Tennessee’s Liam Doyle out-dueled Vanderbilt’s JD Thompson as the Vols took down the Commodores 3-2 in a series opening rubber match at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Doyle tossed seven shutout innings while Hunter Ensley willed the Vols at the plate, on the base paths and in centerfield. More on both performances and more here.
Vols Open Scoring But Miss Opportunity For More
Tennessee’s offense started fast in the second inning when Dalton Bargo roped a double off the wall in left-center field. Dean Curley followed it up with an infield single and then Reese Chapman opened the scoring with a single to centerfield.
When the next pitch JD Thompson threw got away from catcher Colin Barczi, Tennessee has runners on second and third with no-one out and was staring a crooked number in the eye.
But the back of Tennessee’s lineup couldn’t bring another run home. Cannon Peebles hit a grounder to third with Vanderbilt throwing Curley out at home but the Vols keeping runners on second and third. But then freshmen Jy Abernathy and Manny Marin each struck out to end the inning.
For a struggling offense with a dominant ace on the mound, the second inning presented Tennessee an early opportunity to put Vanderbilt in a hole. The one run was nice but being unable to do more was a sizable missed opportunity.
Liam Doyle Dominant Again
Tennessee has had a lot of things go wrong over the last month. Ace Liam Doyle is the one constant positive for this team at the moment and it was no different against Vanderbilt.
Doyle lived up to his billing again versus Vanderbilt. The Commodores didn’t get their first baserunner until the third inning while Doyle struck out 10 batters in the first four innings alone. Vanderbilt totaled three singles through the first five innings but all three came in separate innings and Doyle worked around them with no issues. Hunter Ensley helped Keep Doyle out of trouble later but we’ll get to that in bit.
The junior lefty finished his day allowing three hits and hitting one batter. Doyle struck out 12 batters and didn’t offer a single walk. It was Doyle’s sixth time with 10-plus strikeouts this season and just his second start, first in SEC play, without offering a walk.
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Some Production From The Middle Of The Lineup
In last week’s series loss, Tennessee got little offensive production from Dean Curley and Reese Chapman. Those two were hitting back-to-back in the five and six spots in the lineup and each did some good things.
Chapman made his hay on the previously mentioned RBI single to center field while Curley went two-for-three with a double. The double to right-center field was Curley’s first extra-base hit in SEC play since the series opener against Kentucky.
Dalton Bargo also had a nice night hitting in the cleanup spot, going two-for-four with a double off the left field wall and a RBI single.
Take A Bow, Hunter Ensley
Hitting in the three-hole, Hunter Ensley helped make some of those productive at-bats behind him more meaningful. At the plate, Ensley went two-for-four with a double and had a nifty slide at home to extend Tennessee’s lead to 2-0 in the sixth inning.
Something about Hunter Ensley evading tags at the plate in the dark mode unis.pic.twitter.com/fGshytNWo1
— Ryan Schumpert (@rschump00) May 9, 2025
But what Ensley did at the plate somehow paled in comparison to the play he made in centerfield in the top of the seventh inning. Colin Barczi represented the tying run at the plate when he barreled a hanging breaking ball deep to center. Ensley made a leaping catch for out number two and the Vanderbilt runner on first failed to touch second base while running back to first, leading to an inning ending double play.
It was difficult to tell whether Ensley robbed the home run or if it was going to hit off the top of the wall. Either way, it saved at least one run and was a game changing play.
Hunter Ensley is that dude.pic.twitter.com/gXk52MrBjm
— Ryan Schumpert (@rschump00) May 9, 2025
Box Score
Up Next
Tennessee and Vanderbilt are back at it Saturday evening at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. ESPN2 is broadcasting the game. First pitch is at 5 p.m. ET.
