Tennessee baseball’s 6-1 series opening loss against Auburn went final 20 hours and 18 minutes after the originally scheduled first pitch time on Friday night.
Auburn jumped out to an early lead on Friday night before weather postponed the game until Saturday morning. The Vols were never able to recover as Auburn claimed the opener. Here’s how it went down.
Auburn Jumps Out To A Friday Night Lead
Weather and subsequent delays played a major role. First pitch time went from 6 p.m. ET to 5:30 p.m. ET to 8 p.m. ET. Despite the rain coming down harder than it had all day, the two teams took the field and began play at 8 p.m. ET.
Things did not go well for Tennessee. Liam Doyle struggled to command any of his pitches but especially his off-speed stuff, throwing almost exclusively fastballs. He walked two-hitter Cade Belyeu on four pitches and Auburn star Ike Irish took him deep to left field to give Auburn a 2-0 lead.
Doyle gritted his way through the rest of the first inning. But then when Auburn starting pitcher Samuel Dutton took the mound for the bottom of the first inning, the umpires sent the game into a rain delay. The game was in a rain delay for nearly two hours before they postponed the game until Saturday.
It was worst case scenario for Tennessee. They wasted Doyle, fell behind and the game was called for the night before Auburn’s starter Samuel Dutton took the mound.
Auburn Saving Samuel Dutton Proved Significant
Auburn’s ability to preserve its ace Dutton until the game resumed on Saturday proved highly significant. Dutton was in a groove from the jump, retiring the first 13 Tennessee batters he faced.
The Vols hit a couple balls hard early in the game but right at Tiger defenders. Dutton struck out five of the the first 11 batters he faced. All five strikeouts were looking with a few of the calls earning Tony Vitello’s ire.
Dutton got all the way into the seventh inning and looked like he was going to get through it fine, retiring the first two batters he faced before Dalton Bargo and Levi Clark hit back-to-back doubles to get Tennessee on the board and end the senior’s day. Reliever Ryan Hezler picked him up, striking out Reese Chapman on three pitches to end the inning.
The right-handed ace ended his day allowing just one run on four hits and zero walks while striking out eight batters in 6.2 innings pitched. Dutton’s outing didn’t just affect game one but could have real consequences on the pitching for the rest of the weekend.
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Tegan Kuhns Gave Tennessee A Chance
Freshman Tegan Kuhns took the mound to open the second inning when play resumed Saturday and turned in one of the best outings of his young career.
Kuhns worked out of a jam in the second inning after the leadoff man singled and stolen second. Auburn small balled its way to a third inning run thanks to a pair of bunt singles, a stolen base and an Irish RBI single to left field. The freshman right hander got in a groove after that, retiring six of seven batters faced in the fourth and fifth inning.
Auburn did a little bit more damage off of Kuhns in the sixth inning via a Cooper McMurray solo homer. Kuhns retired two batters before Tanner Franklin came in to relieve him.
The freshman right hander finished the day allowing two runs on five hits (two coming on bunts) and one walk in 4.2 innings pitched. Kuhns six strikeouts was a career high as was his 4.2 innings pitched and 74 total pitches. He gave Tennessee a chance.
Box Score
Up Next
Tennessee baseball and Auburn are set to resume their weekend series 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one Saturday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. SEC Network+ is streaming the game.
