said about Causey’s night. “The rest of it, honestly, was just him being himself. And I don’t know if he’s ever been thrown into that type of situation in this environment, and in that situation where the fire was burning hot coming out of the bullpen, I thought he handled it incredibly well.
Causey got his first career win in a Tennessee uniform, allowing just two hits and striking out seven in 4.2 innings of work.
Russell and Causey proved to be a more than capable Friday night duo, and the offense did enough for the Vols to earn a key victory on opening night.
